These are weird times.

With the traditional Halloween trick-or-treating trip cancelled because of Covid-19, parents will need to dig deep into the creativity cauldron to think of ways to make the spooky season extra special.

Happily, there are loads of kindly businesses and groups that are willing to help with a host of activities and ideas to make the occasion memorable, many of them free of charge.

Here are six cool events you can enjoy at home or in your own time:

1. Visit the skeletons 

Do you live within 5km of the city centre? If so, there’s a couple of new river residents to check out.

Cork Community Art Link, the organisation that brought us the Dragon of Shandon Parade, has joined forces with Meitheal Mara and adapted this year’s Cork’s Samhain celebrations to include an ethereal pair of floating skeletons on the River Lee.

Stroll across the Shandon Pedestrian Bridge for the best vantage point – it looks even more mysterious after dark.

Main image: Orla Dalby

Looks great by night too! pic.twitter.com/N76ccNb8pZ

— Arundhathi Krishnan (@KArundhathi) October 25, 2020

2. Join a Virtual Disco with Stevie G

Clear a space in the living room and turn up the volume; Cork DJ Stevie G is hosting a Halloween Disco live on Twitch from 6pm on October 31st, 2020.

Special guests include DJ Lola the vampire and MC Monster Marvin. The fun is free but donations to Cork Penny Dinners are encouraged. Check it out here.

3. Pick up a fab-BOO-lous afternoon tea for kids 

All dressed up and nowhere to go?

Bring the party to your house with a Spooktacular Afternoon Tea from The Metropole Hotel on MacCurtain Street. Available Friday – Sunday, the selection of takeaway treats is €14 per child and you can call 021 4643700 to order.

If you order one for yourself too they’ll never know…

4. Cook along with The Bunnery

Grab your ingredients now, then set up the laptop in the kitchen to cook along with The Bunnery on Saturday, October 31st, 2020 from 11am on Facebook Live.

Recipes will include Fruit Punch with Eyes (you’ll need blackcurrant cordial, melon, blueberries, a melon baller and a large bowl), Pepper Exploding Brains (peppers, cooked spaghetti, pesto), Pastry Mouths (pre-packed croissants, jam, mini marshmallows, strawberries) and Mandarin Pumpkins & Banana Ghosts (mandarin oranges, a stick of celery, bananas, chocolate chips).

Check out the full list of recipes and ingredients here.

5. Try some spooky science

The Smart Edu Club offers at-home science-based camps for curious children aged seven and older. They’ve published a series of four free spooky Halloween science activities you can try at home using everyday materials and easy-to-find ingredients.

Get the kids busy making ‘Ghostly Expanding Balloons’, ‘Window Gel Decorations’, ‘Vampire Fake Blood’ or ‘Colour Changing Magic Potions’ – you might even learn something new yourself.

Check out the activities for free here.

🎃 Do you want to give you children a perfect Halloween at home?

⚡These #STEM activities were designed to get you into a spooky spirit!

✅ Minimum materials necessary, suitable for 7+yo children!

👉Get the #STEM experiment sheets https://t.co/K51V96lHZl pic.twitter.com/0e1Rn4Rpmk

— SMARTEduClub (@SMARTEduClub) October 29, 2020

6. Words and woo-woo

On a dark November night… close the curtains, dim the lights and tune in for a Spoken Word session courtesy of DeBarra’s Clonakilty via Facebook Live on Wednesday, November 4th.

Kicking off at 8.30pm, expect tales of Guy Fawkes, ghosts, the thinning of the veil and other ghoulish goings-on.

Visit the DeBarra’s SpokenWord Facebook just before it starts to take part.

On a dark November night..weird,wonderful..& woo woo? There’s a SpokenWord sess-Wed 4 Nov @ 20:30..Halloween,Guy Fawkes,ghosts,thinning of the veil-We’re hoping for fireworks! All welcome @ open mic! Go to event on DeBarra’s SpokenWord Facebook just before it starts to take part! pic.twitter.com/Ga63z2Er1b

— Cork County Arts (@CorkCountyArts) October 29, 2020