Life Hackery

It’s Halloween again, and you’re excited to hang out with your friends and start spooking everyone out. Even so, wouldn’t it be nice if you can spend this creepy season with your family instead? Many families today have plenty of traditions to make their Halloween festive and exciting. You have to admit, though, that parties and trick-or-treating are starting to get old. Don’t worry; here are five unique, but simple family Halloween ideas that will surely bring lots of excitement to your home.

The Frightful Family Portrait

So everyone in your family loves to camwhore. If this is the case, then this idea is certainly for you. Have everyone dress up in their scariest and most creative costumes , then prepare a space in your home for the scary background (you can hang fake cobwebs and spiders). Set up a camera on a tripod, then ask everyone to come up with their scariest face when the camera flashes. Enlarge the photo, frame it, then hang it up somewhere your guests will see, such as above the fireplace or in the dining room. As the tradition continues every year, you’ll have plenty of scary family portraits to display.

You can even come up with unified costumes for the photo. Some ideas are:

• The Addams Family
• The Munsters
• Zombie Family

Welcome a New Creepy Family Member

If you’ve been celebrating a Halloween family tradition the same way and with the same folks every year, it can get boring easily. Chances are you’d like to bring someone in your circle, and make him/her join in the festive fun. Here’s a cool way to do this: create your own spooky family member. It can be anything (or anyone) you like, and should be assembled with simple craft items. Want to have a ghostly white lady in your place? Get an old sheet, a mask with long hair and a coat stand, and you’ll have one standing at your doorway. Maybe you want to have Mr. Pumpkin head; no problem, just make a jack-o-lantern, and dress him up in black sheets.

To make your new family member creepier/weirder, take him/her all around the house. Let him/her stand in a corner when you’re having your Halloween dinner, or sit beside you as you watch a scary Halloween flick. You can even create a “history” for your new friend. The possibilities are endless. Just don’t take him out of the house, or people will start to think you’re crazy.

Prepare a Foreign Halloween dish

Munching on the same treats and dishes every Halloween can get tiresome, especially if you prepare them every year. If you want to add a new twist to your annual family Halloween dinner, one awesome idea is to prepare a special, foreign Halloween dish.

Here’s one example you can try this year: Colcannon. It comes from Ireland, and although made simply with potatoes, cabbage and butter, has an interesting superstition behind it. It’s said that unmarried women should put the first and last spoonful of Concalnnon in a stocking, and hang it on their door. The first man to enter the door will become their husband. Another version is, a ring is hidden in the Colcannon, and whoever finds it will be married the following year. (Or you can try a snack mix for halloween, read how to make a Halloween snack mix)

The superstitions may not be true, but at least you will delight your family with these interesting tales, and fill their tummies with this unique dish. Here’s a helpful recipe for Colcannon.

Let the Family Pet Join the Fun, Too

Amidst all the busy Halloween preparations, you’re probably forgetting an important member of your family: why, your darling pet of course! Join them in all the Halloween excitement, by dressing them up in cute/scary/creepy costumes. There are many costumes made for pets in stores today or you can create one using simple materials. Just make sure the costume doesn’t irritate or harm your darling pet, or they’ll only become restless.

To the Forest You Will Go

Forests have always been included in Halloween stories, because of the dark creatures they hold. You never know what monsters and supernatural beings lurk in it. This year, bring your family to the great and scary outdoors. Go camping in a nearby forest, and have a great time scaring each other out. Just don’t forget to bundle up because it can be very cold at this season. Here are fun ideas you can do in the forest:

• Go on a nature walk. Collect rocks, leaves and pinecones that you can use for making Halloween decors at home.
• Tell chilling Halloween stories around a campfire.
• Have a pumpkin-carving contest. (Learn how to carve a pumpkin)
• Play a Halloween prank. You can pretend to be a ghost and scare the other campers as they sleep in their tents.

Spending Halloween at home is never boring! With these exciting and spooky ideas, the whole family will certainly enjoy this festive and chilling season. Have fun!