Halloween looks a little different this year as going door-to-door for sweet treats might be out of the question during a pandemic. However, there are alternatives for trick-or-treating that allow for the same level of spooky excitement on Oct. 31. 

If you still want to get together with friends, have an outdoor, physically distanced movie night by projecting a classic horror movie like Scream onto the side of your home, or even watch on a computer, to safely hang out with (and scare) a few close friends. 

If you cannot meet with friends in person, host a Halloween costume and pumpkin decorating party over Zoom. Each person can grab a pumpkin from a local market and carve or paint it while showing off a fun costume. Have dramatic reveals of the final results of the pumpkins and this virtual get-together will be complete. 

Another Halloween activity is “Boo-ing” your friends. Using candy and Halloween-themed gifts, create a spooky basket to give to your friends. Target’s dollar section is perfect for this activity, with plenty of cheap Halloween and Fall-themed objects such as socks and decorative pumpkins. Add a “you’ve been boo-ed” tag and your spooky basket is complete.

A Halloween-themed neighborhood scavenger hunt is a fun thing to do with family or friends. Pass out lists of common things to find during a California Fall, such as carved pumpkins, skeleton decorations, or orange lights. Pair up into teams, see who can find all the items first, and award the winners with a pumpkin filled with candy.

Instead of eating candy, make cookies in bat, ghost, and pumpkin shapes with your family this Halloween. Using purple and orange frosting, these cookies can be transformed into adorable, festive treats. Another option is to simply buy these Halloween cookies, like the delicious Pillsbury Pumpkin Shape Cookies, and gorge on them while binging horror movies on Netflix. 

Since 2014, the family-owned, Fullerton donut shop Zombee Donuts prepares festive donuts, such as the “bleeding heart” or “the spider” for customers. Wake up tomorrow and hustle over to the donut spot to start the day on a Halloween-themed (sweet) note.

For a fun contest with your friends, decorate your houses for Halloween and text pictures to virtually vote on who has the spookiest house. From spider webs to skeleton figures or even just pumpkins, the decorating possibilities are endless. This is an easy way to get into the Halloween spirit without being exposed to covid and still having fun with friends. 

If you are comfortable with being around people, you can go to a pumpkin patch this Halloween and pick up some pumpkins! Local pumpkin patches such as Enchanted Country Pumpkins in Brea are still open for business. You can use these pumpkins to virtually carve or decorate your house. Due to COVID-19, Halloween looks different this year, but pumpkins are an easy way to get into the Halloween spirit.

While trick or treating might not happen this weekend, there are still plenty of activities to enjoy on Halloween. From completely virtual alternatives such as a Zoom pumpkin carving party or a socially distanced outdoor movie night, there are many options to safely participate in Halloween while still having fun.