Celebrating Halloween for couples, families and / or just a few friends: dates, games and activities, for smaller social groups.

So, what do you do to celebrate Halloween if you don’t want to have a big costume party with lots of stunt food and elaborate costumes? Is it still a party if there’s only three, or five or eight of you getting together? What turns an ordinary date into a celebration of the season? How do you celebrate Halloween with kids that are too old for trick or treating?

I’ve gathered my favorite “fun things to do for two or a few” below. I hope you find an activity that appeals to you and your family/friends.

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DO A PHOTOGRAPHIC SCAVENGER HUNT:

2015 Halloween Photo Hunt

READ STORIES OR A PLAY TOGETHER:

This sounds so trite, but it’s actually fun. When my daughter was about 12-13, we read Arsenic and Old Lace together over several nights. (We each had to do a couple of parts.) We picked up three student editions of the play at the bookstore. Our son, who was just little at the time, participated by charging up and down the stairs every time Teddy did.

Here are some resources for stories and plays I found online. Please preview for content and quality – make sure the material suits your needs.

AmericanFolklore.net
Play Script: Arsenic and Old Lace
Radio Script: Sherlock Holmes – The Adventure of the Tolling Bell
Play: Edna St. Vincent Millay – Two Slatterns and a King
FreeDrama.net – small cast plays
Browse one-act plays by cast size
Play: Robert Frost – The Witch Of Coos

HAVE A MURDER MYSTERY PARTY:

I’d really love to try this one.

Free PDF: Merry Murder Puzzle Book
NEW Free printable PDF: Sour Grapes of Wrath by Michael Akers (for 6 or more)
Or purchase and download instantly:
The Murder of Mrs. Whyte (for 4-8 | $14.95)
MyMysteryParty.com – selection of mysteries with a Halloween-appropriate theme
One too many Witches will Spoil the Brew (for 5-8 female characters | $31.95)

INDULGE IN A GAME OF TWISTED DING DONG DITCH:

We’re past the age for treats and tricks.

No TP rolls, nor eggs to pitch.

The giving urge trumps prankster itch.

And so our twisted ding dong ditch!

If you’re too old for trick or treating but still want to have a similar thrill, consider turning the tables and GIVING treats to Halloween Heros — households which are upholding the Halloween tradition.

Special note: This is another activity that turned out to be great fun in 2013, so I am creating a stand-alone post with more details about the how-to aspects of the adventure. Please visit:

Twisted Ding Dong Ditch (Reverse trick-or-treating the Halloween Heroes)

The post features:

• instructions for making a Halloween-y tree  for a prize
• information about where you can order “Halloween Hero” buttons to give out
• tips on how to make the activity go smoothly

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO CALL MY FINAL IDEA:

Here’s how it works: a couple, pair or small group go out together, as they normally would. They do – you know – whatever is standard for them: dinner and a movie, shopping at the mall, having afternoon coffee, whatever – EXCEPT they do it in a famous pair / group costume. Say, the Big Bang gang. Or the Serenity crew. Or Heathcliff and Catherine. Or Dr. Who and Rose. Or Timmy and Lassie. Or, hell, The Brady Bunch.

The goal, of course, is to pretend there’s nothing unusual about the way they look. OR it’s to play the roles to the hilt, as if they really ARE the characters.

SOMEONE ELSE’S IDEA – GO REVERSE TRICK OR TREATING:

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