9 Ways to Make Halloween Fun and Safe for Your Favorite Senior

When you're a kid, Halloween is typically one of the most exciting times of the year. You can dress up as anything you want, you score free candy, and you get to participate in other fun and spooky activities. However, as you get older it can be difficult to recapture the spirit and excitement that goes along with the Halloween season. Interest in Halloween seems to decrease in older generations. According to PumpkinPatchesandMore.org,

• Millennials are expected to spend $183 each on candy, costumes, decorations, and miscellaneous items.
• Generation X'ers are expected to spend about $70 each.
• Baby boomers only $23 each. (1)

Even though Halloween spirit seems to decrease in older generations, there are still plenty of ways family members and caregivers can help get seniors back into the Halloween spirit and have some fun like they did when they were younger. Here are some great ideas to celebrate this fun holiday with your favorite senior citizens.

One of the most exciting parts about Halloween is getting to dress up as anything you want. According to USA Today, “Consumers are expected to spend $3.32 billion on costumes this year.” (2) While seniors may not want to spend a whole lot on Halloween costumes, there are still plenty of simple and affordable ways they can dress up for Halloween.

When it comes to costumes, seniors can do something simple like purchasing accessories or a pair of cat ears from the dollar store or they can choose something more elaborate such as their favorite movie character, their favorite animal, or a classic Halloween persona. They can purchase a costume at a Halloween store, online, or create their own by creatively using what’s already in their closets. Just make sure that your favorite senior is comfortable and can still see and move around without any hinderance.

When dressing up as a senior, you can also be clever with your assistive devices. For instance, canes can be turned into scepters, wheelchairs can be turned into cars or chariots, and mobile medical alert watches for seniors can be turned into gadgets for a spy. There are countless ways seniors can get creative with their Halloween costumes. Putting a costume together is also a great way to keep senior’s mind sharp as it involves creativity, decision making, and problem-solving skills.

Another popular Halloween tradition is decorating the house. According to USA Today, “$3.17 billion will be spent on decorations this year.” (3) Decorating the house can be a nice change of pace as it can stimulate the brain and improve your mood. If spooky décor is too much for your senior, opt for colorful autumn materials or for friendly-looking jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and mummies.

It is important for caregivers to be thoughtful when decorating a senior’s home. You don’t want to include anything that could increase their risk of falling. Some decorating ideas to avoid include:

• Placing pumpkins on stairs.
• Cobwebs in pathways.
• String lights, extension cords, or stakes to secure inflatable decorations in pathways.
• Darkness.
• Garland on the stair rails.

By being thoughtful about decorating, you can create a fun environment for your favorite senior while keeping their tripping hazards minimal.

Creating goody bags for trick-or-treaters is a simple and easy way to make a child smile. When your favorite senior sees how happy the goody bag has made a trick-or-treater, it may boost their mood and make them feel good. Emotions like this are important to their overall health and wellness. If you really want to make an impact on trick-or-treaters, choose one of America’s top 10 Halloween Candies: (4)

• Reese's Cups
• Skittles
• M&M's
• Starburst
• Hot Tamales
• Sour Patch Kids
• Hershey Kisses
• Snickers
• Tootsie Pops
• Candy Corn

Handing out candy can be a great way for seniors to socialize, engage with their neighborhood, and gain a sense of fulfillment. According to Today.com, “People aged 60-plus are most likely to hand out candy on the big night.” (5) If your favorite senior wants to give out candy to trick-or-treaters, help ensure their safety with an Alert1 senior fall alert device. In case of any emergency, they will have a quick and easy way to contact a professional for help. When they press the button on their device, they will be able to talk to a certified emergency response agent through their device. They can let the agent know what type of help they require and then the agent will contact either their Circle of Care or medical help. Their Circle of Care is a set of predetermined contacts that are chosen when the device is first purchased.

If you have any elderly citizens in your neighborhood, be considerate of them. If they don’t have their home decorated and don’t have lights on, they likely do not want trick-or-treaters. Skip their house and try to keep your party’s volume to a respectful level.

