Not into the Trick-or-Treat and fright of Halloween? There are plenty of other ways to spend your evening. October is more then just the 31st.

One of my most memorable Halloweens was in Jr. High. Instead of trick-or-treating we treated our neighbors, and I don’t mean with TP. We passed out candy to the people who were at home. It was fun and it turned the tables a little.

Fall is a great time to just get together with friends. You don’t have to wait to celebrate Halloween to get together and if your not into Halloween why not try something a little different. Here are a few ideas. Hope you enjoy:

• Progressive Dinners. Join up with a few friends. Start with appetizers and a friend trivia game, move to the next home for dinner and charades, then finish up with desert and a board game. This is also a great way for churches to come together and introduce themselves to college students at the start of the year. Get a few churches to co-host. Each church shares a course of the meal and a little information about their college ministries. Instead of each student having to spend a few months visiting churches they can get to know a handful in just one night. Make it even simpler for them by providing vans to shuttle them back and forth.

• Fall Festivals. Nearly every church has them. Some are on halloween night offered as an alternative to trick-or-treating, some a few days prior. It gives the kids who want to dress up the chance to do so in a pg setting. Make sure to check with the church prior regarding guidelines for costumes. Some may have a strict no monster or gore policy.

• Chili Cookoff. Is there a better fall food? Outside of pie of course. If you are looking for an excuse to draw a crowd steaming bowls of chili and hot apple pie usually do it. And best of all everyone chips in. Offer a small prize to best chili or have attendees vote with their change (little tip jars in front of each pot) to raise money for a good cause. Throw in an auction for the desserts and you’ll raise money and see the competitive side come out in your friends. I’ve participated in these for mission trips and to raise money for youth camp. They are always successful and a lot of fun. Just make sure to have plenty of bowls and cheese on hand.

• Throw your own party. Why not host a murder mystery? You can find some fun Christian themed ones. Decorate for fall and invite all your friends over for a pumpkin tasting, only rule is every dish they bring must be pumpkin inspired. If your looking for a food theme check out my post: A Delicious Month for Foodies

• Treat Others. I will never forget the looks on peoples faces when we rang their doorbells and handed them a treat. They probably were waiting for the trick all night. Put some goodie bags together and start walking your neighborhood. Introduce yourself to your neighbors. It’s a great excuse to meet if you haven’t yet!

Of course if you’d rather hide under the covers avoiding the ding of your doorbell and praying to not wake up to toilet paper landscaping then have fun! Personally, I don’t suggest it. I’d rather be out celebrating life with my friends. Or at the very least have them over handing out candy with me.

How do you spend October 31st? Share in comments below.