It’s hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again. We love everything about fall — the gorgeous weather, cozy hoodies, comfort food, and the seasonal colors — so we’re pretty excited! We also really love Halloween. Every year, we try to find ways to celebrate and have more fun. So, we’re sharing our ideas for 31 days of Halloween activities for adults. We hope you enjoy them!
1. Start a Horror Movie Marathon
Every year, we challenge ourselves to watch one horror movie a day during the month of October. It’s a bit crazy if I’m honest, but with a good strategy, it’s absolutely doable (and so much fun). Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Choose 31 films you want to watch (check out our favorite Korean horror movies and Japanese horror movies!).
- Make a list and include the run times and streaming platforms.
- Watch longer movies for the weekends and shorter movies for weeknights. There are a lot of horror movies that are barely over an hour or 90 minutes, especially older ones!
- Plan to make the movies progressively scarier as the month progresses!
We also really like planning our snacks based on the theme of the movie, which can make it even more fun!
2. Decorate Your Home
One of our favorite Halloween activities is decorating the house! We have little hooks set up for the holiday season so we can hang lights. During October, we use green, orange, and purple string lights and then swap them for Christmas colors in late November!
We don’t want to damage our walls or do anything too labor-intensive, so our favorite Halloween decorations are wall decals. Every year, there are new ones which keeps things from getting boring. We also have Halloween candle holders and an LED jack-o-lantern that we pull out each year. We love dimming the lights and using these for ambiance!
3. Pick Your Costume
When we dress up, we like to find costumes that compliment each other. We also enjoy putting a twist on it! One year, I dressed up as Jon Snow and Josh was Khaleesi. It was pretty hilarious! The whole goal is to have fun, so don’t worry about impressing anyone else. This is all about you!
While we save our actual costumes for Halloween day, we do dress up throughout the month. How? In Halloween pajamas, of course! We love the ones from Old Navy, but we also like these fun t-shirts we found on Etsy.
4. Visit a Pumpkin Patch
We’ve got kids, so we have definitely gone to pumpkin patches as a family. It’s different going as a couple, though. If you can, leave the kids at home (if you have children!) and go as a couple. If the place offers hayrides to the pumpkin patch, snuggle up and hop on board.
5. Do a Scavenger Hunt
Get creative a do a scavenger hunt together. You can stay within your home or take it outside to your backyard, neighborhood, or even your city! There are some great ideas over on The Dating Divas website if you need inspiration!
6. Try New Snacks
When it comes to popcorn, Josh is the KING. He knows exactly how much seasoning and butter it needs, and he adds sweet toppings like M&Ms. We definitely enjoy this treat during movies! We also like chips and sweets, and we’ve found a LOT of our favorites are Korean and Japanese.
This is a great time to expand your snack inventory, so check out the goodies you’ll find through online Asian grocery stores. Then, stock up so you’re ready for movie night!
7. Navigate a Corn Maze
No matter where we live, we always find a corn maze to explore. Back in Alberta, our favorite was the Kraay Family Farm in Lacombe. When we lived in Richmond, VA, we checked out the one at Lloyd Family Farms. Here in Idaho, we absolutely love The Farmstead!
Usually, corn mazes offer a variety of attractions, so be sure to check the website and plan for an adventure. Pro tip: dress warmly, especially if you’re going later in the day. It might take longer to navigate the corn maze than you expect!
8. Carve a Pumpkin
You probably didn’t need a reminder for this one, but we included it just in case! One of our favorite things to do as a couple is to carve pumpkins. We clean the seeds and then throw them in the oven with some oil and sea salt for a movie snack! Take it up to the next level with a friendly competition. You can use stencils and a carving kit to make your Halloween pumpkin extra fancy!
If the idea of using a knife or handling pumpkin guts grosses you out, you could always just decorate one. There are many cool stickers you can use for your jack-o-lantern or you can just use a sharpie!
9. Write a Spooky Tale
Do you love to write? If so, this is among the best Halloween activities for adults. Why? Because you can really get your creative juices flowing and share something personal. Try these Halloween writing prompts to help you get started. You might be amazed by the tales everyone spins!
10. Learn the Origins of Halloween
You celebrate every year, but what do you really know about Halloween? Why not take the time to learn more? You can read a simple book like Why We Celebrate Halloween or watch an informative video like National Geographic’s Halloween History.
11. Discover Halloween Traditions from Around the World
While you’re learning about the origins of Halloween, you might as well discover how it’s celebrated around the world. You could check out this video on YouTube or read the Halloween Around the World article on History.com. It’s really interesting!
12. Brave a Haunted Maze
We’ve already talked about doing corn mazes, but did you know that many locations allow you to walk through them under the moonlight? Even better, some of them even add “haunted” elements to make things extra spooky! Do some Google sleuthing to see what’s available in your area!
13. Make Halloween Cocktails
We’re not big drinkers (Josh doesn’t drink at all), but I do love a good cocktail. The Country Living website has more than 45 Halloween Cocktails and Drinks to inspire your inner mixologist. When I was following a low-carb diet, I found a great collection of keto-friendly cocktails that are perfect for Halloween.
14. Plan a Romantic Halloween Date
Recreate a glamorous masquerade ball for a truly romantic Halloween date. PopSugar has a list of ideas, but be creative and put some effort into it. Dress up in your finest gold mask (with feathers, if you’re fancy!) and evening attire, feast on a truly decadent meal (don’t forget dessert!), and snuggle up on the couch to enjoy a spooky flick. End the night by pampering yourselves with pumpkin skin masks and essential oil aromatherapy.
