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Sian Victoria © - Harley Quinn Suicide Squad makeup look

Ways to Celebrate Halloween at home

The spine-chilling news of lockdown doesn’t mean Halloween is cancelled. There’s plenty of fun ways to celebrate the traditional holiday over a ghostly weekend.

So, I’ve put together a list of activities to do at home that can still be enjoyed with friends and family in a Spooktacular way that can bring everyone together, but virtually during a head to head cake off or a Glamoween face off. Plus, a few recipes to try and thing’s to do.

Weirdly two Halloweens ago, I recommended how to create a cosy Halloween night at home. So, this post is a virtual upgrade on how to spend the Halloween weekend during lockdown or quarantine without missing out on all the hair-raising shenanigans.

1. Serve up a Chocula bowl of breakfast to crunch your fangs

Sian Victoria © - Cereal Killer Cafe bowls of chocolate

From the inspiration of one of my favourite places to go for breakfast when I was feeling a little naughty and sweet-toothed before gruelling university lecturers was a visit to the nostalgic Cereal Killer Café.

So as a flashback to your childhood. Put together a Chocula bowl of cereal mixed with all your favourite sweet-tooth decaying treats to crunch your fangs on. But be sure to floss your gnashers to prevent a ghastly visit from the horrid tooth fairy.

2. Wrap up cosy for a chilling walk

Sian Victoria © - West Midlands nature reserve

In search of rainbows this early fall, dress up cosy and head out for a chilly walk to a local nature reserve to use up that sudden boost of sugar-filled energy you may have.

Getting outdoors to admire the crisp orange leaves falling does wonders for your mental health especially at a time when we are spending most of our time indoors.

So, grab your witching boots and cape and head out for a refreshing walk. You’ll soon look forward to getting back home for a cosy night in.

3. Make a hearty autumnal inspired lunch

Sian Victoria © - Halloween inspired pumpkin soup

Make use of the delicious seasonal vegetables available and serve up a hearty autumnal inspired lunch with this recipe.

To make this pumpkin soup chop up and blend one large onion, two carrots, two garlic cloves, 25g of unsalted butter, 2tbsp of olive oil and a medium deseeded pumpkin with a medium potato and 1 litre of vegetable stock.

Cook on the hob till its bubbling like a cauldron and sprinkle with seeds and a web of double cream. Accompany with a rustic loaf to dip.

4. Decorate the home to make it cosy yet spooky

Sian Victoria © - Cosy autumnal decorations

Skip buying the plastic decorations this year and re-use what you have from previous years. Nobody can visit, so who do you need to impress? Instead, get crafty and make sustainable decorations or simply add cosy autumnal vibes to the room you’ll be spending the most time in over the spooky weekend.

I like to fill my room with a variety of unusual looking pumpkins, scented candles and fairy lights to create a homely environment with plenty of pillows and throws to get snug while binge-watching horrors.

The best thing is I can then cook my decorations of surplus pumpkins to prevent them going to landfill. It’s frightening to hear that over 18,000 tons of pumpkins go to landfill every year in the UK alone and those statistics don’t include the single-use plastic trash caused by the seasonal holiday either.

So, this year be mindful of what you buy and remember there’s 100’s of pumpkin and butternut squash recipes to try and any leftovers are perfect for the compost bin.

5. Have a virtual Spooktacular Bake off

Sian Victoria © - Camp Coffee cake and iced drink

This coffee cake is not thrilling I know, but making a Halloween inspired cake is something I’ve not done yet despite loving to bake. So, since I’ll be spending the Halloween weekend at home this year, I have no excuses to not be whipping up something Spooktacular.

To share the experience with others, it would be fun to go virtually head to head with friends and family or to crank it up a notch encourage your social media friends to join in too.

Either decide in advance which recipe you’ll all be doing, and everyone cakes off at the same time and then shares their finished masterpiece (or disaster) so that the best can be voted on. Or everyone does a different spooky bake and the most creative idea wins. For the losers, there could be an element of virtual trick or treat.

This could also be where you experiment with pumpkin desserts by mixing up a creamy spiced pumpkin latte cake, pumpkin pie, salted caramel or a sticky toffee pumpkin cake. The recipes are endless.

6. Ghoulish Virtual face off

Sian Victoria © - Make Up For Ever Halloween MUA looks

If you love experimenting with makeup and feel like you are going to miss out on dressing up this year. Then organising a ghoulish virtual face-off with friends, family and your online audience could be the perfect solution to fulfil your creative juices.

Similarly, to the cake off, you could plan a look you want to re-create and compete to see who pulls the best hat trick. Or if you don’t fancy turning up to the virtual party with the same look as everyone else. Create your spooky look and have everyone vote for the best terrifying makeover.

