While Halloween celebrations may look a little different this year, it doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! Whether spooky or sweet, celebrate safely with your family at home by considering one of the festive activities below, courtesy of our CHS Culture Club!

• Host a pumpkin carving contest! To keep kiddos safe around sharp tools, pair each with a grown-up or trade the carving for paint.
• Bring your appetite to your family’s first-annual pumpkin pie eating contest!
• Take turns doing the Monster Hop! To prepare, cut out monster shaped footprints from construction paper and lay on the floor in a hopscotch shape. For inspiration, watch this video!
• Create a “Pumpkin Eruption”! Gather your pumpkins, have a grown-up carve out their insides, and fill with soda. Next, drop in a handful of mentos and watch your pumpkin come to life! For extra fun and a touch of color, use club soda and food coloring.
• Wrap two family member’s bodies in toilet paper (except their eyes!) and have a “Mummy Hop Race”! The first “mummy” to cross the finish line wins.
• Get creative with materials found in your house and in your yard to build your very own scarecrow.
• Have a Halloween water balloon battle! Divide into teams and brainstorm spooky names like the witches, ghosts, goblins, etc. Next, fill your water balloons with water and dye (each team gets a different color!). Before the “battle”, change into clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and stained because it could get messy! Once outside, let the fun begin… each team should try to eliminate the others’ opponents by staining their shirt with a water balloon. Once stained, you’re “out”! The final team standing wins the battle.
• Put on your favorite tunes (Monster Mash, anyone?), dress up in your costume, and have a Halloween dance contest!
• Host a Halloween dessert competition! The only catch?  You MUST use at least one Halloween ingredient (candy, pumpkin, marshmallows, cereal or other fall veggie foods like squash, apple cider, etc.)
• Have a visit from the Great Pumpkin! Hide candy around your house, courtesy of your Pumpkin visitor, so when the kids wake up they can go on a candy hunt!
• If you’re feeling spooky, create your own Doll in the Hall! The only requirement? A creepy-looking doll. Each morning the week of Halloween, move the doll throughout your house for your kiddos to find. If you’re worried about being too scary, you’re welcome to swap in a fun doll instead, or a stuffed pumpkin toy!

For more Halloween fun, see additional ideas from the American Academy of Pediatrics here!