How to Have the Spookiest Stay-Home Halloween

While 2020 itself seems like a scary movie, I think it is still important to celebrate the holidays in order to maintain some level of normalcy in this Hitchcock film we all call our lives. 

As a college student, your Halloween may have looked like a night full of themed movies followed by a dramatic collapse into a sugar coma, or perhaps it was more so filled with dancing on top of tables at a raging party – really the spectrum of possibilities is quite diverse. While the rest of the year I typically lean towards more of the first choice, I loved (and still love) Halloween and getting dressed up to go to parties crammed with students who, like me, were fixated on the idea of getting to be something other than a caffeine-addicted, sleep-deprived student, even just for a night. The hype building up to Halloween creates this sort-of omniscient buzz all throughout Waterloo that makes the weekend or weekends in which we celebrate that much more exciting. 

The countdown to the 31st is on BUT… you may have seen in the news that the COVID-19 pandemic is in fact still a thing, so it is maybe, probably, definitely best if you stay home this year. 

With this in mind, here are a few tips on how to still have a spook-tacular Halloween at home!   

Order in from a small, local, or favourite business

This isn’t necessarily Halloween-specific but it’s always a good move ordering in food when the weather gets colder and the desire to stay in bed all day increases. Especially now when it is best to limit trips to restaurants, you can still support your favourite spot but with the added comfort of eating at home! 

Some favs of mine in Waterloo include:

– Bao Sandwich Bar 
– Sweet Lou’s Cookies
– Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria
– Kinkaku Izakaya

Binge the “Halloweentown” series

While I consider Marnie Piper an influential female figure all year round, my love for her and her magical energy is definitely amplified around this time of year. Binge the entire series in one day or night (no judgment here) on Disney+ or go old school with the DVDs! Though if you have a DVD player at your student house, I’d be very surprised. 

Read another one of my articles with HC about Marnie if you too have been feeling a little witch-y lately.

Order your candy online

Amazon Prime Day may have come and gone but there are surely still going to be deals for online candy and snack purchases. Skip the hassle of actually going to the store and order a few different options in advance of your celebrations. 

Unpopular and potentially controversial opinion but my favourite candy is banana marshmallows… 

Dress up

Without a party or trick-or-treating session to attend, dressing up may feel a little juvenile and pointless but I think this season is a great opportunity to do something just for fun. You don’t have to go all out but maybe just throw on some cat ears and do the old eyeliner whisker trick. Simple, yet festive. 

Or do the classic bedsheet-ghost trick. Just make sure the one you grab from the laundry is yours and not your roommate’s! 

Treat it like a holiday

So… that means no homework right? After spending Thanksgiving break putting together assignments and recovering from wisdom teeth surgery, I would really like a school-(and pain)-free holiday. Halloween happens to fall on a Saturday this year, so it really is the perfect excuse to set aside the books and replace them with broomsticks! 

How about no tricks this year and just treats? A day off of school and/or work sounds like the perfect treat to me! 

Enjoy your Halloween, Warriors! I hope it is the spookiest and safest one yet. 

• halloween
• stay-at-home