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How to Celebrate Halloween Safely During a Pandemic

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This post contains affiliate links, meaning Broke-Ass Stuart will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links. That’s cool though because not only will you be getting something to make Halloween more awesome, you’ll also be helping support independent journalism.

This sure as hell ain’t happening this year

COVID has ruined everything this year, even the Bay Area’s favorite holiday, Halloween. This time around there won’t be haunted houses, late night dance parties, or even trick-or-treating. Alas, this is a very sad year indeed.

That doesn’t mean you can’t still have a safe and fun holiday this year though. I’ve got some suggestions below so that you can still enjoy this wicked holiday and have the cute instagram photos to prove it.

Have a Virtual Costume Party

Yes, that really is a Carol Fucking Baskin Halloween costume! You can grab these and more right here.

Putting on costumes and partying with friends and strangers is literally one of my favorite things to do in the world. We obviously can’t do that in person this year…sigh…but we can do it virtually! You can rally your friends and have drinks together online while having a costume contest.

If you’re looking for a funny and topical costume that sums ups our pandemic experiences (like the ones above), check out all the dope stuff Tipsy Elves has right here.

Watch Scary Movies

Nothing quite gets you in the Halloween spirt than scary movies. While there’s a ton of stuff to watch on TV this month, did you know there’s a streaming service just for horror movies?

Shudder is the ultimate streaming service for horror fans — it’s the largest uncut, ad-free selection of horrors, thrillers, and suspense on all your favorite devices. The platform by AMC features more than 500 films chosen by real human horror experts. And the best part is that a subscription to Shudder is only $5.99/month. You can can also sign up to watch for 7 days for free and host the Halloween movie marathon of your dreams (or nightmares). Learn more and sign up right here.

Have a Virtual Costume Fashion Show with your Adorable Kids

It’s Halloween. You’ve produced another person or two and they are adorable. They are even more adorable when you dress them up. Dressing kids up in funny outfits is like 64% of why you had them in the first place. So why not have a zoom party with all your friends and show off your little ones? Plus there’s the added bonus of saving pics or vides embarrass them with when they grow up.

Enter Carter’s, the sister brand to the iconic OshKosh of your youth. It has the absolute cutest costumes on the internet. Check them out right here.

Stay Safe While Keeping in the Halloween Spirit

Speaking of your cute kids, might as well get them fitted for Halloween while keeping them safe.

SchoolMaskPack is doing what they can to make wearing masks a little more fun for kids and a little easier to manage for parents — they’re selling masks in packs of 5 for kids and adults, and they’ve even got some spooky-cool designs for Halloween week! Why not? check them out right here.

Have a Virtual Costume Fashion Show with your Pets

Are pets in costume one of the last sources of pure joy available to us in 2020? Maybe! Chewy, the ultimate online shop for pet parents, is also the ultimate online shop for pet costumes. This is just as fun as dressing up your kids but somehow even funnier. Check out the whole range of costumes right here.

Decorate Your Home So it at Least Feels Like Halloween

A big part of Halloween is making it feel like it’s Halloween. Since you most likely live in California if you’re reading this, it’s not like we have changing seasons or autumn leaves. That’s where Zulily comes in.

Zulily is an online flash-sale site that has just about everything you can think of — including cutesy Halloween decor, whimsical accessories for entertaining, cheeky tees and lots of other ways to inject some fun into this godforesaken year. If you’re gonna stay home this Halloween, you may as well do it up. Check out all their stuff right here.

Just say “Fuck It” and Get Wine Drunk by Yourself

Firstleaf Wine Club not only makes their own wines, which allows them to sell premium shit at bargain prices, they also use an algorithm to understand and deliver on your preferences (after you consent, of course). They’ll deliver a box of 6 specially-curated bottles of wine to your door for only $39.95 for you to host a haunted tasting. Check them out right here.

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Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and his freelance writing has been featured in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, The Bold Italic, Geek.com and too many other outlets to remember. His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appears every other Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner. Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages. In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.

He's been called "an Underground legend": SF Chronicle, "an SF cult hero":SF Bay Guardian, and "the chief of cheap": Time Out New York.