If you’re a senior, you remember when Halloween meant trick-or-treating at all the neighbors’ homes. Today, however, that just isn’t safe in most neighborhoods. If you live in assisted living, though, you can offer the kids Halloween family fun – trick-or-treating included. Try these 5 easy, budget-friendly Halloween activities for grandkids and seniors, and watch your family’s eyes light up like jack-o-lanterns.
Let’s get into it.
5 Halloween Activities For Grandkids and Seniors
Activity #1: DIY Decorations
Get in on the Halloween fun by inviting the grandchildren to your house or apartment for DIY decorating. There are a lot of crafts you can do no matter how large or small your living situation is. Go for projects that are easy but have a big wow factor, like these coffee filter spider web window decorations. Other decorations to try are spinning ghosts and jack o’lantern bags made of orange-colored lunch bags. Keep that last one in mind for activity #3.
Activity #2: Halloween Treats
You can do a lot with kids in the kitchen, whether yours is full-size or a kitchenette. Here are some ideas you can adapt for your living space.
- Scary cupcakes. If you’ve got a large kitchen, you can bake the cupcakes with the grandkids either from scratch or from a mix. But if space is at a premium, you can still do this super-fun activity with plain, store-bought cupcakes and prepared frosting. Buy red hots, candy buttons, googly eyes, licorice, sour sticks, M&Ms, tubes of colored frosting, anything your grandchildren enjoy that could be used for wacky facial features. Give each kid a cupcake, place the decorating supplies in the middle and watch their imaginations go wild.
- Cheesy witch’s brooms. Want a no-mess treat that’s fun to boot? Try these cheesy witch’s brooms. All you need are pretzel sticks, string cheese and a knife.
- Hot dog mummies. This has got to be the easiest kid-friendly meal ever. Grab one package of hot dogs and another of puff-pastry dough. Cut the dough into thin strips. Show the kids how to wrap each hot dog with the strips of dough, a la mummy. Bake until done. If you want you can add candy googly eyes, just do it after the hot dogs are baked or the eyes will melt. Ugh. (On the other hand, for Halloween the kids might just love that option.)
- Witches brew. What’s a party without something to drink? Prepare your favorite punch recipe. Pour it into a black bowl. Then let the kids decorate it – inside and over the rim – with gummy worms, snakes, frogs or anything else they like.
Activity #3: Senior/Grandkid Trick or Treating
Like we said before, trick or treating isn’t what it used to be. While most parents are okay accompanying their little ones on an established trick-or-treating route, older kids generally feel that going with a parent is babyish – so they just stay home.
If you live in a retirement home, though – and the staff is on board – you can gift your grandchildren a full trick-or-treating experience right in your own facility. Talk to your friends a few days before Halloween and see who wants in. Chip in together to buy loads of candy, then invite the grandkids over – costumes mandatory, of course. Give each kid a jack o-lantern bag (see above) and send them trick-or-treating down the halls. And yes, feel free to join them.
Activity #4: Storytime!
Kids of all ages love stories. If your grandchildren are older you can have a ghost-story marathon. Turn off the lights, break out the flashlights and let everyone have a turn telling the scariest ghost story they can think of. When you have a mix of ages – some who love the creepiest, most horrifying stories around and others who are terrified – then you can try this version: Keep the lights on. Have everyone sit in a circle. You start the story and stop at a dramatic moment. The child on your right continues the story, then the the child on their right, until everyone’s had a turn. This will keep things light and funny enough for the younger set while the older ones can add as much horror as their hearts desire.
Activity #5: Movie Marathon
Microwave popcorn, ice-cold soda and a DVD machine make for one of the easiest and most fun Halloween activities for grandkids and seniors alike: a movie marathon! To keep things interesting for all ages, try older classics they might have never heard of, like Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Gremlins and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. If the older grandkids are clamoring for horror flicks, maybe think about doing this on two separate nights: once for the younger set, another time for the older one.
And don’t forget to take pictures.