5 ideas to engage with Halloween from your front door.
For five years we’ve been exploring how to engage with Halloween from our driveway, you can read more about why we do this here. Our planning starts at the end of September when we choose our theme, then through games, and food and stories we try to create as much light and laughter as possible. Our experience is that our friendly approach to trick or treaters has been met with much gratitude and its been a great opportunity to show something of the goodness, beauty and truth of Jesus on a dark night. Here are some ideas to get you going…
Year one
Theme: Laughter and light
What: We bought the largest pumpkins possible, and decorated our driveway with loads of fairy lights.
Giveaway: Sweets, glow sticks and the Alfie meets superlight story - The Super Light is a simple story of a boy called Alfie and a superhero called Super Light. Its been written to give out to friends and create curiosity about the person of Jesus Christ.
Want to know more? Read this blog Become a House of Light this Halloween – Nay Dawson
Shopping list: Fairy lights, pumpkins, sweets, Alfie meets superlight story .
Year two
Theme: Bats
Game: Splat the Bat! We found a very long drain pipe, then from our bedroom window sent black bean bags down the drainpipe, and the kids had to try and catch the bat. I’ve put an example below of what you could do.
Giveaway: Tommy, Scott and the spiders story, sweets and Bat poo cakes (simply rice krispie cakes).
The leaflet is a simple story about two boys and their fear of spiders. Its been written to give out to friends and create curiosity about the person of Jesus Christ. We'll be giving these out on our driveway on Halloween in a bag with sweets and glow sticks.
Shopping list; Very long drain pipe, bean bags, stories to give away, sweets
Year three
Theme: Harry Potter
Game: Quidditch park. We had hoops hanging up where kids had to throw a golden quidditch through the hoop.
Giveaway: Chocolate frogs, Quidditch rice kripie cakes and printed cards
Shopping list;
Chocolate frog mould, ingredients for rice krispie cakes, Quidditch cake toppers
Year four
Theme: Spiders
Game: We created a giant Spiders web across our driveway with glow in the dark rope.
Giveaway: Tommy and the spiders - The leaflet is a simple story about two boys and their fear of spiders. Its been written to give out to friends and create curiosity about the person of Jesus Christ. We'll be giving these out on our driveway on Halloween in a bag with sweets and glow sticks.
Shopping list;
Year five - in process!
Theme: Day of the dead
Giveaway: Luna and the keys of death
There are other approaches to Halloween, that we’d like to highlight, as a church you could become a Beacon of light and we also have lots of tried and tested ideas here from women in the PfE network.