15. Play Halloween Charades
We love board games in our house, but we feel like they’ve become much less popular these days. If you haven’t played an old-school game in a while, you might be surprised by how much fun they are. We’ll be playing Halloween Charades this year, and I’m hoping it will be as fun as it sounds!
16. Bake Halloween Treats
Halloween is all about the snacks, amirite? Even though my daughter and I don’t follow a keto diet anymore, we can’t handle a lot of sugar. So, we skip the candy and make our own goodies. We really do enjoy these delicious homemade Halloween snacks and we still make these low-carb Halloween treats. For breakfast during the whole month of October, Josh also bakes in a Halloween muffin pan.
17. Do Face Painting
Face painting? That’s for kids! Now, hear me out. When was the last time you did any sort of face painting? It’s been a long time, right? I never did anything like that because of my germaphobia, which is why there’s even more reason to enjoy this as an adult! Grab a Halloween makeup kit with a guide and stencils and get to work. If nothing else, the results will be good for a few laughs!
18. Tell Ghost Stories
When I was a kid, one of the best things about sleepovers was telling ghost stories. The bad thing was that I was so scared that I could barely sleep! As adults, you can share some of your old favorites or pick up a book of ghost stories. Dim the lights and let the fun begin!
19. Make Halloween Slime
This might seem a little silly at first, but isn’t Halloween supposed to be silly anyway? Not every entry on this list of Halloween activities for adults is supposed to take hours or be life-changing. Sometimes, it’s nice to just do something light and fun. Like making this scented Halloween slime. It’ll feel like you’re in science class all over again!
20. Color Together
About 10 years ago, I was working at an insurance company (where I met Josh!) and had a coloring station at my desk. My supervisor told me to put it away. I refused. Then, others copied me and productivity went up — and then I quit 🙂 Anyway, grab a Halloween coloring book for adults and good quality pencil crayons (according to Josh I’m a kookie Canadian because Americans say colored pencils) and color a Sunday afternoon away.
21. Create Halloween Ornaments
Raise your hand if you’ve seen A Nightmare Before Christmas and know that the best song is “This is Halloween!” That’s because the film ingeniously connects the two holidays into one amazing festivity. Spend an evening crafting some Halloween ornaments to hang on your Christmas tree and feel like a true rebel.
22. Play a Silly Game
Something I enjoy about Halloween is that it’s okay to be cheesy. So, why not break out some of the cheesiest games you can find? You could try the Don’t Get Stabbed and Horror Trivia card games or something truly ridiculous like this Inflatable Witch Hat Ring Toss, Pumpkin Darts, or a bean bag toss game.
23. Get Tattooed
My oldest son moved out and within six months showed up with his first tattoo. He loves Halloween, so his bicep now features a ghost holding a skull. It’s pretty cool if I’m honest! Not ready to get permanently inked? Order these great Halloween sheet tattoos!
24. Play a Prank (but keep it nice)
Before we go any further, let me immediately say — PLEASE don’t do anything mean or hurtful to live up to the “trick” in trick-or-treat. Especially during this pandemic, no one needs that! Instead, come up with some silly pranks to play on each other. Keep it light and fun!
25. Recreate Photo Booth Pics
Squeeze in a few minutes of fun, grab some Halloween photo booth props and do a whole photoshoot. Take it to the next level by gathering clothing items and costumes to complete your look!
26. Plan a Spooky Halloween Date
One night when we lived in Virginia, we had dinner in Williamsburg and then explored the surroundings. There are so many ghost tours you can join (search for something local!), but just walking around the historic areas is plenty spooky at night. Staying at home? Make “scary food” like Mummy Dogs, Monster Meat Loaf, or Witch Finger Cookies, and then head to the couch for a good horror movie.
27. Break Out a Board Game
We’ve already mentioned a few games, but you can also break out classic board games for a night of fun. You can gather some Halloween treats to eat while you play and put a spooky spin on the fun. For example, if you play Scrabble, try to only use words that are associated with Halloween!
28. Play Truth or Dare
Truth or Dare is one of the best Halloween activities for adults. You can easily find printables to help you come up with questions and dares. A word of caution — don’t ask for any “truths” that you don’t really want to hear.
29. Check Out the Neighborhood
Is your neighborhood lit up for Halloween? Some cities and communities even have decorating contests these days. You could go out for a stroll and see what you find, or you can search online for local maps to the best Halloween decorations in your area (here’s one from Boise)!
30. Face Your Fears
What are you scared of? I’ll readily admit that I don’t love being in the pitch-black darkness or spiders. Ever since I started overcoming fear on roller coasters, I’ve used similar strategies to slowly face other fears. Get a partner you trust who can help you feel safe as you work through your anxiety. Stand in front of a clown, hold a spider, or sit in the dark for 30 seconds. Did you survive? Try for a minute. Don’t push yourself too far, but gradually facing your fears can be liberating!
31. Indulge and Have Fun!
On Halloween night, let loose and enjoy yourself. Eat the treats, have the drink (responsibly!), watch the movie, and wear the costume. Indulge and let go of your inhibitions even if it’s just for a few hours. If we’ve learned anything during the pandemic, it’s that life is short. HAVE FUN!!!
