Halloween Fun Activities

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So, what is Halloween anyway? In case you don't already know, Halloween falls on October 31 which is in the fall (autumn) in the northern hemisphere. On that day, especially after it gets dark, people dress up in costumes, wear masks or make-up (mostly of scary or spooky figures but can really be anything else such as angels, fairies, or celebrities), many have fun going to Halloween parties while others stay home and watch scary movies.

A lot of kids go out "trick-or-treating" from door to door in the neighborhood collecting treats, usually candies but can be other things like fruits and other goodies.

Halloween started as a pagan holiday known as Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") celebrated by the Celts. It is the third harvest festival of the year, and is the time when the veil between the living world and the spirit world is the thinnest. So the spirits of the dead are free to roam the earth, and folks would honor them by offering various "treats."

People would wear masks to confuse or frighten the evil spirits. They also decorate their houses with lighted carved pumpkins (originally turnips) known as Jack-o-Lantern to welcome friendly spirits and scare away the unwanted ones.

The Catholic church then counteracted this pagan holiday (as they did with several others) by moving All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. Thus the name Halloween stems from all hallows (or saints) evening, which is the evening before All Saints' Day.

The European immigrants carried their tradition to North America in the 19th century, and today Halloween is celebrated throughout most of the western world.

However, not everyone celebrates Halloween, particularly those that are religiously devout. They believe Halloween is of the Devil or at least has evil origins, and they want no part of. They would go as far as forbidding their children from participating in the festivities of the holiday like wearing costumes or going out trick-or-treating.

I personally don't share that view. I believe celebrating Halloween is totally harmless, especially if it's all done in the spirit of fun. It's not like we worship the Devil or demons and turn into evil people by celebrating Halloween. Anyone can believe whatever they want but shouldn't impose it on others and try to prevent them from having fun and enjoying life.

Well, enough of that... on with Halloween fun :) So how can you make this holiday more exciting? There are plenty of Halloween fun activities you can take part in.

Isn't it fun to decorate your house and make it look like a haunted house throughout the month of October? Many people actually do that. Oh wait, it's actually getting earlier every year. You will see ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and other scary creatures appearing in stores even in August!

Some people (including me) have started decorating their homes for Halloween in September. I have seen houses that looked so spooky with grave stones, skeletons, bats, and other creepy stuff.

To me Halloween is not complete without Jack-o-Lantern which is the hallmark of Halloween. So, go out and buy at least 1 pumpkin and carve it yourself. It's a lot of fun! You can then display your very own Jack O'Lantern on the porch or by the front door and light it at night to create an eerie sight.

I also like ghosts. Yes, those spooky looking white ghosts with black eyes and mouth :) I always have one at home and sometimes I get scared myself in the dark, he he!

Cobwebs and spiders also make great Halloween decorations. It's quite easy to put fake cobwebs all over your house if you don't already have some real ones :)

Those are just a few Halloween decorations I like. You can read more about fun Halloween decorating ideas or come up with your own. Just use your imagination.

Dressing up for Halloween is so much fun. That's the one day of the year when you can be someone else. My favorite character is Dracula. I've been fascinated by Dracula since I was a kid. He is scary but yet dignified and classy! I enjoy dressing up as my favorite Count.

You can basically dress up as anything you like and get away with it on Halloween. It doesn't even have to be something scary. Since I like going barefoot I also love dressing as Incredible Hulk or Tom Sawyer :) Great Halloween costumes are not hard to find but you need to shop early.

My wife is a fan of Lord of the Rings. If you're like her, you may want to look for some Lord of the Rings costumes. She told me I should dress as a Hobbit in bare feet. Well, I'm not too sure about that since their feet are huge and ugly (sorry, Hobbits!), and mine are not :p I would actually have to wear shoes that look like Hobbit's feet to make them look real. Yuck!

If you have a baby you certainly want to include them in the Halloween festivities. What could be more appropriate than having them wear cute Halloween costumes for babies.

Oh, what about your pets? Don't leave them out of your Halloween fun activities. There are plenty of pet Halloween costumes to choose from for your dogs and cats.

Who would even think of giving each other gifts besides candies on Halloween? Many people consider gift giving for Christmas and other holidays like Valentine's Day, but you can certainly give those you care about something special for Halloween too. My friend Tanya gave her mom a Halloween flower arrangement last year which delighted her, so she plans on doing it again this Halloween.

Hey, you can even give something to those who don't celebrate Halloween just to get them in the spirit of the season. Nothing wrong with that! That's what another friend of mine Susie did. You can read what she did with some fun Halloween gift baskets.

Visiting haunted houses is a fun Halloween activity for your whole family. You can find haunted houses at various theme parks, as well as free standing ones often run by charity organizations throughout the month of October.

Going on a haunted ghost tour is also a great Halloween fun activity although ghost tours are available year round. There are many cities and areas all over the US and other countries that have real haunted houses and establishments you can visit on guided tours. If you're planning to do this around Halloween, be sure to make your reservations early.

If you have kids you can plan a fun Halloween party at home where they can invite their friends and play fun games and have some yummy treats. You can also read Halloween story books with them or get some fun coloring books with spooky Halloween pictures.

Some of my favorite Halloween treats are chocolates, candy corn, caramel apples (candy or toffee apples), and Halloween cookies.

Yes, I'm a chocolate lover and I especially like marshmallow and coconut filled chocolates. Of course, I can eat those chocolates anytime but I have a good excuse to eat more during Halloween along with candy corn :)

I also like apples and with caramel coating they taste even better :)

I like cookies but not just any kind. I especially love those with sugar icing or glaze. Again, I can eat them anytime but during Halloween I can find sugar coated cookies crafted into my favorite Halloween figures such as Jack-O-Lanterns, ghosts, and vampire bats. Mmm, yummy!