If your favorite senior can’t get around very well, having a Halloween movie marathon is a great activity that does not require much energy. There are countless Halloween movies to suit the preferences of you and your favorite senior.

Family Friendly

• It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
• Nightmare Before Christmas
• Casper
• Scooby-Doo
• Hocus Pocus

Classics

• The Addam’s Family
• The Munsters
• Dracula
• Frankenstein
• Beetlejuice
• Ghostbusters

Scary Movies

• Halloween
• Psycho
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• It
• Poltergeist

If your favorite senior enjoys cooking or baking, find some spooky Halloween recipes that you can make together. There are countless ideas online. While Halloween is a time for sugary snacks, try to include some healthy snacks that provide essential nutrients for senior whole health.

• Cookies with spiders
• Banana Ghosts
• Pumpkins made from clementines
• Rice Krispy Treats in fun shapes
• Halloween Cupcakes

If your favorite senior enjoys baking and making Halloween goodies, an Alert1 emergency medical alert necklace can help protect them while they do. If they need emergency assistance of any kind, they can press their alarm button to be put in touch with Alert1’s Command Center at any time of the day or night.

Some other Halloween activities for seniors include arts, crafts, and games.

Arts & Crafts

• Painting Pumpkins
• Decorating Mason Jars
• Spooky Wreaths
• String of Ghosts

Games

• Bingo
• Trivia
• Riddles
• Halloween Edition of Name that Tune

Crafts and games are a great way to engage seniors and keep their brains sharps. Crafts allow them to express themselves, use their senses, and make decisions. Games offer challenges and use problem solving skills. These skills are essential in preventing cognitive decline and reducing the risks of seniors falling.

Telling scary stories is a traditional Halloween activity that can allow caregivers to bond with their favorite senior. Socialization is important for seniors as it helps keep their mind healthy and improves their mood. You can tell scary stories you already know, buy a book, or search for stories online. There are also plenty of classics to choose from.

• The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe
• The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

There are plenty of spooky places you can visit with your favorite loved one. Some ideas include:

• Pumpkin Patches
• Corn Mazes
• Hayrides
• Ghost Tours
• Spooky Museum Exhibits

You can even just drive around your neighborhood and look for Halloween displays. Taking a spooky trip is a great way to get your loved one out of the house. If you do plan a spooky trip, ensure that your favorite senior has on-the-go medical alert technology so that they can get help if they need it. If they fall, they can easily contact an emergency response agent for help. The agent can use the built-in GPS to pinpoint their location no matter where they roam.

You may also want to consider the mobile medical alarm wrist watch for seniors. This assistive technology looks just like a normal watch. It can tell your senior the weather as well as how many steps they have taken. It is the perfect tool to accompany your senior on a spooky Halloween trip.

According to CNN, “More than 148 million Americans will celebrate Halloween this year.” (6) Make this holiday special and safe for your favorite aging-in-place senior. Give them a bit of nostalgia and rekindle their Halloween spirit. You can create great memories all while keeping your loved one happy and healthy with these fun Halloween activities.

 

 

1 Pumpkin Patches and More staff. n.d. 2020 Halloween Facts, Trends and Statistics: Spending, Costume Choices and More. PumpkinPatchesAndMore.org. 2020 Halloween Facts, Trends and Statistics: Spending, Costume Choices and More.

2, 3 Snider, Mike. Sept. 2021. Shopping. USA Today. Americans Will Spend a Record $10 Billion On Halloween Candy, Decorations and Pet Costumes.

4 Lindell, Crystal. Sept. 2021. Candy & Confections. Candy Industry. New 2021 List Reveals Most Popular Halloween Candy In Every State.

5 Dubin, Alesandra. Oct. 2014. Parents. Today.com. Sweet! Trick-or-Treaters Should Hit Grandma's House for Choicest Candy.

6 CNN staff. Oct. 2021. CNN Editorial Research. CNN. Halloween Fast Facts.