Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year. It’s a chance to get creative with costumes, stock up on sweets, and enjoy the warmth and comfort of fall traditions. The best part about Halloween is that you get to make it your own. For families with young ones, it might mean getting cute Halloween costumes and going Trick-or-Treating. For couples, Halloween might be a fun reason to get out and wear a couple’s costume or a great excuse for a scary movie night. The important thing is to have fun, be creative, and make the holiday work for you.
Picking a Halloween Costume
Finding the right costume sets the tone for the night. Some people love going all out, while others prefer something simple, funny, or even homemade.
Family Costume Ideas
Coordinated family costumes are always a highlight. Classic choices include the Addams Family-Especially with how popular Wednesday is, or Marvel Heroes. Matching themes helps tie everyone together while leaving room for each person to have their own unique role.
For families with young children, the best part is picking fun costumes that are perfect for taking 500 pictures. It doesn’t hurt that hilarious costumes usually get your children more candy, giving you more candy to take for yourself. Below are a few fun family costume ideas if you’re struggling to think of anything.
- Addams Family
- The Avengers
- Family Members Swap – Have your children just like their parents, parents dress like their children
- The Godfather – Although your children likely won’t get it, there is certainly humour in having your children dress like mafiosos with fancy suits and hair gel.
- Fortnite – If you’re looking to make your children happy this Halloween, they might want you to dress up as some of their favourite video game characters. A good compromise with a game like Fortnite is that there are practically endless characters from movies and TV, so you’re bound to find something that you like.
Couples Costume Ideas
Couples love to match. Going out with matching colour palettes are wearing matching PJs is always fun. Halloween lets couples go the extra mile and show off some of their favourite shows or video games.
What’s great about couples costumes is that you can go for a home run, get super creative with fun, DIY costumes. Alternatively, you can both go with an easy classic and focus on other activities like getting out, baking, or whatever makes your night fun. These are some really fun couples’ costume ideas.
- Breaking Bad Characters – On the podium for most people’s favourite show, going as the classic pairing, Walt and Jesse, is sure to catch a few eyeballs. Just make sure that one of you has no hair or is comfortable wearing a bald cap.
- Bread and Butter – A lot of couples’ costumes focus on puns and plays on classic phrases. If you want to look ridiculous and have a good time, dressing as a big stick of butter and bread would be a great option. Bonus that you can just wear white and brown outfits respectively.
- WALL-E and Eva – There are countless Disney and Pixar movies you could choose from for couples costumes, but who can resist the cutest robot pairing a movie history?
- Bonnie and Clyde – The classic pair of criminal outlaws, dressing up as these two is a perfect reason to dress up fancy for Halloween, maybe even retro if you both want to stay authentic.
Where to Get Halloween Costumes in Tecumseh
Spirit Halloween
For variety and convenience, Spirit Halloween is the most popular option for getting Halloween costumes in Tecumseh. Their stores are filled with costumes for adults, kids, and pets, along with a wide range of accessories and props.
Dollarama Tecumseh
If you’re on a budget or enjoy building a costume from scratch, Dollarama is a great resource. Face paint, masks, wigs, and inexpensive accessories can help create an affordable look. With a little imagination, you can pull together a memorable costume without spending much.
Getting Ready to Give Out Candy
Small-sized variety candy packs are an absolute must for Halloween. If your porch lights are on or off, that candy will still do wonders for your Halloween celebration. If you’re spending the night alone, with your partner, or with a group of friends, it’s always great to have a bowl of candy for everyone to share.
For those who will be handing out candy, stocking up on lots of candy is a must for all of the Tecumseh Trick-or-Treaters who are going to stop by your house. You can also turn your candy station into part of your decorations. Using bowls shaped like cauldrons, skeleton hands, or spooky containers adds atmosphere while making the treats even more inviting.
At-Home Halloween Fun
Halloween is as much about the atmosphere as it is about costumes and candy. Creating a festive space at home sets the stage for the season.
Decorating For Halloween
If you’re looking to get into the spirit of the season at home, decorating your home can be a great way to do that. Halloween decorations allow you to be creative, collaborate with your friends or family, and create a fun atmosphere if you’re hosting an event.
DIY Decoration Tips
Handmade decorations are inexpensive and easy to customize. Paper bats, homemade ghost cutouts, and jars filled with food-coloured water can all create a spooky effect. Old fabric can be repurposed into tattered curtains or used as ghostly coverings for furniture.
Many discount stores, as well as seasonal Halloween stores, such as the aforementioned Spirit Halloween, carry cheap and fun Halloween decorations. These stores allow you to be thematic, decorating your living space like a witch’s den or a haunted house. Adding to this, you can always pair your decorations with your costume to make it even better.
Pumpkin Carving Tips
Pumpkin carving is one of the most beloved traditions of Halloween, and it’s a fun activity for both kids and adults. The smell of pumpkin guts is as much a smell of fall as pumpkin spice or nutmeg.
The best part is that it is fun for everybody. Parents can have fun carving pumpkins with their children, where couples and friends can have fun pumpkin design competitions. Plus, once it’s all said and done, you get the show off you’re carving skills by putting pumpkins on your porch(or balcony if you live in an apartment).
