Seven Ways to Bring Your Neighbors Together this Halloween
Halloween is the one holiday that often comes without the pressure of having to host a large family get-together or a lot of other hocus-pocus. Use this as an opportunity to get to know your neighbors and create new spooktacular traditions together!
Looking for a fun way to get to know your neighbors? Halloween is the perfect holiday to Join Up Neighbors Everywhere (see what we did there?;) and create a fun, family-friendly celebration your little ghosts and goblins are sure to remember.
Here are six ways to bring your neighbors together to create a spooktacular and safe Halloween celebration.
Coordinate a Neighborhood Trunk or Treat
Live in a rural community or on a street where the homes are fairly spread out? If you have little ghouls, hosting a neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat can save their feet and allow children to “trick or treat” in a safe environment. The premise is simple: invite other parents and neighbors to gather together (either in a cul-de-sac, nearby parking lot or on a designated street block), and deck out your car trunks with Halloween decorations, play Halloween music and let your kids meander from car to car, collecting candy at each stop. To add a fun challenge, pick up a few prizes and ask attendees to vote on the best decorated cars for prizes.
BOO Your Neighbors
Have you ever been BOOed before? It’s a fun way to spread cheer around Halloween, and you can involve your kids every step of the way. Booing is a fun Halloween tradition where you secretly place a gift on your neighbors' porch for them to find, along with a note telling them they have been “booed.” We started this tradition in our neighborhood during the pandemic, and the kids enjoyed it so much, it has continued on.
Here’s how it works: Pick up Halloween gift bags or buckets and the kids fill them up with treats, stickers, coloring books, temporary tattoos, bubbles, books, Dracula teeth, glow sticks, etc… (I like to raid the $1 section of Target)along with an anonymous note telling your neighbor they’ve been “booed” and instructions for how to pass it on. You also can find “you’ve been booed” kits at Target or Michaels. At a time when your neighbors aren’t around or near the front door, have your kids leave the bag of treats on the doorstep. You can ring the doorbell, just make sure to run so they don’t see you! (That is the part my kids enjoy the most :)
Spooky Scavenger Hunt
A fun alternative to trick or treating is to host a spooky scavenger hunt in your neighborhood. With Halloween almost here, one option is to host a pumpkin scavenger hunt and head out into your neighborhood to see what fun pumpkins you can find. We love this free pumpkin scavenger hunt printable from kidsactivities.com. Or, if you want a more challenging Halloween scavenger hunt for kids and adults, check out this printable: Neighborhood Halloween Scavenger Hunt. Whichever one you choose, you can share it and announce the scavenger hunt in your neighborhood Nextdoor or Facebook group so everyone can get in on the fun!
Neighborhood Halloween Decoration Contest
Who doesn’t love a little ghostly competition from time to time? If your neighborhood gets into the spirit of Halloween, hosting a decoration contest could up the stakes a bit. Create ballots for the “most spooky,” “most creative” “best candy” and “best decorated” houses. Hand them out to your neighbors and have everyone vote for the winners, who can receive anything from a bottle of wine or a yard sign for bragging rights.
Block Party Potluck
Halloween is the one holiday that often comes without the pressure of a lot of hocus-pocus, or having to host a large family get together. If this is true for you, use this as an opportunity to host a neighborhood get together instead. Hand out flyers to your neighbors, or post at a community mailbox and invite everyone to participate in a potluck/block party. Invite neighbors to contribute an appetizer, main dish, side or dessert to share. Plan the potluck for an hour or two before dark, and invite everyone to bring folding chairs and tables; and then head out trick or treating together. This is a great way to break the ice and get to know your neighbors.
Costume Parade
Since you never know if the Halloween costumes will make it back in one piece, line up the kids before heading out trick-or-treating for a spooky Halloween parade, before the witching hour. Nominate 1-2 children to be the line leaders and have all the other kids follow the leader, past all the driveways on your street. Put on festive music and allow parents to get the perfect photo op of the little pumpkins before dark.
Host a Halloween Outdoor Movie
Since we are fortunate to live in California, we take advantage of the mild October temperatures and host an outdoor movie on Halloween. Depending on the ages of the kids in your neighborhood, you can host a movie night leading up the holiday, or after trick-or-treating for a ghastly good time. We bought an outdoor movie projector on Amazon and project a spooky movie on our garage door for all the neighbors. It’s a great way for the kids to rest their legs after trick or treating, and check out all the candy they collected and swap with their friends, while the parents can get to know one another and recap the night’s adventures.
No matter how you celebrate, we wish you and your family a spooktacular and safe Halloween!
