9 Things to Do on Halloween (Besides Trick-or-Treating!)

It’s beginning to look a lot like spooky season, and you know what that means: trick-or-treating! But what if you’re too old to go trick-or-treating, you don’t have kids to take trick-or-treating as an excuse, or you’re not into the idea of trudging through the cold, early fall darkness trying to get a bag of candy?

Not trick-or-treating sounds kind of boring, honestly, but if that’s how you’ve decided to live your life, we’re not going to stand in your way. As a matter of fact, we’re gonna help you have a great night. Here are nine things to do to celebrate Halloween besides trick-or-treating!

Wake Up, Pumpkin!

Start October 31st off right with festive foods like pumpkin, sausage, and hashbrown hash, pumpkin pancakes (flavored with pumpkin or shaped like pumpkins—or both!), or a Jack-o’-lantern face made from fried eggs and bacon. Don’t forget to serve with a warm mug of spiced cider. Or a pumpkin spice latte, if you’re spooky. And speaking of pumpkins, you can’t forget pumpkin carving.

Go Apple Picking

If you’re lucky enough to live near a working apple farm, find out about taking a tour or going apple picking. Apples are a tart and sweet treat that also contain healthful fiber, along with lots of vitamins and minerals—just think of apples like a calorie-offset for all the other treats you’ll be indulging in throughout the rest of the year.

Get a big haul and you’ll be looking forward to all the apple pies, apple butter, apple sauce, caramel apples, and other delicious apple dishes in your future!

Jump in Some Leaves!

Fall leaves are at least half the fun of fall (and the other half is Halloween; that’s just a reality). You can walk around a local park and simply witness the gorgeous foliage, you can collect especially bright or unique specimens, or you can fall into a leaf pile and suddenly remember that leaves smell just like the Halloween season!

Strike a Pose

What better time to take a picture for the family Christmas card than when your children are dressed like superheroes, your partner is a werewolf, and you’re a zombie? Okay, maybe don’t go that far, but definitely don’t miss out on one of the best days to take a selfie for the ‘gram—and some pictures of the kids for their ‘grams! 

Bonus points if you can get to a fun photo destination like a haunted farm, a hayride, a pumpkin patch, that one neighborhood house that always goes so much harder with the decorations than they have to (you know the one), or any other on-theme situation you happen to find yourself in!

Themed Snacks and Drinks

You can make any snack fit the villainous vibe if you’re creative enough! Turn breadsticks into witch fingers by adding almond-slice fingernails. Magically transform a cheddar cheese ball into a Jack-o’-lantern by adding black olive slices to make the face and a slice of green pepper for a stem. Swap out your usual crescent roll hotdogs for mummy dogs (wrapped with strips of phyllo dough).

Halloween-themed drink recipes can be found to match any flavor profile or spirit (see what we did there?). If you’re looking for something fancy, try Death in the Afternoon—that’s 1 shot of absinthe in a champagne glass, topped with champagne or prosecco. If you want something more accessible but still on theme, try any of the delicious pumpkin beers or hard apple ciders made in limited batches for fall.

Have a Fall Picnic

A good picnic can be downright magical, and depending on how the weather shakes out this year, Halloween might be the last good fall day for a picnic. Take advantage of the lingering afternoon sunlight by packing up some hearty bread, soft cheese, seasonal fruits, and a bottle of sparkling cider, along with a cozy blanket and your favorite people! 

Too chilly for a basket of deconstructed charcuterie and chilled fizzy drink? Pack up your thermoses with hot soup and something warm to sip on instead.

Prepare for PSLs

Never worry about being without your pumpkin spice latte fix by making a batch of PSL syrup at home! 

Start like you’re making a traditional simple syrup (1 part water, 1 part sugar, heat on the stove until it reduces to the right consistency), but use brown sugar instead of white sugar. Then, add a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and a teaspoon of vanilla extract after the sugar has dissolved. 

Simmer down until the mixture reduces to a syrup consistency, then strain into a storage container. 

Once cool, the syrup is good for about a month and should be stored in the refrigerator.

Check Out Neighborhood Decorations

Driving around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights is a tradition for a lot of families, and we think this needs to become a thing for Halloween too! Watch for cool decorations leading up to the day, make a note of where the best-decorated houses are, and plan your route in advance.

Remember there could be a lot of wandering trick-or-treaters on the night, so plan to keep an eye out or go later in the evening after trick-or-treating winds down. If you live in a neighborhood where everyone is in the spirit (first: jealous!), maybe skip the car and go on foot instead.

Throw a Party

Whether you’re hosting a small, cozy gathering to watch horror movies with your friends or participating in a family-friendly block party spooktacular around the neighborhood, Halloween festivities are for everyone. Dressed up or dressed down, introvert or extrovert, old-school gore fan, or just here for the candy corn, make the holiday your own and celebrate it in the most fun way you know how!

If you’re feeling extra spooky, you can dress up your Cornhole board for the occasion with a personalized Cornhole board vinyl wrap to bring your old board back to life—or go all-out with a custom Cornhole board made to match your haunted house! Simply fill out our custom design request form, and our digital artist will get to work on your design.