Halloween on October 31 is one of the most exciting times of year for kids. This spooky time of year is a great chance to dress up, go trick-or-treating and take part in activities with family and friends. Parents, if you want to keep Halloween both magical and safe, we’ve got you covered. Here are some easy ideas to make this October 31 unforgettable for your little ones.
Halloween Kids Activities: Trick-or-Treating
Trick-or-Treating is the best known Halloween activity for kids and a great chance to wear fancy dress. You may want to team up with other families in your neighbourhood or check with neighbours to plan your Trick-or-Treating route ahead of time and make sure visitors will be welcome. Look out for houses with Halloween decorations and lit-up pumpkins as a clear sign the household is celebrating Halloween. To make things safe and enjoyable for everyone, it’s best to go out early, choose well-lit streets and plan your route. Plan the activity with other families so parents can be at hand to make sure their kids are safe. Remember not everyone welcomes Trick-or-Treaters and they may decide not to answer the door or turn you away. Be considerate of older people who may be feeling wary of people knocking on their door. Go along with your kids and you may consider giving them glow sticks or torches to light up their route.
Neighbours and friends – get your Halloween sweets and treats ready for Trick-or-Treaters. If you want to get involved, let your neighbours with kids know or make it clear with decorations or a sign on your front door. There are lots of special offers at this time of year on Halloween sweets and treats in the supermarket so you may want to get stocked up.
Pumpkin Carving
Another Halloween classic is pumpkin carving. Remember knives are sharp and pumpkins can be hard so if you are managing several children doing this activity, you might want to decorate pumpkins instead with paint, stickers or glitter. There’s nothing quite like a pumpkin with a carved face and lit up though, so remember to take your time with this fun Halloween activity. One benefit of not carving a pumpkin, is it will last longer. If you do carve out the insides, there are plenty of pumpkin recipes for you to try out, including soup and cakes.
Halloween Parties & Games
A great alternative to going outside and Trick-or-Treating is hosting a Halloween party at home. If the weather is bad or this feels like a safer option, then it’s easy to make party activities Halloween-themed. For example, spooky musical statues or pin the broom on the witch. Apple bobbing is perfect at this time of year too. You may have Halloween decorations stored from previous years or be able to stock up in the supermarkets with Halloween-themed party gear. Again, a great chance for fancy dress. There are lots of spooky tunes playlists available on Spotify or online too. An inside party could be a great chance to curl up and watch Halloween movies.
A Halloween party could also be a great opportunity for Halloween crafts. For example, maybe you could get crafty and make your own Halloween costumes. This is a great way to save money. Start collecting cardboard and other useful items now to get creative with this Halloween.
Another money saver could be to start making Halloween decorations now, ahead of your party. For example, cutting out and colouring bats, witches and monsters. Use string and other recycling bits to make spiders and webs to decorate your home or doorstep.
If you’re stuck for ideas, even just getting out craft materials and encouraging children to get creative is enough. You could draw the outline of a pumpkin and get children to decorate it with painting, felt tips, stickers or feathers. A great crafting material for Halloween is getting googly eyes. You could create, draw or paint silly monster faces or spooky patterns.
Outdoor Halloween Kids Activities: Treasure Hunt
A Halloween treasure hunt could be a great way to get outside in a more rural area or an area where you don’t have houses you know you can Trick-or-Treat. Glow in the dark objects are great way of having fun in the dark and toy spiders or torches can add a lot of fun if the theme is Trick-or-Treat. Of course, prizes or sweets at the end can bring the Treat to this Halloween activity. Having a Trick-or-Treat treasure hunt is a great way to have fun without knocking on strangers’ doors.
Pumpkin Trail
Is your neighbourhood really into Halloween? Well this time of year could be a great opportunity to have a walk around and look at the decorations or pumpkin displays without disturbing people on an Autumn evening! Maybe you could hold a Pumpkin trail with other neighbours or family in the area. For fun, you could also have a competition for best pumpkin. You could extend the categories to things such as silliest or scariest too. As long as no one feels left out!
Autumn Walk
Many people prefer not to focus on Halloween but it is still such a wonderful time of year to do fun things with the kids. The trees are turning from green to gold and there are plenty of leaves falling to kick into the air in the park. Make Halloween seasonal by collecting leaves, pinecones, conkers and acorns. These could be used to make seasonal decorations for Autumn. Maybe you could collect items from nature and make silly monster faces with them at home for Halloween.
If you go out on a walk, it can be a great time to learn about the cycles of nature, as well as watch birds and squirrels.
Other Halloween Kids Activities Ideas
- Halloween baking
- Spooky stories
- Watch Halloween movies
- STEM experiments such as vinegar and baking soda to create a “witch’s brew”
- Mindful crafts to help children unwind after a full on day at school
Sensory friendly activities
For some children, Halloween may feel overwhelming. Adapt these ideas depending on your child’s needs. For example, a quiet movie night, small craft activity or earlier Trick-or-Treat visit can help them feel included.
