Are you looking for some fun new ways to celebrate Halloween with your kids this year? How about a neighborhood contest? Costume contests are just one of the many options to get everyone in the spirit. Read on to see if one of these wicked ideas grabs you!
Craziest costume - Pass out flyers inviting neighborhood families to meet at your house an hour before trick-or-treating begins. Give everyone a name tag when they arrive. Then have everyone fill out a voting slip for their picks for best costume, scariest, funniest, most creative, etc. Hand out a special prize to the winners of each category. And don’t forget a small consolation prize for everyone who participates in the costume contest.
Most ghoulish front yard - Invite your neighborhood to join in a decorating contest. You could have a few categories such as the scariest, cutest, silliest, and best overall. Set a decorating deadline for October 21. Provide delivery instructions on the flier so every house in the neighborhood can vote for the addresses they like best. Also, mention on the flier that neighbors should view all of the houses after October 21 and deliver their votes to you by a specified date. Ask some of the participating neighbors to help you make up fun ‘Scariest House’ and other signs for the categories, and then post them in the yards of the winning homes.
Funniest carved pumpkin - Ask the neighborhood to join you in a carved pumpkin contest. You can schedule a date and time when everyone will meet with their pumpkins either at your home or a neighborhood park. Suggest everyone who participates pitch in $2 per pumpkin for a jackpot. To keep it fair, allow only one pumpkin per child. Prepare numbered cards in advance so each pumpkin will have its own number, and then have everyone fill out a voting slip. The carver of the winning pumpkin gets the jackpot. You could also pass out small goodie bags for all the kids who participate in the contest.
Funniest Halloween game - Hand out fliers to everyone in the neighborhood or on your street to hold a Halloween game day. Ask each participating house
to set up a Halloween kids game in their front yard. Participating houses can give out small prizes such as stickers or treats to the kids. Kids can wander the neighborhood playing the games for the afternoon. When they’re done, have each child fill out a ballot for the funniest Halloween game, and then post a fun homemade sign in the front yard of the winner.
Scariest scarecrow - Ask your neighbors to participate in a scariest scarecrow contest. To keep the scarecrows safe until voting, set a specific day when the scarecrows should be displayed in everyone’s front yards. Have everyone in the neighborhood, whether they participate by making a scarecrow or not, hand-deliver their vote to you by the end of the day that the scarecrows are set out, and then deliver a fun homemade yard sign to the winning home.
Creepiest food - Hold a simple neighborhood potluck Halloween party. Each participating family should be instructed to bring a Halloween-themed food or dessert. Place a numbered card next to each dish, then have everyone fill out a ballot for the cutest, grossest, funniest, and scariest food. Once the winners are announced, take photos of the families next to their creepy food. Afterward, everyone can dig in and eat the yummy dishes and treats!
Kimberly is the author of a children’s STEM book, Horoscopes: Reality or Trickery? containing fun experiments to help kids understand the scientific method and develop critical-thinking skills.
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