Make it a tradition
The Great Halloween Watch
One film each year
Choose one film to watch every Halloween, the way many families watch Home Alone at Christmas. Hocus Pocus, Casper, The Addams Family, Hotel Transylvania and The Nightmare Before Christmas are good places to start. Beetlejuice and Coraline are scarier than they look, so older families only.
What you need
- A film checked against the BBFC rating for your youngest viewer
- A starter list: Hocus Pocus, Casper, The Addams Family, Hotel Transylvania, The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Blankets, a drink, and a snack checked for allergies
- A note of the title, kept with the family Halloween journal if you have one
How to do it
- Read the BBFC rating before you press play. Beetlejuice and Coraline are scarier than they look, so save those for older households.
- Choose one film to repeat every Halloween, the way some families replay the same film at Christmas.
- Watch it while the youngest viewer is still awake, and not already wound up from trick or treating.
- Keep a lamp on if the dark makes anyone uneasy. The point is the shared film, not a fright.
- When the credits end, say the title out loud so it stays the family's Halloween film.
One household's version
A family with a six-year-old chooses Casper and writes the title in their Halloween journal. They watch it after tea with the lamp on. An older cousin who prefers Beetlejuice watches that another evening with the adults, not on the family night.
Safety note: Check the BBFC rating and choose a film that suits your youngest viewer.