How PTOs Celebrate Halloween

Trunk or Treat: In this fun spin on trick-or-treating, costumed kids collect candy as they stroll through the school parking lot looking at decorated cars. Think family-friendly tailgate party. Here’s how it works: PTOs and PTAs invite families to decorate the opened trunks of their cars and give prizes for the best decorations. These may range from traditional spooky Halloween decor to scenes celebrating a favorite sports team or a kids’ movie. Some schools offer food and bounce houses at their trunk or treat events.

Carnival: Before planning a carnival, talk with the principal and others in the school community to determine what type of event will work best. Some schools go all out with haunted houses and fortune-tellers, while others prefer to stick to a fall harvest theme without the ghosts and goblins. Whichever route you choose, our articles on “School Carnival Planning Basics” and “Classic Carnival Activities” can help you plan a successful event.

Educational Family Night: There are loads of ways to tie learning into a Halloween-themed family night. One school held a Spooky Science Night where kids and parents used a cauldron of liquid nitrogen to make frozen marshmallow treats. Another held a Pumpkins and Poems night where families decorated pumpkins and children wrote poetry. And many schools have invited families to come to a family reading night dressed as their favorite children’s book character.

Parade: A Halloween parade is a beloved tradition at many schools. Students wear their Halloween costumes and teachers lead their classes on a short walk on school grounds while parents watch, cameras and camcorders in hand. At many schools, students enjoy classroom parties after the parade. If you’d like to have a parade at your school, find out how the principal and teachers feel about kids wearing costumes at school. Some principals don’t allow costumes during school hours because they’re too distracting in the classroom.

Costume Swap: Provide a service for families by organizing a costume swap a few weeks before Halloween. Ask families to bring last year’s costumes to school to receive a ticket that can be exchanged at the swap for a different costume. You’ll be helping families save money and making it easy for gently used costumes to get more mileage. If the swap is received well, consider holding another to trade different items; in addition to Halloween costumes, parent groups have organized swaps for children’s books, school uniforms, and sports equipment.

<

Candy Collection: After everyone has overloaded on sugar, collect leftover Halloween candy from students and parents, then donate the candy to a local shelter or food pantry or ship it to troops overseas. Invite students to decorate brown paper bags to hold the candy or make cards to be sent with the donations. Be sure to check first to see whether your chosen organization will accept donations of candy and find out about any restrictions. (It’s best not to send chocolate bars in care packages to soldiers in desert climates, for instance.)