How Sussex students can salvage Halloween 2020

Earlier this week, Brighton and Hove’s council warned local residents not to attend Halloween parties or go trick or treating, in light of the Tier 1 coronavirus restrictions. No parties? No trick or treating? How are we supposed to have fun? We hear you cry. But don’t worry, The Sussex Tab has got you covered with some spookily safe suggestions, so you can still claw some little enjoyment out of this post-apocalyptic shambles of a year.

Here’s a few ways you can celebrate this year, without putting you or your loved ones at risk:

Get creative with your costumes

Parties may be cancelled this year, but dressing up certainly is not. Get inventive  – force your household bubble to devise a group costume, or go solo with some spooky Sussex-themed suggestions. Still stuck for something to wear? Take The Sussex Tab’s spooktastic Halloween costume quiz!

Get your game on

We get it, Scrabble doesn’t exactly scream Halloween fun – but in times of hardship we are forced to go back to basics. Perhaps you could hold an extra spooky game of hide and seek, or if you’re feeling creative, make your very own drinking board game! Endless fun, until someone inevitably spills their drink on your precious handiwork.

Cook a ‘fiendish feast’

Now, this one is arguably a bit more obscure, but when director of public health for Brighton and Hove, Alistair Hill, warnned Brightonians against traditional Halloween parties earlier this week, he suggested that citizens ‘cook up a fiendish feast’ instead. After a lot of Googling the definition of ‘fiendish’, we can only conclude that he meant some sort of spooky-themed meal. Honestly, we have a lot of questions for Mr Hill, but don’t knock it ’til you try it.

Of course, there are some constraints that come with the humble student budget, but you’d be surprised at what fiendish foods you can cook up using standard household items. Ghost toast, anyone?

Get decorative

Now that we’re spending more and more time inside, why not adorn your abode with some spooktastic decorations. Of course, some of you may wish to go the extra mile, kitting out the place with cobwebs, skeletons and pumpkins galore, but if you’re feeling cheap, minimal or just lazy, there are many ways to decorate your house on a budget. Can’t be bothered to carve a pumpkin this year? Permanent marker and a satsuma works just as well!

basically the same thing!

See the Blue Moon

Finally, something special about Halloween 2020 is the rising of the Blue Hunter’s Moon – where two full moons appear in the same month. The next one won’t be visible until the year 2023 – so get outside if you can and view this ‘once in a blue moon’ phenomenon! Uranus will also be visible as well, making it an excellent night for stargazing (weather permitting).

So, even if your usual spooktober celebrations have been disrupted this year, we hope these suggestions will help you get the best out of a bad situation. And remember – there’s nothing more truly scary than a global pandemic. Stay safe, everyone.