Choosing the Right Pumpkin
Start by picking a pumpkin that’s fresh and firm. A smooth surface makes carving easier, while a flat bottom helps the pumpkin sit securely. Larger pumpkins give you more space to work with if you’re trying a detailed stencil or intricate pattern. In truth, any pumpkin will do. Like any form of art, the most important thing is that you and your loved ones are having fun carving.
Design Ideas
Classic faces with triangle eyes and jagged smiles never go out of style, but stencils open the door to creativity. Many free templates are available online, ranging from spooky witches and haunted houses to pop culture characters. Of course, for the creatively inclined, drawing a design directly on the pumpkin is always an option. Going straight into carving is only recommended for the most impatient of carvers.
Desserts and Drinks for Halloween
Halloween also brings an opportunity to enjoy seasonal flavours. Fall baking fills the home with comforting scents and makes gatherings more festive. Although some fall desserts can be on the more challenging side, there are always super simple options that are still absolutely delicious.
Pumpkin Pie or Apple Pie
A beloved staple of the fall season, pumpkin pie is a sweet and spiced dessert that is incredibly simple to make thanks to premade ingredients. Of course, making homemade piecrust and pumpkin pie filling is incredibly fun and may create a richer taste, but there is no shame and picking a few simple ingredients for a nice dessert.
Simply go to the grocery store and pick up pre-made piecrust and canned pumpkin pie filling. For canned pumpkin pie filling, keep an eye out as you are looking for pie filling that is pre-spiced and pre-sweetened.
If you cannot find this, simply mix a can of pie filling with half a cup of milk, two eggs, and half a cup of sugar. You can also buy premade pumpkin spice, which is often found in the baking and spice aisle at the grocery store.
From there, simply put your pie filling in the piecrust and bake according to the piecrust instructions for an incredibly simple and delicious fall dessert.
For apple pie, swap out the pumpkin pie filling with apple pie filling. Apple pie filling is almost always pre-spiced and pre-seasoned. From there, just like the pumpkin pie, throw a can of the pie filling into the crust and bake according to the crust instructions.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Easily the most popular specialty drink in the fall, pumpkin spice lattes are super easy to make at home. The key elements and making a pumpkin spice latte are caffeine from coffee or espresso; pumpkin flavour, which can come from pumpkin spice or any leftover pumpkin pie filling you have from making your pie; milk; and a sweetener, be it sugar, maple syrup, or honey.
Simply using your caffeinated beverage as a base, add all the other ingredients. As far as ratios go, pumpkin spice lattes are a great opportunity to have some fun and mix it up as you go. No exact ratio is going to be perfect, so just add as you wish.
Other Ideas
Caramel apples, sugar cookies decorated with Halloween themes, or cupcakes with orange and black frosting are all fun additions.
Halloween Movie Night
One of the best ways to spend a Halloween inside is to have a movie night. Scary and Halloween-themed movies are part of some of the most enjoyable cinema experiences there are. Below are a few fun movie recommendations based on what you’re looking for: classic movies, new age horror, or a more family-friendly experience. For families, it is best to stick to the Family Halloween Movies for the sake of your children, avoiding nightmares.
Classic Horror Movies
- The Thing: This movie is not for the faint of heart, but it is an excellent thriller that many believe might be the best horror movie of all time.
- Halloween: The epitome of a slasher movie, Halloween is a genre-defining movie for horror. There’s a reason you can never go through Halloween without a Michael Myers costume being seen.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street: The terrifying debut of Freddy Krueger, a killer who haunts teenagers in their dreams. Its surreal visuals and inventive concept made it one of the most iconic horror films of the 1980s.
New Horror Movies
- Weapons: If you’re looking for something brand new to watch, Weapons is an incredible horror/mystery movie that keeps you hooked from the first second to the end.
- The Conjuring: A modern supernatural hit based on the real-life cases of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. This movie very much leans into the classic paranormal horror trope reminiscent of The Exorcist.
- It (Remake): A chilling reimagining of Stephen King’s novel. Pennywise the Clown terrorizes a group of children. This movie has been a reinforcement for clown fear in most children and adults.
Family Halloween Movies
- Hotel Transylvania: A lighthearted animated comedy where monsters come together at a hotel far from human eyes. Fun, silly, and perfect for younger audiences.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: A stop-motion masterpiece that bridges Halloween and Christmas. It’s great for all ages and keeps alive the debate of whether or not this movie is a Christmas or Halloween movie.
- Coraline: A darker animated tale that follows a young girl who discovers a strange parallel world. Spooky, imaginative, and perfect for families who enjoy something slightly creepier.
Have Fun on Halloween
Halloween is all about having fun. That doesn’t matter if you’re alone or with a group; participating in the holiday can be fun for anybody. There are countless other ways to enjoy the holiday.
Here in Tecumseh, local businesses host a wide variety of Halloween events, making it easy to get out and celebrate with the community. Visit our events page to keep up with any Halloween events that are going on.
No matter how you choose to celebrate, with costumes, candy, decorations, or cozy fall traditions, Halloween is a reminder to embrace creativity, share in the excitement, and enjoy the spirit of the season.
