Keen for an authentic American-style trick or treating experience in Singapore this Halloween? Here's how and where to unleash your tiny terrors for a spooky good time!
One of our favourite times of the year is almost upon us: Halloween! Frighteningly filled with witches’ cackles, monsters’ moans and terrifying treats – Halloween in Singapore is not to be missed. Start the spooky season by checking out all the Halloween goings-on in Singapore, and deck your home out in all kinds of spooky crafts. Then, once you’ve made your share of Halloween treats and got the kids suited and booted in some freaky Halloween costumes, there’s only one thing for it: trick or treating!
Now, all you need to know is how and where to score the best loot of Halloween candy. We’ve got all the info you need to make this Halloween one to remember, thanks to this handy guide to trick or treating in Singapore!
A guide to trick or treating in Singapore
1. Plan your night of terror
Halloween is becoming bigger and spookier every year, with plenty of people getting into the ‘spirit’ of things. However, not all types of housing or suburbs are created equal when it comes to trick or treating in Singapore. It’s best to plan your route in advance to maximise the chance that your little scary skeletons will be greeted with a smile and a handful of candy. Here are a few tips:
- Select a ‘hood packed with low-rise condos and cluster houses. Mega-apartments are harder to traverse and Halloween-friendly homes could be floors apart.
- Woodlands, Chip Bee Gardens and Opera Estate are well known as areas that welcome trick or treaters from nearby ‘hoods.
- If you’d like to roam closer to home, keep an eye out in the lead-up to the big day. Zone in on streets with homes displaying grinning jack-o-lanterns and spindly spiders on cobwebs.
- Ask your child’s school (PTA) whether they have any events organised. Better yet, have a chat with other parents in the schoolyard. Some condos organise groups that you may be able to tag along with.
- Start early, at around 6pm, to beat the crowds (and to grab a few treats before they run out!). Then you and your little zombies can be in bed by 9pm.
- Feed and water your mini-monsters before you head out. They’ll be less likely to scoff vomit-inducing quantities of sweets, and more likely to survive pounding the pavement for a couple of hours.
- Get in the mood for a fun night with some classic Halloween tunes. Try Michael Jackson’s Thriller, or the original Ghostbusters theme tune. Watch a scary movie or two, but prepare to hear a knocking at your door in the middle of the night!
2. Keep your mini ghosts and goblins safe
- Choose costumes that are fire-resistant and visible at night (think light-coloured or glow-in-the-dark fabric).
- Make sure little mouths, noses and eyes are not covered by wigs, beards or masks (seeing and breathing are kinda vital).
- While Queen Elsa will try to convince you she simply MUST wear her plastic high heels, best leave them at home lest you’re up for a sprained ankle and emergency trip to A&E.
- Crack out the glow sticks, cute necklaces and bracelets to maximise fun and visibility.
- If you have t(w)eenagers keen to venture out sans adult, make sure they travel with friends. Give them an agreed route (preferably in your neighbourhood where they know people), a curfew, a phone and a flashlight. Plus a lesson on safely crossing the road and a warning to never go off with a stranger.
- You might also want to write down your phone number on your child’s arm. Although Singapore is basically the safest city on Earth, it will give you peace of mind.
3. Post-trick or treating tips
So you’ve made it home alive and odds are, you’ve had a shriekingly good time!
- Before you even set down your bag, check your kids’ loot. Stop them from gobbling it all down, and pop them (the kids, not the sweets) in a bubbly bath to wash off the face paint (and to distract them).
- Turf out the candy that looks like it’s been opened, and sniff any homemade goodies made by someone you don’t know (and don’t forget to secretly stash away your fave chocolates!).
- Have a collection of non-candy treats on hand to swap into their bag. Think stickers, pencils, mini-sultanas, little notebooks and bubbles. If they catch you in the act, tell them you are the “switch witch”.
- Let them indulge in a few sweets of their choosing, but not too many as you’ll not get to bed before the sugar crash (we’re all familiar with the cautionary fairytale of carriages turning into pumpkins on the stroke of midnight).
- For your own sanity, squirrel away the rest of the goodies in a hidden location. These can be rationed out in the days and weeks to come (or for as long as they remember). You could also make a deal that for every sweet, they have to eat one healthy food.
Happy Halloween, folks!
