Community bonding Halloween activities that are so easy, it’s scary!
Just like everyone else in town, our Staley Dental team is pretty excited about the Halloween holiday! So today, we would like to share with you some fun Halloween activities that can build community relationships. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
1. Have a neighborhood home decorating contest.
Let’s kick off this list with a home decorating contest. Everyone in the community will have a chance to get creative with scissors, paper mache, and pumpkins or even find inspiration from all those pins in your Halloween-themed Pinterest boards. Pinpoint what you like about the different photos, then take it and make it your own. Just remember, we’re not going for a haunted house or costume retailer feeling here, so try to avoid the more garish decor options. Instead, focus on the little details — think pumpkins on your front porch, a Halloween mask wreath for a not-so-warm welcome, or cobwebs and spider decals on your windows. The goal here is to match the general fear tolerance of your community to the decorations of your home. Neighbors can then walk around the block admiring the boo-tiful displays and voting on categories like the Best Effects, the Most out of the Box Design, or the Best Overall Experience.
2. Host a fun crafting event.
A home decorating contest isn’t the only way for your community members to show off their creative side. You can also host a fun crafting event. You can buy pumpkins at your local grocery, hardware store, church, or school sale. The neighborhood kids (particularly the little ones) may enjoy picking out pumpkins at the local pumpkin patch. Stock up on glitter, googly eyes, glue, child and adult scissors, craft jewels, and orange and black craft paper and watch as the magic happens. Everyone will come up with different ideas for decorating the pumpkins, and this will keep them entertained for hours! Afterward, you can have a fun and festive Halloween party surrounded by all the handmade embellishments your guests made.
3. Visit a Halloween open house.
What if you want to build community relationships this year but the demands of work and family have made it a little difficult for you to plan a fun crafting event or participate in a home decorating contest? Are you destined for a night at home rewatching Muppets Haunted Mansion and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters? Of course not! No matter which corner of Boise you live in, there’s always that one neighbor who opens their house to parents and kids as they stop by to trick-or-treat. Pay them a visit. Enjoy the witchy Halloween treats, strike up a conversation, and creep it real!
4. Have a howl-o-ween pet parade.
Perhaps the only things cuter than pooches and mousers on parade are costumed pooches and mousers. People aren’t really going for dark, and they’re not going overly spooky either. With a pet parade, the scariest part would be trying not to die of laughter (disbelief?) from the adorableness. Even a sweet little rodent growing claws this Halloween and morphing into Freddy Krueger is more fluffy than frightening. It’s the perfect time for Buddy, Mr. Whiskers, and Julius Cheeser to put their best paw forward and show off their cute, clever, comical, or even creepy ensembles.
5. Try on a costume and play tricks.
Halloween isn’t a kid-only holiday, adults can also try on a costume. In fact, as your favorite dentist in Boise, we encourage you to reconnect with your inner child. This can be as simple as handing out fake spiders to trick-or-treaters, putting a skeleton in the driver’s seat of your teen’s car, or dressing up as your favorite movie characters all week long. It’s always fun to celebrate the holiday for a little longer than a night, so get online for Halloween ideas and get creative!
6. Reverse trick-or-treat.
The day after Halloween night, your neighborhood streets will likely have discarded candy wrappers, forgotten costume paraphernalia, and little Halloween knickknacks, which will all eventually go away — just not at once. You can speed things up by meeting up with a couple of neighbors and walking around collecting trash. And in the spirit of reverse trick-or-treating, look in on the senior members in your community. It’s not always just the young who enjoy Halloween, and it’s not uncommon for the older generation to get overlooked when it comes to the celebrations. Your community can partner with a “meal on wheels” type of paid service to create treat boxes from some of the candy your kids collected the previous night. It’s an all-around feel-great way to bring your community together and brighten someone’s day – together!
Keep your smile looking boo-tiful!
Halloween can be a scary time for your teeth, so it’s important that you keep up with your oral hygiene to keep your smile looking boo-tiful. Dental care tips like brushing and flossing before bed, eating candy with or shortly after meals, and not snacking on treats the whole day can help you maintain a cavity-free Halloween. If you’re due for a dental cleaning, feel free to schedule an appointment with our dentist in Boise, ID. Our staff is always happy to see new and returning patients, examine smiles, and clean teeth to give you a strong and successful oral health — just in time for Halloween!
