Halloween is only celebrated once a year, so why not take the opportunity to have fun decorating your home? Between pumpkins and horror movie music, the neighborhood kids will be eager to knock on your door to ask you "Trick or treat?".
Steps
Method 1 of 2: For Adults
Step 1. Place pumpkins near the windows or along the driveway, even if they could be trampled on
You can buy them ready-made, but making them at home is always better!
Carving pumpkin can be messy, but it's really fun. All you have to do is hollow it out and cut it on one side to create a face. Then, place a tea candle or LED light inside to light the way for anyone who knocks on your door
Step 2. Stock up on candy
In Italy Halloween is not very common, but more and more children are participating in this celebration. If you have any left, you can always eat it yourself!
If you live in the US, have coins available. UNICEF, in the 1950s, started a program that requires children to raise money to help their less fortunate peers in 190 countries around the world. If there is a knock on your door and you see a small orange box with the word UNICEF on it, join in
Step 3. Decorate your home in the spirit of Halloween
You can choose a theme (like a haunted house or a cemetery), or fill it with fake spider webs, witch puppets, etc.
- If you're going to be creating a haunted house, be sure to dim the lights both indoors and out. Make a compilation of scary sounds and cover the entrance with fake cobwebs. If you can, ask someone to wear a vampire costume to attract children.
- If you want to turn your home into a cemetery, put some tombstones and dead flowers in the garden. Add fake crows, hands poking out of the ground, coffins, background screams, and artificial fog.
- Will you hand out the candies? You will have to dress up! You are part of the show, which otherwise won't be complete.
Step 4. Plan a pre-Halloween party
Why bother to decorate the whole house just for one night? As you put some effort into it, plan a party of Halloween games, appetizers, sodas, and music. It doesn't have to be "scary", but you can set up a "horror room" if you like.
- As for games, take a large bucket or barrel and fill the bowl with water and apples to play catch. Tie guests' hands behind their backs before they insert their heads into the water to grab apples with their teeth. If you are wearing makeup, however, better avoid!
- Halloween food decorations get better from year to year. Buy some eyeball-shaped candies to decorate the Red Velvet cupcakes. You can also make witch finger cookies (use sliced almonds for the nails).
- Buy or make dry ice to perfect the witch's cauldron and get the smoke out of the drinks.
- If you want to overdo it, stage a blackout or surprise zombie attack (first, get together with some discreet friends, who won't tell everyone about it). Halloween is a great excuse to fulfill your weirdest fantasies, but don't overdo it.
Step 5. Welcome guests
Make sure everything is ready and pay attention to the bell.
If you run out of candy and you have nothing in the house (and you can't go out and buy anything), turn off the lights so the kids won't waste time knocking on your door
Method 2 of 2: For Kids
Step 1. Buy a new dress every year:
the options are literally hundreds. If you don't find what you want, look for it online: it will arrive in a few days. But first, tell your parents!
If you know how to sew (or your mom is capable), opt for a handmade dress: it will be original and you will save money. Or, use your creativity and make a costume out of what you have in the closet. Do you want to be Katniss Everdeen? Get a green shirt, khaki cargo pants, a bow and arrow. Bruno Mars? Get a felt hat and a microphone. The more accessories you have, the better the final result will be
Step 2. Dig out a pumpkin and make the face you like
- If you want to try something different, think of your carving as a shadow. The back light will illuminate it. The hollowed out part will surround the shape. You can create the shadow of a ghost, a skeleton or a grave.
- Get an adult to help you dig up the pumpkin. The seeds can be roasted, and you can use the pulp to make a risotto!
Step 3. Celebrate with your family and friends
On the other hand, Halloween is not just about jokes and decorations. A night or two earlier, get together with your family and friends to play apple catching and watch a horror movie while eating popcorn and chocolate!
Check if they organize an event in your area. Maybe a haunted house has been opened for the party or a walk in a hay field has been planned among the pumpkins on a nearby farm. Weather permitting, take advantage of it. If you can't, celebrate at home. What matters is having the right spirit
Step 4. Trick or treat?
Put on your costume, meet your friends and go around the houses. But remember to prefer the decorated ones and avoid the ones where you know you won't get anything.
- Carry an envelope, pillow case, or empty pumpkin-shaped plastic bucket to carry the candy from house to house.
- If you live in the US, ask your parents and other people to donate money to help UNICEF. Order the container to collect them here https://www.trickortreatforunicef.org/order (in advance).
- Don't go out alone: do it with a group of friends or with a parent.
Step 5. After the round, eat the candy
But first, make sure they haven't expired. Hard ones can break teeth, so be careful. Avoid ingredients you are allergic to. If in doubt, don't eat.
Someone can give you some small toys; for example, in Lego shops sometimes they give away some pieces
Advice
- Always check your child's candy collection to make sure everything is okay.
- When playing catchy with your guests, make sure no one gets hurt. This isn't the safest or the most hygienic of games.
