31 Things to do at home on Halloween night

For one of the first Halloweens in a long time, I’ll be staying home and not really doing much with my friends.  You’d think, with Halloween being on a Friday, that this is the perfect year for shenanigans.  Well, not so much since some of my friends work late Friday nights, some work early Saturday mornings, and otherwise timing just got away from us.  Boo!  So, this Halloween I won’t be in costume (maybe some accessories) but I’ll just be hanging out at Fawver Home Base.  Here’s 31 things I plan on doing, could be doing but might not, could be doing but won’t, or wouldn’t do but you could!

1. Pass out candy.  This one is obvious, I know, but not everyone does it.  It really is fun to see the cute costumes of little kids.  However, if you’re like me, you struggle with what to do when teens come to your door with no discernible costume.  I’ve been mulling this over and this year I’m going to have two bowls by my front door – one of good candy for the kids in costume and one with something undesirable for the no-costume kids.  I’m thinking floss and gross peanut butter taffy from Dollar Tree.
2. Have a horror movie marathon.  I won’t be doing this because I’m a wimp and don’t like scary movies, but it really is the perfect opportunity to do so.  Just remember – if you’re also handing out candy, be prepared to be frequently interrupted, so you may want to watch movies you’ve seen before or be ready with that pause button!  Or expand your horizons and watch The 50 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen on iTunes.
3. Watch Ghost Hunters on SyFy. It is, after all, their longest running reality show.  There won’t be a live Halloween episode this year, but you could always wait to watch the Fall Season Finale.  Or watch past seasons you aren’t caught up on yet, like me.
4. Scare trick-or-treaters.  This is a popular Halloween past time of some of my friends.  The old coffin on the front porch gag works well if you have a spotter to tell you when kids are coming.
5. Elsa Drinking Game.  I saw this going around Facebook and Instagram this week and I’m totally doing it.  And I’m going to use the counter app on my phone to get a good count of how many.
6. Dance Party.  I’ve seen it done from time-to-time in the past, but not that often.  Play music in your front yard and invite kids to dance.  There’s a lot of fun spooky songs you can play like Monster Mash, Purple People Eater, Thriller, and more!  You could even learn the Thriller dance and teach it to the neighborhood kiddies!
7. Photo Booth.  Almost all parents accompanying kids (and even some of the older kids themselves) have cell phones these days – set up a fun backdrop and make some props for kids to pose with and take their pictures.  A driveway with spotlights would work well for this if you don’t park your car there.
8. Arts & Crafts for the kids.  Set up a table in your driveway and have arts & crafts for the kiddies.  Jen Goode has some FREE Halloween printables you can download and use – they’re super cute!
9. Arts & Crafts for you.  Crafts aren’t just for kids.  There’s a TON of cute Halloween crafts you can do while you wait for the kiddos looking for candy like zombies look for brains.  I have a bunch pinned to my All Hallows Eve board on Pinterest.
10. Have a Spooky Dinner Party.  While this means you’re staying home, it does involve at least a few people coming over.  There are a TON of great Halloween recipes on Pinterest that would fit the bill.
11. Read a creepy story.  Whether you chose to revisit those creepy drawings in your beat down copy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (you can pick up an inexpensive Scary Stories Box Set with all 3 books by Alvin Schwartz on Amazon) or read something a bit more adult like Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, a good creepy book with only candles lit entertains a spooky Halloween.
12. Educate yourself on Halloween.  Yeah, I said it!  Get some culture, you fool!  There are a lot of great educational programs being aired this week on the History Channel like The Haunted History of Halloween or Modern Marvels: Halloween Tech.
13. Make sugar skulls for Dia de los Muertos.  Depending on your area of the world, it might not be highly celebrated, but Dia de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is November 1st and there are many celebrations.  MexicanSugarSkull.com has great step-by-step instructions on how to make a traditional sugar skull.  Since it’s on a Saturday, my friends and I will be going to see The Book of Life since we’re not getting together on Halloween itself.
14. Show a movie.  If you have a large white surface (like the side of a house or garage door) and a projector you can plug a computer into, you can host a family-friendly movie for the neighborhood kids.  Pop some popcorn, throw out some blankets or tarps for kids to sit on, and fire up something G-rated to entertain the neighborhood.  You can actually order a projector for about $55 on Amazon.
15. Carve a Pumpkin.  Yes, most people will have already done this, but that’s not to say you can’t carve another one.  It’ll give you something festive to do while you pass out candy.  Family Fresh Meals compiled a great list of 200+ free pumpkin carving stencils you can check out to get ideas.
16. Paint your nails.  You knew I’d say it!  Loxa Beauty has the Morgan Taylor Halloween Trio for just $19.90 so you can easily get your nails into a festive mood for passing out that candy.
17. Take a blood bath.  Not real blood, of course.  Draw a nice warm bath and throw in some red food dye and some eyeball bath bombs and BOOM!  Now, this might turn your skin red.  I will not be held responsible for any November 1st photos of red arms and legs!  Or, you could get red bath bombs or even a waterproof LED to give the water a red hue.  Thanks to Dominic’s cousin Allie for the suggestion!
18. Host a scavenger hunt.  With the candy, hand out printed lists of things the kids could scavenge for while out trick-or-treating.  Obviously nothing that would require them to pilfer something from a decorated yard or something, but maybe include a certain type of candy that’s somewhat rare (like a full sized candy bar) or a piece of string or spider ring or something.  Then have some kind of cool prizes (maybe a fun treat bag of good candy) for any kid that actually comes back to your house with the scavenged items.  Thanks to Stacey Sicard at The Affiliate Core for the suggestion!
19. Start planning your Thanksgiving dinner.  You remember Thanksgiving, don’t you?  It’s that holiday that comes between Halloween and Christmas!  You can start going through your decor to get it ready to replace your Halloween decor, or just start looking through recipe books for side dishes that will wow your guests this year.  Then you have the added bonus of telling them you’ve been planning dinner ALL MONTH!
20. Bake.  Why should kids get all the goodies?  You can get festive with Halloween Funfetti mixes, pumpkin spice EVERYTHING, or any number of the cute Halloween cakes, cupcakes, or cookies you can find on Pinterest.
21. Play a game.  There are plenty of Halloween-appropriate board games out there.  AreYouGame.com has a great selection of games like the classic Ouija board, Munchkin Bites!, and Zombie-opoly.  Have a friend over and start rolling those dice!
22. Have a party.  Yes, this requires a little more planning than a few days, but you never know – throw a post out on Facebook to see what other friends you have that might be looking for somewhere to go.  Throw together some appetizers (hey, store bought appetizers work just as well as slaving away all day in the kitchen) and then you can do more than one of the things on this list with a new group of people!  Thanks to Lessie Purpera at My Coupon Lady for the suggestion!
23. Hold a séance.  Light some candles and try your hand at communicating with the dead.  There are good ways and bad ways to hold a séance as an amateur, so make sure to do some research.  Start with this article from Psychics Universe on how to hols a séance sanely and safely.
24. Hunt for ghosts.  Along the same lines of a séance, be sure to do this in a respectful manner as you may find more than you bargain for!  Ghost Hunting 101 might be a bit of an eyesore, but there’s a lot of good information how to begin, and you don’t need fancy equipment to do it.  The voice recording app on your smart phone and a decent digital camera can get you going on the cheap.
25. 

