10 Best Ways To Celebrate Halloween At Home

With Halloween approaching, not all of us can afford to celebrate outside and attend wild parties and gatherings. Not with restrictions out and the mandatory COVID passes that not everyone can get on time.

If you're a clubber like me then instead of your usual routine, you're probably going to end up celebrating either on your own or with friends. But you can't go trick or treat (and not only because you're an adult) because of safety precautions as well.

During these unpredictable times and with the increased cases of spiking, not everybody will feel safe mingling with strangers. But that doesn't mean you can't have a fun Halloween experience.

There are plenty of ways you can celebrate at home, so here are some of your options.

1. Dress up in your Halloween costume

Even if you won't go out, putting on your costume is going to bring an extra festive feeling. You might think it's just a costume so it doesn't play a big role.

But here's a question I'm going to ask you: will you celebrate Christmas this year without a Christmas tree?  Yes, no? See the point I'm making? Yes, no?

When you put extra effort into making the symbolic representation of a holiday then it actually feels like a holiday. So putting on a costume will make you feel extra festive and spooky.

I'm dressing up as a pirate this year (just like any other year, but hey this isn't about me). Maybe make a little competition between your friends on who has the spookiest outfit? The point is if you put on a costume on Halloween you'll subconsciously think that your celebration has gained extra oomph to it.

2. Choose a theme to decorate your home

Same point as above. Decorating your home will bring an extra festive feeling that'll make your day actually feel like Halloween and not your average day.

If you want to really spice things up, make the decorations niche. You can go for zombie, vampire, or a pirate theme (I don't care if you've figured out I have an addiction, Bob).

I'm going for the pirate theme decor this year because my addiction- I mean, dedication is strong. But you can also buy plenty of decor on eBay or Amazon.

Or even head to Poundland or Sainsbury's, they're bound to have plenty of offers. Just remember to add decor to every room, not just one simple slap of fake blood on a door.

3. Spooky Movie night

If you're going to stay in with friends or on your own then you might want to amuse yourself with a couple of horror movies. So, before you start your movie night play some scary music to get in the mood, and once you're ready dim your lights, grab your snacks and play your film.

Netflix has plenty of selections and surely you won't be disappointed in the offers they have. You can either go full-on scary Halloween movies or you can choose a comedy horror film. Those can guarantee a fun night.

Not sure which films to play? Head over to my other article where I give you some decent Halloween movie recommendations. I promise you won't be disappointed.

4. Ouija board

Surely you've heard of the Ouija board either from a friend or as a reference in a movie. The point of this game is to be able to communicate with the dead.

You're not supposed to play it alone because that will have serious consequences for you and you might end up getting haunted by the spirit you were so eagerly talking to earlier. Or so the stories say.

Your local toy or board game shop should have an Ouija board, especially during this season. But Amazon's next-day delivery is also a great option if you want to get an Ouija board.

Hey, here's advice from yours truly, take this to the next step. Play it on your own. Go on, you brave heroic rebel, you know you want to. I know you want to.

5. Ghost stories

Horror stories are a crucial part of celebrating Halloween. Sometimes they're in a form of a movie and sometimes you tell them verbally to each other.

Do you know the story of Samhain? The origins of Halloween? Maybe you could impress your friends by talking about that if they're not as educated about this holiday as you are.

But surely you have a couple of paranormal experiences that you or your loved ones may have gone through. Maybe some odd flickers you've seen, suspicious lights or scary shadows?

Sometimes when you dim your lights and surround yourself with candles scary stories can be more chilling than a horror film. A movie you can turn off and forget. But the stories can stick a long long while.

6. Snacks, snacks, snacks

Halloween is one of the holidays where you can gorge on food and not feel guilty. Honestly, just think of your options.

Candy corn, candied apples, apple bread, pumpkin pies, marshmallows... do I need to name more? Or are you drooling already?

Without snacks, Halloween becomes just another boring day. How are you going to enjoy your movie night without something to snack on?

Besides, you have to have some sweets available for trick-or-treaters. But even if you're going to celebrate alone and not go out anywhere surely you'd like to have a treat.

What's a more festive way to enjoy Halloween food when your cookies are shaped like spiders or ghosts? Adds a bit of excitement. That actually reminds me I need to buy some candy corn. 

7. Themed music stays on

I keep bringing this point up time and time again: make it a festive atmosphere. Make it feel as if you're actually celebrating Halloween and not just spending another day.

Themed music can do wonders for announcing that today is a special day and needs to be celebrated. Head to YouTube and type in "Halloween music" you'll be hit with a ton of options that you can either compile into a playlist.

Or even have playlist options that are already prepared for you. Just press that play button and enjoy.

Whether you want to make the songs themed or have general Halloween music playing you'll be able to pick your options. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter, you'll still have a good time as long as the music stays on.

8. Scary graphic novels

Doesn't matter whether it's your regular comic or a manga/manhwa. You know full well there are some creepy graphic novels out there, don't deny it.

Whether you decide to read Michael Myers comic books or even Killing Stalking I'm sure you'll have a fun time. So turn on some creepy music and start turning those pages.

You can make it into a competition with your friends who can read out the pages most engagingly and become the next voice actor. Or you can even sketch up your own comic page and see who came up with the scariest story. Bonus points if your art style stands out!

You can still read some comics on your own, just look up the scariest graphic novels that you can read online and you'll be met with tons of options.

9. Summon a ghost

Ghosts, spirits, demons, in-laws, doesn't matter what you're summoning, just make sure it's scary. There are more ways than one to summon a ghost.

Ouija boards aren't your only options to do this, neither is chanting "Bloody Mary" at the mirror. You can use other planchettes or even draw a pentagram to summon whatever may be resting at the other end of life.

Many spirit-summoning incantations include lighting a candle and repeating a phrase. Now, I'm not going to include specific ways to do this as there's a certain risk posed here.

When people have done this they've only wanted to have some fun, but in the end, summoning a ghost has turned out to be very costly for them. In certain cases, pastors and nuns had to be involved and it was rather difficult to get rid of the spirits.

If you truly want to summon an unholy spirit, the risk is on you and you have to do the appropriate research, my friend. I'm not having your death/haunting/what-have-you on my hands. Happy summoning.

10. Cocktails

The trick here is to use lots of food colouring and dry ice. Trust me on this one, not only will it taste great but with all the smoke it'll produce it'll be a unique decoration in your home. Will make the place feel extra spooky and mysterious.

If alcohol isn't your thing, that's fine! You can actually come up with more creative non-alcoholic drinks.

Other than buying blood bags and pouring your drinks inside you can put your drinks in syringes or put jelly eyeballs in. Or even better. Combine all the advice above.

A non-alcoholic Halloween cocktail in a blood bag with jelly eyeballs inside that's smoking because of dry ice. The best part about using a blood bag instead of a glass?

You can carry it around with you, no matter where you go and you can screw it shut when you're not drinking. That way no creep can slip a questionable pill inside.

I hope these suggestions helped with finding some ways to have a fun Halloween night in. I'll definitely be purchasing some dry ice because I live for smokey cocktails. Happy Halloween and stay safe, wherever you'll decide to party!