What has not happened at noon can happen at night
Caesar Borgia
One of the most fun and fascinating dates of the year for the little ones in the house is approaching: Halloween - the name of the holiday also called Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Eve - which takes place on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints, a liturgical time intended to remember our dead, martyrs and saints in the Catholic tradition.
Do you know what the best Halloween traditions or Halloween plans to do with children at home are? At Cucamenta we will give you a handful of good ideas, from experimenting with the best terrifying makeup ideas for a monster night to a good scary movie session or preparing homemade Halloween costumes so that the kids can have fun with their friends.
Find the festivals and customs of your town
In Catalonia, for example, there is the Night of Witches and the Chestnut Fair in Viladrau; La Nit d'Ànimes in Puigcerdà -where Els Espantanens give away sweets- and in Pratdip there is a mysterious festival with medieval charm.
In Mallorca you can enjoy the Nit de Ses Ànimes and follow the traditions: leave a candle lit, eat ensaïmadas or stuffed robiols, or give the children a “Rosari ensucrat” made according to tradition with sugared or candied fruit. In the city there are plans such as sessions in the library, cinema for children, the Tunnel of Terror in Marratxí or a visit to the terrifying house in Palmanyola.
Bewitch your house
Turn your house, apartment or garden into a haunted mansion full of secrets, whispering ghosts, green zombies and witches on brooms. Browse social media sites like Pinterest or YouTube to find the best DIY Halloween ideas - even if they're just made out of cardboard.
Try paper bats, ghost garlands, scary plates (Dracula or Frankenstein), mummy candle holders, spider webs made from sticks... The ideas are endless! Even dare to paint glowing skeletons or make ghosts out of old sheets.
Horror movie session
There are so many great and spooky horror movies to watch with your family on Halloween : Corpse Bride, Hotel Transylvania, The Haunted Mansion, Ghostbusters, Young Frankenstein, The Addams Family, Hocus Pocus, Edward Scissorhands, Casper, Beetlejuice, Gremlins...
The theme of the films does not necessarily have to be scary. You can also take advantage of the fact that we are in Difuntos to talk about death to children through titles such as Planta cuarta, Coco, El Rey León or Tomates verdes fritos, always depending on their age and preferences.
Spooky food for the occasion
If you celebrate Halloween you can try making sausages transformed into mummies, bone cookies, pizzas with eyes or even a zombie burger . Dare to make dripping icings, scary cakes, jelly worms or even
Blood-red punch, bone-shaped cookies, pumpkin-shaped cakes, dripping frosting, bat-shaped cookies, or sausages turned into severed fingers or mummies are some of the best Halloween recipe ideas.
Celebrate Samhain
In Galicia, tonight is Samaín - in Gaelic, Samhain, which means "end of summer", since the ancient Celts celebrated this moment of transition from summer to winter, a time when the living and the dead intermingled.
You can perform rituals such as picking apples with the mouth of a cauldron of water - something that the druids did to predict the future -, lighting a bonfire, sculpting a skull in a pumpkin to scare away evil spirits with a candle, leaving the fireplace lit so that the dead do not get cold.
Trick or treat!
The origin of trick or treating is not American, but Celtic : going around the neighborhood in costume, asking for candy, requires choosing between receiving a scare, a joke or a prank, or giving the little ones a handful of sweets.
This was already done many centuries ago in Great Britain and Ireland: in the Middle Ages, instead of sweets, people asked for soul cake in exchange for praying for the souls of the dead. Millennia ago, Celtic people dressed in clothes made of animal skins to ward off spirits.
Let the dead inspire you
Turn on spooky lights, make your costume out of anything you have around the house – toilet paper or an old sheet can turn you into a ghost, or a red lipstick is enough to “cry blood”. Roast chestnuts in the oven, sauté mushrooms, improvise creative recipes with pumpkin, dust off old Grimm Brothers tales, observe the moon and stars – so magical and mysterious in autumn – or organize a spooky storytelling session.
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