Like most things this year, Halloween will be a bit different to usual. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some spooky fun! We’ve compiled a few ideas on how to celebrate a bit differently this year – as well as some local spooktacular events going on! Current Government Guidelines stipulate when meeting friends and family you do not live with (or have formed a support bubble with) you must not meet in a group of more than 6, indoors or outdoors. Please adhere to these guidelines when planning your halloween events!
Take Aways, Eating Out and Sweet Treats
Mama Doreens are getting into the spirit of Halloween with their spooky Halloween Afternoon Tea. They’ll be serving them from 17th October – 5th November. They are already fully booked in their Emporium but these special adult and children’s afternoon tea will also be available to take away! What a great idea for a little Halloween themed tea party? How yummy does it look? They do takeaway and collection – with free delivery within a 3 mile radius. Delivering to HG postcodes only. Its £20 for the adult one and £10 for the child.
To book you can call them on 01423 504 615 or book online here.
Trick or Treat delivered to your home! We had some delivered to the Harrogate office and I can confirm they were fangtastic!
Don’t forget Billy Bob’s – of course they go all out at Halloween! They really know how to put the spook into SPOOKtacular! Open daily from 9am – 6pm. Booking essential.
Halloween Trick or Treat Pumpkin Trail
With Trick or Treating probably not being a viable idea this year. Our neighbours Doncaster Mumbler came up with the brilliant Halloween Trick or Treat Pumpkin trail. Print off one of our pumpkins, decorate it and put it in your window! The idea is then you can take your children around your neighbourhood searching for these pumpkins, we’re suggesting that every time they see them you give them a little sweet! The children then still get their fill of candy but without having to knock on strangers doors and rummage through bags of sweets – which probably isn’t the best idea at the moment! To find out more and to download your pumpkin visit our dedicated blog here.
Pumpkin Picking
There are so many places to go Pumpkin Picking around here! You can go to farms just dedicated to picking them, or places that have a whole host of creepy Halloween events going on! We’ve compiled a list of some of our favourites right here!
Spooktacular Days Out
For a full list of local events please see our October Half Term Days Out. But here’s a of some of our favourites:
Mother Shipton’s Halloween Haunted Village takes place from Saturday 24th October to Sunday 1st November, 10am to 4.30pm (last admission 3pm).
Suitable for all ages, explore the spooky forest and Halloween Haunted Village, but watch out for witches, ghosts and creepy skeletons around every corner! There’s lots of ghoulish fun to be had with photo opportunities and fancy dress competitions. Our competitions will be slightly different this year, with virtual catwalks and prizes awarded digitally.
See the incredible Petrifying Well and the birthplace of a real witch at Mother Shipton’s Cave! The park has scenic picnic areas alongside the popular River Nidd, an adventure playground, gift shop and museum. Booking is essential
The caves feel a bit spooky all year round, so its a great place to go and visit over Halloween. As well as cave tours they’ve also got a special Halloween Potion Commotion Science class going on on Saturday 31 October & Sunday 1 November at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. These science classes are proving really popular amongst budding scientist so please book your space asap. Price includes a tour of the caves and a goody bag too!
Piglets Pumpkin Festival runs every weekend in October and daily from 24th October – 1st November.
What will you do first? Explore the Pumpkin Patch, with over 10,000 home grown pumpkins to choose from in all shapes and sizes, then get stuck in carving. Run wild in the Mysterious Maize Maze, challenge your friends & family on the Corn Cannon, meet adorable piglets (you might even see one being born!) and their farm yard friends in the undercover animal barn, plus explore acres of outdoor adventure including The Beach, Barrel Train Ride, Fairy Tale Trail and so much more!
Please Note: Due to government guidelines Piglets Adventure Farm will be reducing the amount of visitors on site. Tickets are limited and MUST be booked online in advance by visiting the website HERE
Adventure Farm is open daily from 9:30am – 5:30pm
Things to do at Home
Spooky movie night: Family-friendly ideas include Harry Potter, Toy Story of Terror, The Adams Family, Room on the Broom, Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest, Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie, Casper and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Don’t forget to check the age advice before viewing to avoid more frights than you bargained for!
Hide sweets in your garden or around your house: Play some spooky tunes while the kids are searching to set the mood, and give them flashlights or head torches if you want to do it in the dark!
Pumpkin carving contest on zoom: Great for the kids to show off their hard work and catch up with their buddies. You could make it a fancy dress contest too!
Play Halloween Games: Our favourites are Wrap the Mummy (gather some toilet rolls and have teams wrapping up a volunteer), Halloween Bean Bag Toss (throw them into pumpkins with wide mouths), Halloween bingo (instead of numbers use a pumpkin, skeleton, black cat etc on the cards) and sticking hands into a pumpkin to guess what’s inside (jelly, toy rats, etc).
Halloween Crafts: Use paper plates to draw your own pumpkins, make some pumpkin stamps: cut an apple lengthways in half. Cover in orange paint and use as stamps. Paint on green stalks and black face detailing. Peel an apple and leave it on the radiator for a few days – then decorate into a scary witches face!
Halloween Party Food: Oranges decorated as pumpkins and hot dog sausages as severed fingers, with ketchup for added blood!
