Let's get this (remote) party started.
You've heard it a million times by now, but things are going to look a little different this year, and Halloween is no exception. While people have suggested ways to trick or treat from a safe distance, there definitely won't be any in person Halloween parties – but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate with your friends. Here are some ideas for hosting fun Halloween themed events over Zoom (or another similar app).
Part One: Activities
There's a lot of things you can do remotely. Of course, there's only one Halloween per year but that doesn't mean you need to limit yourself to only celebrating for one day or with one group of people. Maybe you want to do multiple activities, maybe you want to do the same activity with different groups of people on different days, maybe you want to do the same activity with the same people multiple times – it's up to you.
One easy activity to do remotely is to use Netflix party to watch a movie together. Maybe you want to watch a horror movie like A Quiet Place, or marathon every Halloween episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine. Either way, you can get cozy, get spooky, and enjoy watching together.
If that doesn't feel Halloween-y enough for you, maybe you want to have a pumpkin carving contest over video call. You can chat while you carve your pumpkins, and you can each hold them up to the camera at the end. You could even issue each other pumpkin carving challenges, like having to carve pumpkins of each others' faces.
You could also do some Halloween-themed online games together, whether that means playing horror games, or doing a Halloween themed round of a game like skribbl.io. You could also do Halloween themed trivia, and set up some sort of prize system, like the loser has to order a pizza to be delivered to the winner.
Part Two: Food and Drinks
One nice thing about doing things virtually is you can choose what food you want – and you only have to provide enough for you. Maybe you want to virtually "meet for coffee" and each drink your own favourite Fall drink. Maybe you want to buy a bag of your favourite Halloween candy and eat to your heart's content.
If you're having drinks or a meal during a video call, it might be fun to swap recipes. You could put together a "menu" for the night where you provide instructions for how to make different food and drinks – like a spooky cocktail night where you make Zombies, Bloody Marys, and Haunted Graveyards (It's not like you're going to be driving home afterwards!). You could even make said food and drinks together while on the call.
If you're not too far away from the people you're spending remote Halloween with, you could even (safely) drop off some food in advance; it might be too much for you to eat a whole batch of Halloween cookies by yourself, but they make cute gifts for your friends. Or, if you want to be extra careful, you could drop off some wrapped candy to ensure there's no risk. You could even accompany the gift with a Halloween card!
Part Three: Atmosphere
Break out that Halloween playlist – you've got to set the tone for your spooky celebration. Being on a call means you can pick between everyone choosing their own music, or one person streaming music for everyone to listen to – and regardless of which way you go, the neighbours are less likely to complain.
You might want to put up Halloween decorations – or you might just have them up anyways – but if you prefer not too, or you don't think decorations alone are spooky enough, you can always use a Halloween themed Zoom background. You could even use a background that corresponds with your costume; for instance, if you were dressed as a movie character, you could use a background from that movie.
You may or may not want to wear a Halloween costume on the call, depending what activity you're doing. If you do wear a costume, just make sure it's something that still makes sense when people can only see you from the shoulders up!
What are your Halloween plans for this year? How are you going to keep your Halloween safe and spooky? Let me know in the comments!
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