Your little oddstar’s favourite sugar-filled event is around the corner and there’s no better way to celebrate the little odd in everyone than by going all out with the celebrations. Nothing’s scarier than being unprepared so here’s a list of 7 fa-boo-lous ideas to kick start your Halloween preparations!
1. Prepare a Halloween checklist
If you’re a multi-tasking parent juggling parenting and keeping the household in order on top of other commitments, it might be a good idea to start with a Halloween checklist. Jot down anything that comes to mind especially those last-minute golden ideas that tend to present themselves when you’re busy with something else.
Start by covering the basics such as the decorations, costumes, food, and party favours, then branch out from there. Taking the time to plan your prep now might just save you hours (and your sanity) later on when things get more chaotic. Here’s a checklist of our must-haves!
2. Start with a bewitching theme for your decorations
Deciding on a theme will help anchor a lot of your Halloween party decisions. A sure-fire way to get into the Halloween spirit is with decoration. While going with a general spooky décor works too, having a theme can add more elements of fun.
There are classic themes like a haunted house, Jack-o'-lanterns, and zombies to wacky ones like UFOs, Willy Wonka, or even an Oddbods-themed party! Whatever theme you settle on, make sure you have the basic elements covered such as:
✓ Jack-o'-Lanterns and pumpkins
✓ Halloween insects and animals such as spiders, bats, cats
✓ Cobwebs and “mummified” items around the house
✓ Skeletons and ghosts
✓ A collection of oddities like fake eyeballs, fingers, and fangs
✓ Witch’s hats and broomsticks
3. Costumes, costumes, costumes!
What’s Halloween without the costumes? Start on this early especially if you plan to craft one from scratch. Dressing up for Halloween used to revolve around spooky ensembles like witches, mummies, vampires, and ghosts. These days, everyone’s pretty much free to come dressed up as anything — a pop culture idol, a beloved tv or cartoon character, or even food.
Whether your kiddo wants to be creepy, cute, fancy, or wacky, Halloween is a great opportunity for them to be who they want to be, and exercise some creativity if they want to get them involved in costume making.
Your child will stand out from the sea of witches, pirates, and dinosaurs with these Oddbods costumes.
But if you’re a Wonder Mom or Super Dad with simply no time to make a costume, you can bring out the little Newt, Pogo, and Fuse in your kiddo with these adorable Zee-approved Oddbods costume onesies.
Not only are these plush costumes comfortable, but you can also zip your kids up in under a minute — perfect if you have eager trick-or-treaters who can’t wait to make their rounds!
4. Get your cauldron going with a spooky feast
Healthy is not usually something you’ll associate with Halloween. But if you’re hosting a Halloween party and you need to whip up some finger food that both grown-ups and little grown-ups can enjoy, the good news is, with a little ingenuity, cooking up healthy Halloween treats is possible!
Halloween Roasted Veggies
Make them extra spooky by cutting them up into Halloween-themed shapes. Photo from: Live Eat Learn
Not only are these vegetables, but they’re also super cute and easy to make. Cut them into smaller, kid-friendly sizes for tiny hands and you’ve got a winner! Get the recipe here.
Mummy Cookies
Don't keep mum about how yummy these are. Photo from: Eating Bird Food
This is perfect if you don’t have time to try out a new recipe. You can use any of your go-to cookie recipes then give the cookies the Halloween treatment with the mummy frosting. These are great if you plan to bring some around as you go door to door. Get the recipe here.
Frankenstein Kiwis
With some prep ahead of time, you can roll these out in under 30 minutes. Photo from: Two Healthy Kitchens
The best thing about these little monster fruits is that you don’t need your peeling to be perfect — the messier the better! You can prep the kiwis ahead of time and leave them in the fridge, then add the bolts, eyes, and mouths closer to serving time to prevent them from getting soggy. Get the recipe here.
5. Have an Oddbods-inspired spread
If you’re up to try something new this Halloween, grab the kiddos and get them involved in these fun Oddbods-inspired DIY food projects that can fit perfectly well with any Halloween theme.
Oddbods Spooky Pizza
Print off your little one’s favourite Oddbods character and use them as stencils!
Who doesn’t love a good pizza? This one’s pretty easy to make and can even double up as a fun bonding activity for the whole family. Get the recipe here.
Oddbods Rainbow Cookie Swirls
You can’t go wrong with some cookie treats.
Who said who can’t have rainbows for Halloween? Easily turn these ‘cute’ cookies into ‘spooky’ ones by adding little witch’s hats or even cobweb and spider designs on them. Get the recipe here.
6. Prepare your bag of tricks and surprises
It’s no surprise that children’s candy consumption is through the roof during Halloween — it’s one of the rare times in a year they can indulge! According to a study, about half of the American population bought candy for Halloween in 2020.
Parents only know what a kid on a sugar high with boundless energy can do, so if you plan to go the non-candy route this year, we get you. There are plenty of alternatives that are equally fun and exciting. Stickers and temporary tattoos are always a hit, and mini pop-it fidget toys are currently in trend. Mini slime, squishies, and glow sticks are also crowd-pleasers.
But if you want to give your little trick-or-treaters a bigger surprise, the Oddbods blind bags might just do the trick. There are 50 of these mini collectible figurines to collect and every bag holds an exciting mystery just waiting to be unwrapped.
Will your kiddo be lucky enough to find any of the eight rare special figurines in this collection?
7. Watch some spooky Halloween movies
Last but not least, get your Oddstars in the mood for the spookiest festival of the year by watching Halloween-related movies! Prepare some snacks, cuddle up on your sofa and enjoy some kid-friendly thrills and chills together as a family. Better yet, view them on a big projector for a “spookier” effect! 👻
And don’t forget, the Oddbods have a fantastic collection of spooktacular Halloween episodes — check out this episode here to bask in the spirit of Halloween with your loved ones!
Now, go forth and have a fang-tastic Halloween!
