It’s that time of year again—Halloween is right around the corner. While you might be in a dorm room instead of carving pumpkins at your parents’ house, that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate! There’s plenty of opportunities to dress up, go to parties, or find other Halloween activities to do with your friends.
Depending on what activities you enjoy and how much money you’re willing to spend, you can throw a party yourself or participate in other Halloween adventures. This list will run through the best 8 ideas for how you can celebrate a college Halloween this year:
Throw a Costume Party
To start things off, we have the classic Halloween costume party. In college, everyone loves a chance to dress up. You can make it a free for all with everything picking their own random Halloween costumes or have a theme.
College student Halloween costumes tend to be on the funny or risqué side, so having a theme for your costume party will definitely help people figure out what to wear. For example, “Dynamic Duos” could be a Halloween party theme where your friends show up in complementary costumes like Batman and Robin.
Walk through a Haunted House
Would it really be Halloween without getting spooked? If you’re looking for something fun to do on Halloween, look no further than your local haunted house. Sometimes, people set these up in their houses or sheds, so be on the lookout for haunted houses in the neighborhoods around your college campus.
You can also look for haunted houses by your local community colleges or theaters. Actors love an opportunity to dress up and chase people. These types of haunted houses tend to be more affordable, too.
Participate in On-Campus Events
Speaking of haunted houses, colleges love to host Halloween activities. Sometimes, that means an on-campus haunted house, Trunk or Treat night, or a Halloween mixer. Depending on what school you go to, these kinds of activities have a significant budget and go all out for Halloween.
Stay posted with your college’s student activities organizations. They love to host Halloween activities for students. Follow them on social media to make sure you know about anything and everything that’s happening on campus during Halloween. For an event like Trunk or Treat, you’ll even get some free candy out of it!
Host a Scary Movie Night
If you’re not the type of person who wants to go out and party all night, there are Halloween activities for students who want to stay in their dorm to celebrate, too. You can host a scary movie night for all your buddies to hang out at. Stock up on popcorn, drinks, and a bunch of candy. Better yet, have your guests bring all the treats!
If you don’t have a TV at your place, you can purchase a mini projector at an affordable price online. Set it up in your common area, pick a classic Halloween movie (e.g., Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, etc.), and get ready for a night of jump scares! There’s nothing quite like screaming in terror while snuggling up with your friends.
Make Halloween Gifts
Have you heard of care packages? How about Halloween care packages? Now, how about Halloween care packages for college students? That’s right—they exist! And they’re also cute, thoughtful, and easy to put together. This is the perfect Halloween gift to let your favorite college student know that you’re thinking about them on Halloween.
Many college students miss their holidays at home. Celebrating Halloween at college is completely different from celebrating at home. A Halloween care package can get them into the festivities and help them feel loved while they’re on their own. Popular Halloween care packages usually include tons of candy, Halloween décor like plastic bugs, candles, or ghosts, and a Halloween pun (“you’ve been boo’d!”). Take a few minutes to assemble a Halloween care package for your favorite college student, and they’ll always remember it.
Pumpkin Carving
Nothing says Halloween festivities quite like a Jack-o’-lantern. Go to your nearest pumpkin supplier and grab enough pumpkins for you and your friends to carve. Then, you all can have a competition for the best pumpkin carvings.
You can even mix it up and create superlatives for the Scariest, Funniest, and Weirdest pumpkins. Then, you can roast the pumpkin seeds and enjoy a tasty snack while being surrounded by your DIY Halloween decorations.
Visit a Theme Park
This Halloween activity is for all those thrill-seekers out there. Theme Parks like Six Flags go all out for Halloween. Their decorations are top notch, they hire actors to chase guests around with chainsaws, and they have epic haunted houses.
If you’re college is close to a theme park, check out their Halloween events. You can ride roller coasters with your friends while getting an authentic Halloween experience. Is it really Halloween if you haven’t gotten chased with a chainsaw?
Halloween Scavenger Hunt
There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt to kick off your Halloween celebration. Your college campus is an excellent place to hide clues. Just pick a few landmarks around school, create some Halloween-related clues, and pick a funny prize for the winner!
This is a great Halloween activity for college students who don’t want to go too far away on Halloween but still want to do something fun. You can also still wear college student Halloween costumes while you roam around campus looking for clues. The point is that you’re all having fun on Halloween. When you’re with people you care about, wearing goofy outfits, and searching for a prize, you’re destined to have a night to remember.
Conclusion
Whether you’re ready to dress up in your favorite student Halloween costume for a night on the town, curl up with some Halloween books for kids and adults, BookTok books for fall 2024, or horror books, or you want to stay in and watch a movie, there’s something for every college student to do on Halloween. Colleges love to have their own Halloween activities for students, but if you’re too cool for school, there are plenty of other things to do outside of campus. Choose what sounds fun to you and make some memories!