    Ghostbuster & Stay-Puft Marshmallow (wo)Man

    Dress up.  Just because you’re not going out, doesn’t mean you can’t throw on a costume.  Heck, if anything, it might be more comfortable to really go all out since you can always touch it up in between groups at your door.  Depending on the traffic you get, though, you might want to pick a costume that kids will understand.  My awesome Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man costume was really only appreciated last year by the parents standing on the steps and a few older kids.

26. Dress up your pets.  If this is your cup of tea to put your animals in clothing, of course.  I know some people are not on the pets-wearing-clothes bandwagon.  Pet costumes are not very expensive, and are designed not to impede the pet’s normal movements.  It’s even better if your pet matches your costume, like Winston the Wonder Pug being a Ghostbuster to fight off my (nearly to scale) Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man!
27. Start your Christmas shopping.  Yes, I know, this seems blasphemous.  But hey, you’re home doing nothing, you might as well start looking around at things to add to your own Christmas wish list or start taking advantage of early bird sales.  There are a lot of great deals to be had from merchants in China, but the shipping takes awhile, so ordering now is not a bad idea.  Thanks again to Stacey for this suggestion, too!
28. Play a scary video game.  There are lots of creepy video games out there these days.  The first that comes to mind is probably Silent Hill, which you can pick up a pre-owned Xbox 360 copy from Best Buy for just $14.99.
29. Karaoke Party.  There are tons of at-home karaoke games if you have a basic video game console.  My favorite is the SingStar series for PlayStation.  You can get a pre-owned PS3 copy of the original SingStar game for just $4.99.  Or just throw on the Halloween sing-along standard The Rocky Horror Picture Show and do your own at-home audience participation!
30. Exact the Candy Tax.  If you’re a parent who’s not accompanying your kids trick or treating, you can still wait until they get home and exact the candy tax!  Make them dump out the candy they go, pull out anything that’s just gross (half opened, allergies, etc) and take a modest fee for having raised them and purchased their costumes!  As well, you can also pull out anything they plain don’t like or don’t want to give to Operation Gratitude.  Thanks to Karen Garcia at GTO Management for this suggestion!
31. Start working on next year’s costume!  It’s never too early, and next year Halloween will be on a Saturday, so it may be easier to get your friends together so you’re not stuck at the house again!