6 Ways to Spend Halloween without Trick or Treating

Tired of shopping for witch or ghost costumes? Annoyed at the thought that your children would possibly be consuming more sugar than they can handle with the Halloween treats? Is the blatant commercialism of Halloween getting you down?

(Related story: Trick or Treat 2012: A Roundup of this Year's Halloween Parties)

Here are six activities you and your child can indulge in during Samhain Night without having to go trick or treating:

1. Take your child to a fair or carnival.
There is a lot of fun to be had in taking a child out to a carnival or fair, particularly the school fairs held close to Halloween. Check local online listings for school schedules and fairs happening in your area. Usually, they’ll have a handful of rides, several games, horror booths, and enough waffle dogs, cotton candy and popcorn to make the trip worth it. Have some antacids on hand for you or your child in case you overindulge or take one too many trips on the octopus.

2. Set up a game of flashlight tag.
This activity is more fun with a bigger group and a large enough place to play in, like a park, a big house or a large garden. It’s basically hide and seek, only, this one uses flashlights instead of actually touching the person whom you’re trying to catch. Everyone gets a flashlight but only one - the ‘it’ - gets to use it indiscriminately as everyone else has to be careful not to get spotted turning on their lights.  

3. Take them out on an evening trek and share scary stories.
One good thing about living in Manila is how easy it is to take a trip to a more pristine place with little effort. Hop on a car or bus with your kids to Tagaytay, Antipolo or Taal for the night. Or, you can plan ahead and take your kids to Hundred Islands, Bohol, Baguio, Camiguin or Palawan. Once you’re all out there, find a secluded grove or camping ground or rent a boat and enjoy a star-filled night while you tell them gooseflesh-inducing tales of terror. It’ll really help if you choose to take the family to a place that has a real history like ghost sightings or an ancient battleground, but don’t overdo it. Gauge it according to the age of your children and their fear threshold. Also take into consideration your spouse’s fear threshold as pushing past it may be grounds for an annulment :)

(Related story: 5 Storybooks to Read with your Kids on Halloween)

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4. Have a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt.
Why does Easter have to be the only time in the year when kids get to hunt for goodies in a garden? You can hide treats inside little bags or go the extra mile to get pumpkin-shaped containers with things like coins, little toys, bits of candy or other prizes, then let the kids loose! For older kids, you can hold this particular hunt at night and they could have flashlights with them, when they’ve tired of flashlight tag.

5. Stay up late for a boardgame party.
Some kids might be more open to a quieter evening, but one that opens the imagination more. Boardgames have come a long way since Clue, Monopoly and Sorry – there are various games now available at specialty toy stores that vary in sophistication, complexity and sheer fun. There are card games (The Zombies, Bang! High Noon, Munchkin Cthulu) and board games that have horror themes (Kill Doctor Lucky, Murder of Crows) and even cooperative board games exist (The Lord of the Rings boardgame, Castle Ravenloft) where you have to work together against an ancient evil or deathless monster. Although these games can be on the pricey side and can sometimes be a bit challenging to acquire (Amazon.com is your friend), they are definitely an investment – after all, the family that, ahem, plays together, stays together.

(Related story: Our 5 Favorite Family Board Games)

6. Visit a graveyard before November 1st.
Normally, the cemeteries will be filled with visitors, vendors, and barangay tanods during the Catholic fiesta that is All Saints and All Souls Day. However, you can take your family to pay their respects ahead of time by visiting your dearly departed ones ahead of schedule. Alternatively, you can also make this an opportunity for some spine-tingling exploration because there is nothing as peaceful and as haunting as walking through a graveyard at night. Make sure though that everyone remembers to observe proper behavior when paying respect for the dead.

 

Photo from truestorieshonestlies.blogspot.com