Halloween gives kids a chance to become the character they like. This is why kids who experienced prepandemic trick-or-treating still want to dress up in costumes even when events have migrated online.
You can easily host your own party if you don’t want to join big parties online. This also allows your children to spend time with friends and family they haven’t seen for a long time.
Here are tips on how to host your own Halloween affair this weekend.
Set your online meeting schedule ahead of time. This way, you’ll get your link in advance and you can send it out the day before. If you’ll use the Zoom app, you can instruct coparents to rejoin using the same link if your allotted free time is up.
Study the settings of your chosen app. Most of us know by now how to attend Zoom or Google Meetings. However, hosting needs another skill set. You have to know how to do tasks such as turning the spotlight on another participant and sharing the sound with the video when you share a screen.
Ask coparents to share photos and videos of their kids wearing costumes in advance. Collate all their photos and videos. You can use the free option of Canva for this. Children like to be acknowledged. There is a sense of pride when they see themselves on screen. This also allows participants with limited space to show off their costumes during the party.
Incorporate storytelling. You can use books or a story to set the tone of the next activity. You can read one that you have at home or you find one on YouTube. There are plenty of Halloween-themed stories that you can find there. For example, many channels have a version of the book “Where’s my Mummy” by Carolyn Crimi. The story is about a child who wants to play one more game before sleeping.
Make the adults participate. “Where’s my Mummy” can introduce the Wrap a Mummy game. This will make adults join in on the fun as they become the mummies children will have to cover with tissue paper.
Parents have probably done this a hundred times before, but the child will be doing it only for the first or second time. It is an exciting game especially when it is timed. The pressure is also increased whenever the tissue paper breaks. The game also makes for great photos for the family.
In-person party games will work online, too. Bring me is still exhilarating even when done virtually. You can also exercise the children’s vocal calisthenics with the “longest” trick-or-treat game: Make them draw out the word “treat” until they run out of breath.
Use Halloween-themed timers. YouTube can really be your best friend for parties like this. Timers with pumpkins, witches and ghouls can entertain the kids as well as inform them of the remaining time they have to do certain activities.
Do some crafts. You can make this the last activity to calm the children down after getting excited with the previous games. Teachstarter’s Build-a-Monster printable is a great choice but membership is needed to access it. The printable has different sets of eyes, mouth, bodies, hands and feet. Each child rolls a dice to find out which of them he/she will be using.
There are other similar printable activities that you can access online. The website Easy Kids Crafts has different faces of the pumpkins that you can be glued on.
Or you can do a completely different craft project. Just try to choose an activity that will use what kids already have such as crayons, scissors, and glue.
Remember to praise the children. Because the host cannot hand out prizes in person, praising the children for a job well done can be the next best thing. Giving compliments when they share their costume and their crafts can boost their self-esteem and make them feel like a winner. Encourage the other participants to clap their hands for their friend, too.
Prepare the treats. The beauty of doing a party at home is that you can give your child a prize for a job well done. After every activity, make the child say “Trick or treat!” to the adults to claim their prize. INQ
