Halloween for the college student

While planning your Halloween festivities for next week, you may want to take the time to consider some different ideas. There is more to the holiday than dressing up and eating or distributing candy.

Halloween parties are fun too, but there are still many more fun things to do come Halloween week. As college students, we are put in the awkward situation of not being able to dress up and collect candy (in reality, since middle school), but we also don’t typically have the opportunity to hand out candy. So, what are we to do?

To get into the Halloween spirit this year, you may consider one or two or the following ideas.

Haunted House

If you’re looking for something more thrilling than pumpkin picking and carving, you may want to consider a haunted house. This is a great activity to do with friends. Get your gang together and find out who scares the easiest. Moonlight Manner is a haunted house in Grand Rapids, Michigan that is just one of several to try in West Michigan. The attraction is open from 7 to 10 p.m. on Halloween. The website advertises their haunted house, “Rely on your wits, nerve and cunning to survive your passage through the Moonlight Manor haunted attraction while avoiding the marauding and unworldly Scareactor hordes. Trek through the convoluted pathways, anticipating what waits for you around the next turn. Will it be your demise?” The address is 5420 Fieldstone Drive SW, Wyoming, MI 49418. Haunted houses come with a fun challenge to enjoy with your friends during spooky season. If you don’t want to make the trek or pay for a haunted house, why not make your own? DIY haunted houses are a fun and creative way to spend Halloween and/or Halloween weekend. Try dressing up your dorm, apartment or house with unique decor. It may even be fun to try scaring your friends while in costume.

The Cozy Option

If being scared is not in the least bit appealing to you, or you simply want to relax on Halloween, watching movies with some warm apple cider might be the way to go. Heat up your apple cider in a pot and add cinnamon for the perfect touch. Another good option for filling your house with warm, delicious fall smells is to bake cupcakes. Below is a recipe for easy pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Simply whip them up and throw them in the oven before starting your favorite halloween movie.

Non-scary movie list:
1. Hocus Pocus
2. Halloweentown
3. Ghostbusters
4. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
5. Coraline
6. Happy Death Day

Give Back

What better way to spend a “holiday” than to give back to the community. While we may be missing out on handing out candy to kids this year, we can buy food staples to donate to a food pantry instead, or volunteer in a soup kitchen. The Community Action House in Holland, MI holds a Community Kitchen with the support of Western Theological Seminary. This kitchen provides free meals to our neighbors in Holland who are in need. Here is a list of the items most needed in the community kitchen: Large Bags of Rice Bulk Size Dried Soup Vegetables Fruit Tomatoes Tomato Sauce Spaghetti Sauce Kitchen Supplies: Napkins Hot/Cold Cups (12oz.) Coffee Creamer Sugar Serving Gloves Find out more about volunteer opportunities at communityactionhouse.org/ volunteer. For a more active option, running Halloween 5k races, or better yet 5k fundraisers, is yet another way to rise to the occasion. The Holland Free Health Clinic hosts the Run for Your Life 5k run/walk fundraiser. This year, the event is on Saturday, Oct. 27. Participants are encouraged to dress up in their Halloween costumes with the chance to win an award! When you become a Run For Your Life Sponsor, “All funds raised from Run For Your Life will be used to support free health services including dental, vision, audiology, podiatry, diabetic support, counseling, prescription medication, and spiritual care for the local underserved.” Find out more and sign up at http://www. hfhclinic.org/run-for-your-life5k.html.

Shopping

Rather than spend money on a Halloween costume, why not spend the weekend shopping for new fall clothing? Downtown Holland comes with many clothing store options including Glik’s (for men and women) and Francesca’s to name a few. Load up on all your favorite boots, scarves, sweaters and more. Even if you don’t like shopping downtown or at the mall, online shopping is another great option. While the fall season gets into full swing, prices begin to drop on stores’ autumn lines. One great online store is StitchFix.com. This store is unique because it delivers clothing to you, allows you to try different pieces on, and then you can chose which items to keep or send back. According to StichFix, the ten most-needed clothing items for women this fall include a classic white button-down, a carry-all tote, a knit dress, a fleece hoodie, layerable leggings, jeans, a plaid button-down, a cargo jacket, ankle booties, and a chunky knit sweater. All of these items sound so cozy and stylish. Although some stores may have high prices for items like these, sweaters and jeans can also be found for cheap at Old Navy and Target. My advice to you would to be to invest in your staples for your wardrobe, and find good deals on things like accessories. Save money on Halloween cosutmes this year by ditching the dress-up and filling up your closet with practical wear. It can be hard to decide what to do on Halloween as a college student. When in doubt, save money. And if you’re looking for something fun to do, there are plenty of options around the Holland area. Go simple if needed, and just hang out with friends.

Pumpkin Cupakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 17 minutes Total Time: 27 minutes Servings: 24 cupcakes Ingredients: 1 box Yellow Cake Mix (plus ingredients listed on back minus the water) 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla 15 oz can pumpkin puree Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting: 8 oz PHILADELPHIA cream cheese (softened) 1/4 c butter softened 1 tsp vanilla 2 c powdered sugar 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon candy pumpkins (optional) Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350. 2. Prepare cake mix as directed on box, but add pumpkin pie spice and substitute pumpkin puree for the water. 3. Add vanilla and cinnamon. 4. Pour batter into cupcake liners in muffin tins. 5. Bake for 17-20 minutes. 6. Let cool completely. 7. Combine ingredients for frosting in a medium bowl and beat until smooth. Pipe or spread frosting on and top with a Candy Pumpkin if desired. ENJOY!