Did you know that 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the cult classic Halloween film, Hocus Pocus? It’s been a favourite in my family for as long as I can remember and I look forward to it every October. We’ve been ticking just about everything off on our Family Fall Activities List and have been making the most of this fun time of year, but one of the last things on our list is watching Hocus Pocus. With less than a week left until Halloween, I’ve put together five fun ways to celebrate 25 years of the magic of Hocus Pocus!
1. Have a Hocus Pocus movie night
Every October we like to make a big bowl of stovetop popcorn and watch Hocus Pocus together. It really is a great mix of adventure, comedy, magic and good old fashioned family fun. Lucy is still too young to see it, but our newborn Rosie was able to join us this year, as she slept through the whole thing at only twelve days old, ha! I look forward to being able to share it with our girls when they’re a little older.
2. Visit the Hocus Pocus Filming Locations in Salem
Five years ago, Garrett and I took a road trip to Salem, Massachusetts in October to enjoy all the Halloween fun, and while we were there I put together a Self-Guided Walking Tour of the Hocus Pocus Filming Locations. Over the years, I’ve heard from people who worked on the film, others who used to live in Salem, folks from all over the world who plan to visit it and I’ve even heard from the children of the couple that still own the iconic house where Max and Dani lived. It’s pretty amazing how much people love this movie.
With the 25th anniversary this year, my walking tour has been featured on Apartment Therapy, Country Living, Delish and PureWow among others. It’s been great to see it reaching so many new people. You can read more about our Salem trip here and here.
3. Make Batty Cupcakes
Who doesn’t love a fun and festive Halloween treat? These Batty Halloween Cupcakes. would be perfect for your Hocus Pocus movie night. The chocolate bats were my favourite part to make – and you could create any shape you’d like from ghosts and bats to pumpkins and cats.
4. Rock a Sanderson Sisters T-Shirt
How cute is this Hocus Pocus themed t-shirt? There are some great designs out there like this one and this one. They’re perfect paired with jeans and a plaid shirt for a casual fall look.
5. Carve a Black Cat Pumpkin for Thackery Binx
Lucy is so proud of all the pumpkins she grew in her patch this year. We’ll be carving up a whole bunch of them for Halloween night and I love the idea of making some to commemorate the movie. Thackery Binx, the black cat who was really a boy, was always one of my favourite characters in the movie. I definitely loved the idea of having a talking cat for a pet, just like Thora Birch’s character Dani did.
I stumbled upon this easy Black Cat pumpkin carving pattern from BandofCats.com and this more detailed Winifred pumpkin carving pattern from PumpkinPile.com
However you plan to celebrate this frightful time of year, I hope you have a spooktacular Halloween!
