If you’re anything like us, you know that Halloween is one of the best parts of fall. With spooky vibes, fun costumes, and more candy than is probably safe to consume, Halloween is a family favorite for a reason. While we’re all ready for haunted houses and trick-or-treating, this year’s Halloween is going to look different than years past, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. With a little guidance from your friendly neighborhood tech group, you’ll be spooking your friends and family in no time. Here are four organizations that are hosting festive virtual opportunities, plus tips and tricks (not treats) for hosting your own COVID-conscious online party.
1) Get a Sugar Rush with Mars Wrigley
Mars Wrigley has been the unofficial Halloween Candyman for decades: from Snickers and Skittles to M&M’s and Milky Ways, Mars Wrigley is the largest candy company in the world. This fall, the company is offering its customers a new virtual Halloween experience. To participate, users simply download the free iOS and Android app Treat Town, which is available now through October 31.
Users can participate in a variety of spooky season activities, including decorating a virtual door, hosting trick-or-treaters, and going door-to-door. In the app, you can visit other users’ virtual doors to collect credits that can be redeemed for candy in stores or online. Don’t want the sugar rush? You can donate your candy credits to the Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA) through the Treat Town app. Even if you decide to keep your credits, don’t worry; Mars Wrigley will be donating $50,000 of their revenue this Halloween to BGCA.
2) Support Disadvantaged Children with UNICEF
“Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” found its humble beginnings in 1950 when a group of children in Philadelphia went trick-or-treating to ask for coins instead of candy. They collected $17, which they donated to UNICEF. Since then, “Trick-or-Treat” for UNICEF has raised over $119 million to help build a better future for children around the world. Even though going door-to-door is not an option in 2020, “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” has found a way to keep the tradition alive by going virtual.
To get started, participants just need to sign up on UNICEF’s website to get a digital Trick-or-Treat box. Once you sign up, you can host a virtual costume reveal, unlock coins by participating in fun Halloween activities and tell UNICEF exactly where you want your donations to go. These donations, no matter how big or small, will help change children’s lives for the better:
- $20 buys 100 bars of soap
- $40 buys a round of vaccines for a child
- $185 buys school supplies for 40 children
In the ~spirit~ of Halloween, consider participating in “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” to celebrate spooky season by giving back to kids around the world.
3) Make a Difference with RunSignup
Calling all runners, because this one is for you! Burn off your Halloween candy by participating in any of RunSignup’s races during this spooky season. These races will be held remotely, which means you can complete your race anytime and anywhere before submitting your final times to see your placement. Sign up with friends and family to see who can get the fastest time! If you have access to spacious running trails, you can even go for socially-distant runs with your fellow exercise enthusiasts. Here are two races that we at Empathetuix are excited about!
Monster Mash Dash
The Monster Mash Dash 5k started on September 1 and registration won’t end until October 31 at 10:59 pm PDT. The event is hosted by California Classic Events but because the race is virtual, participants can walk, run or zombie crawl the 5k at their own time and place. Participants can:
- Receive a glow in the dark event shirt
- Enter the Costume Contest or Largest Group Contest
- Print their own downloadable bib
- Upload their results
- Print a downloadable finisher certificate
Registration costs $28.50 for runners aged 10 and older, with a reduced registration fee of $25 for kids 9 and under. All funds raised from this spooktacular race will support the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization dedicated to making dreams come true for children with critical illnesses.
Medal Dash Halloween Thriller Run/Walk
With the Monster Mash Dash ending on Halloween, runners can turn to the Medal Dash Halloween Thriller race, which starts on October 31 and lasts until November 15. This race is a nationwide virtual run event that invites participants to run, walk or jog a 5k, 10k or half marathon anytime, anywhere. Like the Monster Mash Dash, this race allows participants to upload their race experiences, times and costumes with other participants. There are two different registration packages:
- Werewolf Package – $32.75 a. Includes a medal and bib only
- Zombie Package – $38.75 a. Includes the medal and bib, PLUS a short sleeve race T-shirt
A portion of these proceeds will go to Feeding America, the United States’ largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
4) Recreate Your Favorite Disney Attractions with Skywalking Through Neverland
Listeners of the podcast Skywalking Through Neverland will be excited to learn that the Star Wars, Disney, and Marvel podcast is hosting Haunted Mansion Stitched, a virtual recreation of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction. The network is calling on their listeners to sign up to recreate portions of Disney’s Haunted Mansion to create a final product that makes up the entire attraction.
Content creators are also welcome to pull inspiration from the Phantom Manor from Disneyland Paris or the Mystic Manor from Hong Kong Disneyland. The final cut of Haunted Mansion Stitched will be revealed on October 25 on Skywalking Through Neverland’s YouTube channel.
5) Host Your Own Virtual Halloween Party
If you’re still ~dying~ to throw your own Halloween celebration, check out some of our tips for hosting the ultimate Zoom party.
Watch a Scary Movie
Use Zoom’s screen sharing feature to watch a seasonal movie with friends and family and leave your microphones on to share a few screams! Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video have wide selections of Halloween films for all ages.
Wear Your Costumes!
Wearing a costume is the absolute best part of Halloween, and you shouldn’t have to forgo a fun costume because of COVID. Plan a group costume with your partygoers and take lots of screenshots of you all posing in your respective Zoom boxes — this is a perfect opportunity to perfect a Brady Bunch group costume!
If your approach to Halloween costumes is more like that of Jim Halpert’s, don’t worry! Zoom has you covered with its filters and video enhancements. Choose from a variety of virtual “costumes”, including a cyclops, bandit, or unicorn, or opt for a spooky black-and-white filter for your Zoom square.
Social Intrapreneurship and Product Design 