Fun Halloween Activities During COVID-19 & Beyond

Trick or Treat Yo’Self & Team to a Socially Distanced Halloween

You know when you went trick-or-treating as a kid and you got a bunch of toothbrushes and raisins instead of your favorite candy? Well, 2020 Halloween may have been like that, but it looks like 2021 Halloween will include a few more “Halloween as we know and love it” elements. In fact the CDC has advised that Halloween can happen, and recommended trick-or-treating outside, limiting crowds, and avoiding packed Halloween parties.

It’s nice to know that safe, spooky celebrations can still happen this Halloween, especially for workplaces and the little boos. It’s so important to have some sense of connection and community these days, and we think these fun Halloween activities–some in-person, some virtual–will ensure everyone has a “gourd” time.

Live, In-Person Halloween Activities

1. Office Party Halloween Costume Competition

Dressing up in the office? These costumes promise to be among the most popular. Take home a trophy and impress your kids!

Bernie Sanders: Inauguration Look
Bennifer, aka Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck: back at it for Part Deux!
Any Met Gala look (take note of Kim Kardashian in black Balenciaga, Whoopi Goldberg in purple Valentino, or Pete Davidson in Tom Browne)

Make sure every participant feels like a winner. After all, we’re all in need of some socializing and those who bring it on Halloween deserve an extra treat. Customize a design wrap pen or professional padfolio for every morale-boosting, costume-sporting team member.

Full Color Design Wrap Contour Color Accent Pen

Full Color DuraHyde Zippered Padfolio

2. Support the Kids and Promote Your Small Business with Store-Front Trick or Treating

Business block parties are a great way to keep your business top of mind as parents do the neighborhood rounds with their kids on Halloween. Coordinate with businesses on your block to extend retail hours to allow trick-or-treaters and their folks to stop by for a personalized sweet and maybe a customized bag to carry it in.

Individually Wrapped Maple Leaf

Plastic Bags 9″ x 14″

Virtual and Fun Halloween Activities

How to stay safe during Halloween this year? Take your fun Halloween activities online. At this point, both companies and children are familiar with video conferencing, and there are ways to make it entertaining so your attendees will stay engaged.

1. Virtual Costume or Pumpkin Decorating Contest

Bring the gloom and doom to Zoom! Besides candy, which we’ll get to later, dressing up and decorating pumpkins is the best thing about Halloween.

Choose a judge for the contest and categories like scariest, funniest, and most creative. Encourage teams to create costumes or pumpkins within the same theme to boost the team-building aspect. And if you have a small team, it’s a nice touch to drop off pumpkins at their houses.

2. Virtual Cooking Class

Learning a new skill is always a great way to rally a team and cooking is one we can all use right now! Whether you work with an outside chef or someone on your team who is culinarily inclined, a virtual cooking class is one of those Halloween fun ideas they’ll be talking about for years to come. Think recipes for Halloween-shaped cookies, spooky cakes, or unique drinks. A really thoughtful touch is to send custom aprons to everyone before the class starts.

3. Virtual Escape Room

Escape rooms have been all the rage the past few years and are even more popular during spooky season. The goal is to escape the room by solving clues in the allotted time. Now you can visit virtual escape rooms with your group to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Send custom t-shirts printed with a fun phrase like, “We Escaped 2021 Together!”

In-Person Alternative Halloween Party Ideas

The CDC recommends keeping celebrations small and outside to limit the risk, so these Halloween fun ideas do just that.

1. Trunk or Treat

For a really unique alternative Halloween party idea, go with the trunk or treat. What is that, exactly? Well, it’s when a small group of people gather in a large parking lot and decorate their car trunks! This limits the amount of contact among people and amount of walking from house to house you typically do during Halloween. You can choose a theme like spooky pumpkins or let everyone express their individual creativity.

2. Porch Decorating Contest

This is a similar idea to the trunk or treat, but using porches and lawns instead. Meet up with your group at a designated parking lot and then caravan to the list of houses for judging.

3. Candy Chute

Candy is not cancelled, people! There are safe and creative ways to pass out candy. One idea is to create a candy chute out of paper towel tubes so you can practice social distancing while doling out the goods. Another is to pre-assemble goodie bags and leave them on your porch.

P.S. And for all you toothbrush givers, why not try hand sanitizers this year?

How to Stay Safe on Halloween

While the typical safety tactics still ring true, there are a few new considerations this year. Here are a few tips for how to stay safe on Halloween during COVID: