It’s October of 2020, quite possibly the weirdest year ever, and everyone is scrambling to figure out how they will be able to celebrate their favorite holidays in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. We featured ideas for decorating your car for a Trunk or Treat last week, so today we’re going to give you a few more ideas on how to celebrate Halloween this year.

• Some car washes around the country, like Grease Pro in Panama City, FL, and Bay Breeze Car Wash and Lube in Lutz, FL have turned into haunted houses this year so folks can have some good, clean fun. You can still get your car washed to make it shine and get some frights, and portions of the proceeds from Grease Pro and Bay Breeze Car Wash and Lube go to charity. Check with your favorite local car wash and see if they are doing one this year. 
• Decorate the inside and outside of your own home. Go to the store and grab some spider web decorations, streamers, and anything else you want to decorate with. Make ghosts float around the house with wire hangers and white sheets. Make cardboard headstones for a spooky, haunted cemetery on your front lawn. Set up your “Trunk or Treat” in your driveway. Don’t forget to carve up some pumpkins for your porch or anywhere that needs a fall touch!
• Take a tip from Easter egg hunts and make a Halloween candy hunt. Put treats in individual treat bags and hide them around your yard and house. Use any leftover plastic Easter eggs you have and decorate them with stickers. Take a hint from the previous tip and decorate your home and yard like a spooky cemetery or other haunted grounds.
• Host a Zoom costume party. You don’t have to be in-person to show off those awesome costumes! Play some fun games like Bingo, listen to some spooky music and enjoy spending time with each other virtually.
• Host a socially distanced scavenger hunt. You could do this as big or as small as you want. Print out fun clue cards and hide the 2nd clue first. Hide all of the clue cards based on previous hints until you are left with the last one. For the last prize, hide something outside of the front door. A box full of balloons is always a fun scare.
• Do some Halloween science activities with the kids. Use that leftover candy and create a color separation game with some M&Ms! Make some green slime to play with!

Slime Ingredients

• 8-ounce bottle of white school glue
• 1 ½ -2 Tablespoons contact saline solution
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda

Food coloring (optional)

1. Add glue and food coloring to a mixing bowl.
2. Mix in baking soda.
3. Add the saline solution. The more saline solution you add, the thicker the slime will be. The less you add, the slimier it will be.
4. Knead the slime – knead it like bread! It will be wet at first but the more you knead, the more it comes together.
5. Store slime in a zip bag or a container with a lid.

• Try socially distanced trick or treating! Make a candy chute with a few cardboard rolls from wrapping paper or paper towels and send out Snickers bars that way. Individual treat bags are also a great idea, so kids aren’t all putting their hands in the same bowl. Make sure an adult is passing out the candy and keeping proper hand hygiene.
• Halloween drive-through haunted houses have become a new thing in 2020. Get the complete haunted house experience while staying in your car and remaining contactless. The Haunted Road in Orlando is providing this experience from September 25 – November 7, 2020.
• Host a Halloween movie night. With proper social distancing, you can still have friends over to watch some scary movies. Check out some of the best Halloween movies available on Netflix for inspiration.
• Hop in the car and take a Halloween themed road trip! There are plenty of spooky spots around the country to visit. Here are some of our favorites:
  • Castillo de San Marcos in Saint Augustine (1 S Castillo Dr, Saint Augustine, FL, 32084)
    • Castillo de San Marcos is the only remaining 17th-century fortress in the country. It was well known as a ruthless prison for Native Americans. European soldiers were also housed in this location, and their spirits are still said to haunt it today.
  • Lake Okeechobee
    • Lake Okeechobee may look beautiful, but it has a creepy history. Port Mayaca Cemetery (23900 SW Kanner Hwy, Canal Point, FL, 33438) is a mass grave site for African Americans or those of an unknown race, as well as a pauper’s cemetery that perished when a massive hurricane hit in 1928 and broke the Lake Okeechobee Dam. However, there is something more sinister that happened at Lake Okeechobee in the early 1900s. At the southernmost part of the lake, the water seemed to dry up. As it dried, it revealed an underwater ghost town of graves. Beware of skeletons in this cemetery.
  • May- Stringer House (601 Museum Court, Brooksville, FL, 34601)
    • The May-Stringer House, built in 1855, is a favorite for locals in the Tampa area. It is also said to be one of the most haunted homes. Legend has it that 8 different ghosts roam the property, the most famous being Jessie Mae, a child who passed away in 1872 and was buried on the property. The home is also hosting ghost tours, and are taking proper COVID precautions.

Make sure you check out our 6 tips to safe driving on road trips before you head out on your spooky road trip so it doesn’t get any more spooky than you intended!.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has published guidelines for you to make the best decision for your family to stay safe during COVID-19. Remember, if you are positive for COVID-19, experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, please stay safe, wear a mask, and don’t go out where you can have contact with people. We at AutoGlassDoc want you and your family to remain healthy and happy, Thanksgiving is just around the corner!