Pumpkin Takeover
Midnight on Halloween. Everything turns orange.
Download shortcut⏱ 40s setup
Open this page in Safari on an iPhone. The file goes straight into Shortcuts.
What happens
At midnight on October 31st they get a jack-o’-lantern wallpaper and dark mode, and a voice cackles once. Every other night the shortcut checks the date and does nothing.
Setup
- Open the download on their phone (or AirDrop it over) and tap Add Shortcut.
- Long-press it in Shortcuts → All Shortcuts → Rename and call it Pumpkin Patch, so it doesn’t give itself away.
- Shortcuts → Automation → + → Time of Day, set 12:00 AM, Monthly on day 31, select Run Immediately, tap Next and choose the shortcut.
- Run it once now and tap Always Allow if anything asks. (It does nothing unless it’s Halloween, so it’s safe to test-run.)
Undo
Open Shortcuts → Automation, swipe left on the automation and tap Delete. Then delete the shortcut. Set their wallpaper back from Settings → Wallpaper.