Fun Halloween Ideas for Your Apartment Community

Can you believe it’s October already?  The leaves are changing, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back and Halloween costume stores are popping up around the country.  Like other holidays, this is a great time for you to have some fun around your apartment community!  Here are some ideas to get your residents together for a spooky, good time:

1.       Lobby candy – If you have a large apartment community, it can be difficult or even impossible for trick-or-treaters to ring your residents’ doorbells.  Instead of disappointing all those little Ghosts, Sarah Palins and Hippies ask your residents to donate a bag of candy for the lobby.  Have your security guard or leasing agents greet the trick-or-treaters and hand out candy on behalf of the entire building.

2.       Scary movies – A lot of people love watching scary movies around Halloween or, if you’re like me, you prefer flicks like Hocus Pocus.  Visit a local used DVD store and stock up on classic Halloween and scary movies for both adults and children.  For the month of October, offer these DVDs for rent from your leasing office.  You can either charge a dollar for the night or ask that your residents bring a canned good to donate in exchange for the rental.  This is a great way to encourage people to have a fun night in at your apartment community.

3.       Used costume swap – Most people don’t want to spend money on a Halloween costume, so try hosting a used costume swap for your residents.  Have everyone bring down their old get-ups to the community room or leasing office.  People can take what they need to complete their funny outfit or scary look and leave their old costumes up for grabs for other residents.  Take all of the leftover costumes and offer them to the children and their parents at a local shelter, so they can have something fun to wear, too.

4.       Pumpkin carving – Nothing says Halloween like carving pumpkins.  If you have a community room, try hosting a pumpkin carving party in there.  You don’t necessarily want your residents to keep carved pumpkins in their apartments, because they can start to smell.  Instead, buy a bunch of pumpkins to decorate the outside of the community and invite your residents to help you carve them.  Provide apple cider, doughnuts or pizza, the carving knives and fun music.  This would be a great way for your residents to get to know each other and you get a helping hand with the decorations for the whole community.

5.       Safe trick-or-treating – If you have a lot of children in your apartment community, organize a safe trick-or-treating event for them and their parents.  Inform all of your residents of the time and date that the children will come around the community.  Encourage them to be extra careful in the parking lot and ask that they leave their outdoor lights on.  Talk about how much fun this event is for the children and ask that as many residents as can are home to answer the door with a smile and some candy. 

Do you do anything special at your apartment community for Halloween?  I'd love for you to share some of your ideas in the comments below! For more visit Apartments.com/blog