Ideas to replace Halloween

[stressedandunimpressed]

We dont celebrate Halloween in our household, nothing to make a fuss of. It's just not a big holiday to us and we find it quite boring. Neither of my boys like going out in the dark and knocking on people's doors for sweets - They get sweets all year round and they're not into dressing up much. They prefer their video games to be honest.

I'm looking for some fun ideas to do instead of the usual Halloween things, I've got one or two ideas but I'm lacking in inspiration.

Just to wind up the people disgusted by all things American...

My kids are quite fascinated by thanksgiving, could you have a thanksgiving dinner? As in just enjoy the culinary aspect - make a pumpkin pie etc

You must have lead a pretty sheltered life if that disgusts you.

I'm also confused! I came onto the holidays board to get travel inspiration and it turns out that our American cousins think of holiday as a day (eg Christmas etc) as opposed to vacation...

If you don’t celebrate Halloween then just don’t celebrate Halloween. Conkers and pumpkins sounds like Halloween.

Do you celebrate bonfire night?

Well it’s a very strange concept to not celebrate or mark a day, but want to mark it enough to ignore it and show that you don’t celebrate it and find it “boring”.

errrmmm, maybe show how much you don’t celebrate by doing Opposite Halloween - stuff pumpkins rather than carve them? don’t eat any sweets? take all your clothes off so you don’t look like you’ve dressed up as anything?

We do a bit of a nod to Dia de Muertos (admittedly inspired by my kids loving the film Coco!) We put photos of close deceased relatives on the mantelpiece, with bits of their favourite food, candles and whatnot. Colour in some floral skull masks, make pan de muerto, and try to model skull sweets out of fondant icing.

My kids wanted to take candles and food to our village church graveyard, but I explained why that might not be such a good idea 😆

errrmmm, maybe show how much you don’t celebrate by doing Opposite Halloween - stuff pumpkins rather than carve them? don’t eat any sweets? take all your clothes off so you don’t look like you’ve dressed up as anything?

😂 Please do this.

It's a Scottish/Irish thing anyway really and lots of people don't celebrate it. Why would you want an alternative activity? I guess the opposite would be ... go to church?

What is it with us Brits and hatred of anything American, anyway?

We put photos of close deceased relatives on the mantelpiece, with bits of their favourite food, candles and whatnot. Colour in some floral skull masks, make pan de muerto, and try to model skull sweets out of fondant icing.

Yes, Guy Fawkes Night (which I don't actually have and issue with) certainly has a historical context. The attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the King and the subsequent castration, disembowelment, hanging and quartering of the conspirators.

Makes a toddler dressed as pumpkin and a few extra sweets look most benign, when you think about it.

Fear of being culturally swallowed up. The French feel the same.

Yup. Not sure why you don't believe me...

For the usual ignorant folk who pop up on these treads - en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

"It disgusts me that kids are taught this rubbish but most have never ever even heard of Guy Fawkes or November the 5th"

ALL kids that go to school have heard of Guy Fawkes. Not that he's got anything at all to do with Halloween. Bit random that you're bringing him up on a Halloween thread but whatever.

Disgusted 😂😂😂 fucking hell

Halloween was celebrated in Ireland and Scotland long before it became a holiday in America .

There was wassailling (sp?) and so on in England too, I think. Going back centuries.

Halloween snd pumpkins is American.

It never takes long!!

And you're wrong.............

. Halloween snd pumpkins is American.
We've been celebrating Halloween in this country for about a million years 🤨

The Scottish and Irish took Halloween to America. I suppose the people on here that hate America probably hate the Irish and Scottish as well though.

And you do know it's not an either or situation? You can partake in Halloween traditions AND teach your children about Guy Fawkes.

@scrufffy
A turnip is NOT a Swede! Different vegetable. As All Hallows’ Eve, of course it was known about. But it wasn’t celebrated at all. Certainly nothing like the over the top stuff we see today. In fact the Church, which guided the majority in the past, celebrated All Saints Day on 1 November.

This is a totally OTT response "staring down the barrel of a gun" is ridiculously extreme.
Especially with the ages of your children

all of this!

If you find Halloween boring surely you'd just ignore it?

It's a bit like the usage of "Mom", people can't accept it is normal W Mids speech and has been forever.

Halloween in some form or another is as old as the hills, as is guising. I welcome the addition of pumpkins, getting dad to carve a swede lantern (Black Country, 1960s) was always an effort!

Going back to OP, if you don't like Halloween just don't do anything. Just treat it like any other night. Idk why you need to "replace" it.