Halloween time is here again, but at Cheerily we know that trick-or-treating this year can be difficult to navigate and confusing to approach. For all our mamas and papas who don’t feel quite ready to hit their neighborhood streets and go knocking door-to-door, here are our favorite stay-at-home alternatives for trick-or-treating in 2020!

 

1. Trick-or-treat hunt

Difficulty: easy

Dig out those old easter eggs (or create your own festive Halloween containers) and start finding hiding places around the house! While your littles may be disappointed they can’t sport their costumes in front of family or friends this year, this hunt is a great way to make Halloween feel more like a game-night holiday instead of another Saturday.

Start with a set number of eggs or containers (honestly, you can hide plain wrapped pieces of candy around the house) and hide them in increasingly more difficult hiding places! If you have paints or construction paper to decorate, we recommend making colored levels of difficulty (i.e. yellow wrapping means easy to find, orange means medium difficulty to find, red means almost impossible to find). This will help keep the kiddos guessing and excited to find the red ones!

 

2. Halloween movie night

Difficulty: easy

Break out those Halloween classics, throw some hot cocoa on the stove, unfold those blankets and make Halloween a memorable holiday movie night! Instead of focusing on candy, opt to make your little ones' favorite meal or favorite dessert to enjoy during the movie as a family-- your lil' pumpkins will greatly appreciate the quality time! This option helps move away from candy as the end-all be-all for Halloween, and instead focuses on connecting as a family and watching your littles' favorite shows/movies with them.

 

3. Great ghoulish bake-off

Difficulty: medium

Trying to avoid a candy overdose? Make Halloween a baking-in-costume night for your little ones! If you have older kiddos, feel free to make plain cupcakes or sugar cookies that they can compete to decorate, while the littlest ones just help with most of the eating 💛 Celebrating with newborns who can’t eat sweets just yet? No worries! Just snap a few pics in their festive onesies/accessories, give them lots of cuddles and love, and sit in the audience as the baking commences!

 

4. Create decorations for Thanksgiving!

Difficulty: medium

So you've already carved your Halloween jack-o-lantern (or decorated your pumpkin with our 5 carving-free alternatives). No problem! For a night of arts and crafts projects that will keep your little ones busy, feel free to pick up some more mini-pumpkins at your local grocer (they’re usually $1 or less) and get ahead of those thanksgiving decorations! Use sharpies and paints to create thoughtful messages on the pumpkins, or even coat your squash completely with one color for a sophisticated style!

 

5. Halloweeñata

Difficulty: easy

Need something that will help tire the little ones out before the night is over? Enter the Halloween piñata! Many party stores feature themed piñatas around Halloween, and this is a great alternative to make your littles swing hard for those sweets! For the family who’s a little more extra, feel free to even use a Halloween piñata as the starting point for a scavenger hunt or trick-or-treat hunt! Simply fill the piñata with clues or items instead of candy that will help guide your little goblins right to the hidden sweets!

 

Any way you celebrate will be amazing.

We know you mamas and papas are going to make this 2020 Halloween special and memorable no matter how you choose to celebrate! Don’t forget to tag @cheerily.co in any photos you post of your littles in costume and use #costumecheer to be automatically entered into Cheerily's 2020 Costume Contest. Happy Haunting!