For inspiration, you may want to check out my Debsglamoween beauty post.

7. Give food a Halloween makeover

Sian Victoria © - Halloween inspired food stuffed peppers

If getting creative in the kitchen is more your trick, than why not treat yourself to the bewitching task of sprinkling a little hocus pocus on food to give it a Halloween inspired makeover.

Regardless of the season, I’ve always enjoyed cooking stuffed peppers. But to simply give them a Spooktacular makeover you can turn them into a Jack-O'-Lantern by carving out a face. Or to mummify a homemade sausage roll wrap around the pastry leaving gaps and add two blobs on the vegan sausage for the mummy’s eyes and dip into a pot of bloody ketchup.

Something that a friend did for me last year was whipped up angel delight in a tray layered with broken Oreos and gelatin-free wiggly worm sweets.

8. Create fangalicious care packages

Sian Victoria © - Cadbury Goo Heads chocolate

Talking of sweets, Halloween isn’t complete without a horrifyingly calorific stash of chocolate treats for yourself and the trickle-treaters. But this year especially (if allowed) we should spread the joy of the season by creating spooky care packages for friends, family or neighbours.

You don’t want your elderly neighbours dropping their fangs, so the themed care packages don’t have to be full of tempting treats. Instead, sharing slices of pumpkin pie or hearty pumpkin soup could be a lovely gesture for those who may be alone and not celebrating.

9. Get Crafty

Sian Victoria © - Diy home craft inspirational moodboard

To encourage a little time away from our digital devices, think of something crafty you would like to make. For me, I wanted to make use of some left-over metal mesh from a garden DIY. So, I created this inspirational mood board to display photos of my favourite memories on the wall. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of happier times, which I feel is important to hold on to right now so I can look forward to making new adventure memories in safer times ahead.

Being sustainable in everything we do from now is vital. So, bare that in mind when getting crafty. Maybe you have leftover glass jars you could re-purpose or unwanted material that you could make ghoulish face coverings with or patch quilts from to keep you and your family safe and warm over the next few chilly months. That way it’s not just fun for Halloween, but useful for the feasible future too.

10. Dish up a yummilicious feast

Sian Victoria © - Old El Paso Fajita Kit Smoky BBQ wraps

You’ve made fangalicious desserts and snacks. So, what delicious meal will you be feasting on to settle down for the evening?

Maybe you’ve spent enough time in the kitchen and would prefer to support your local eateries by ordering food and drink to the house. Or give it a house party vibe by serving up buffet food to get your fangs into throughout the evening.

Either way at least this year you won’t have the haunting task of cleaning up after a house party and all the best buffet foods won’t mysteriously disappear as they’ll all be for you and your special bubble.

11. Mix up a chilling cocktail

Sian Victoria © - Halloween cocktails with Kahlua and Olmeca

To get horror night well and truly started. Serve chilling cocktails for your intimate house party. A favourite of mine is the Kahlua Mexi Margarita. To make your own, shake and double strain 50ml of Olmeca Reposado, 25ml of Freshly squeezed lime juice, 25ml of Kahlua and 10ml of Agave syrup.

If Tequila isn’t your thing, swap it for Vodka and make an Espresso Martini with Kahlua Coffee Liqueur and Espresso shaken with ice.

Or skip the alcohol and make it a mocktail with a Halloween-inspired punch so that you can involve your little monsters too. Make a bowl of dragon blood by mixing cranberry juice and lemonade with spooky gelatin-free sweets thrown in.

12. Find horrifying movies or a series to watch

Sian Victoria © - Watching The End of the F***ing World series

When it comes to finding a horror movie or series to watch, search in advance so that you’re not wasting your Halloween night scrolling from the hundreds of options to choose from on media services like Netflix.

Over the Halloween weekend, I like to start by watching an old Halloween classic from the ’90s (yup, I’m a nineteen-nineties baby) and then move to the frightening new releases. Although I do recommend watching creepy low-budget horrors that never made it to cinema as they can be both terrifying and hilarious.

13. Read a gripping novel

Sian Victoria © - Reading Home novel book by Harlan Coben

Putting away the digital devices and getting into bed with a gripping new novel to read is the perfect way to escape for an hour or two in the evenings to help you feel rested and relaxed. Although if it’s a spine-tingling read it may just have you on the edge of your seat not wanting to close your eyes.

To conclude

So, there you go. Thirteen ways for you to enjoy Halloween at home safely during lockdown that should hopefully curb away any FOMO you may have. But remember, everyone’s in the same crib so let's make the most of it and have some Spooktacular fun at home.

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