Halloween is on a Thursday this year, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be celebrated. Celebrating in the residence halls can be difficult when all you want to do is trick-or-treat like when you were little. (At least that’s how I feel every year!) While it seems like there’s no way to celebrate All Hallows Eve on campus, here are some ideas to get you into the spooky spirit!

Watch Disney Channel Original Halloween Movies.
Growing up, I was obsessed with Disney Channel Original Movies, and the Halloween ones were always my favorite. If you’re a sucker for a good old fashioned DCOM, here are some of my personal favorites.

• • Girl vs. Monster (Hulu)
  • Halloweentown (Hulu)
  • Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (Hulu)
  • Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire (Hulu)
  • The Scream Team (Hulu)
  • Twitches (Hulu)

Watch family Halloween movies.
DCOMs aren’t for everyone, but other family Halloween films can help you get into the spooky season. They might not have the DCOM flair, but they’re still prized gems.

• • Corpse Bride (Hulu)
  • The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It (Amazon; $3.99 to rent)
  • Hocus Pocus (Hulu)
  • It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Hulu)
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas (Hulu)
  • Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost (Hulu)

Watch horror/thriller Halloween movies.
Some people want more thrills than wholesome content on Halloween, so here are some scarier films if you’d rather watch something from between your fingers.

• • The Amityville Horror (Hulu)
  • The Blair Witch Project (Amazon; $1.99 to rent)
  • Donnie Darko (Amazon; $0.99 to rent)
  • The Exorcist (Amazon; $2.99 to rent)
  • Pet Sematary (Amazon; $2.99 or $4.99 to rent)
  • Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Amazon; $14.99 to buy — available to rent starting 11/5)

Bake themed treats and pass out candy.
If you live in East, South, or West, you can take advantage of the kitchens to bake Halloween cut-out cookies or Pillsbury Halloween sugar cookies.  You can also hand out candy to other residents on your floor. Ask your RA if you can have a small Halloween party! This will give you a fantastic excuse to wear that costume you’ve been planning for weeks.

Carve or paint pumpkins.
Carving pumpkins can get kind of messy, but you can still decorate pumpkins without the pumpkin guts! Whether you pick up some paint and a paintbrush or a knife and spoon, decorating pumpkins is a fun activity to help de-stress with friends and roommates.

Photo courtesy of Pexels.