35 Halloween activities for kids and families to enjoy all season
Who isn’t excited for Halloween? Let the festivities begin with kid-friendly but frightful activities.
Younger children who scare easily will love fall-focused activities, like hayrides and apple picking, while braver souls can enter haunted house attractions and embark on ghost tours. Families will also have fun doing crafts, making recipes and playing board games in the spirit of Halloween.
Try these 35 Halloween activities for kids and enjoy spooky season!
More Halloween fun and ideas
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Dig through Halloween sensory bins
Grab a bucket and fill it with “eyeballs” (peeled grapes), “intestines” (cooked spaghetti) and “rotten teeth” (candy corn). Who dares to stick their hands inside?
Get a Halloween makeover
Transform yourself into Dracula, a witch or a ghost with face paint or dramatic makeup.
Take a bone-chilling walk
Stroll through a neighborhood to check out decorated houses with Halloween lights, decorations and animatronics.
Try on costumes in a Halloween store
Kids change their costume plans a jillion times before Oct. 31, so plan accordingly by hitting a Halloween store and trying on costumes. Remember to take photos so kids can review their choices.
Listen to a mystery podcast
Get into trouble with a fictional mystery kids podcast like “R.L. Stine's Story Club,” “Mina and Lucy’s Guide to Slaying Dracula” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Official Podcast.”
Explore your town’s ‘haunted’ history
Uncover the chilling truth about your hometown, whether it’s the “headless horseman” of Sleepy Hollow, New York, or the witches of Salem, Massachusetts.
Make ‘Happy Halloween’ cards
Use construction paper, glue, and scary cut-out images to make Halloween cards. Don’t forget to mail them before Oct. 31!
Attend (or organize) a Halloween parade
Watch a Halloween parade or organize your own procession through the neighborhood.
Visit a theme park with Halloween vibes
Major theme parks usually introduce festive menus, scary characters and horror-themed rides in October.
Spend the morning at a pumpkin patch
When you’re done picking pumpkins, take holiday photos in the fall-like atmosphere.
Say ‘boo’ at the zoo
In October, certain zoos (such as in San Diego, California, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Melbourne, Florida) host Halloween events.
Take a ghost tour
Many cities and towns advertise tours of so-called haunted places, such as The Queen Mary ship in Long Beach, California, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, and the French Quarter neighborhood in Louisiana.
Cook a terrifying meal
Serve a zombie-themed cheese and charcuterie board, “mummified” hot dogs or jack-o’-lantern bell peppers (more meal ideas here). For dessert, offer chocolate-covered "booberries" or “sweet Dracula doughnuts.”
Visit a haunted house
Pop-up haunted house attractions can be exhilarating for older kids.
Hang Halloween decorations
Decorate rooms in your home with fake cobwebs, monster decals or pumpkin string lights.
Play scary board games
Games like Candy Land, Ghosts Can’t Draw and Halloween-themed Bingo are appropriate choices for this time of year.
Make a thrilling playlist
Get down with Halloween songs for kids, like “Monster Mash,” “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” or “This is Halloween.”
Carve (and paint) pumpkins
After you’ve carved your pumpkin, add color using glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint.
Play tag with orange glow sticks
Buy orange glow sticks for a nighttime game of outdoor Halloween tag.
Watch scary movies
“Hocus Pocus,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” are kid favorites. While adults can revisit “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Halloween” and “Child’s Play.”
DIY your Halloween costume
Take the hassle out of costume shopping by making one at home. These DIY options are cool.
Play Halloween charades
Charades but make it Halloween-themed: Play a zombie, a witch or a ghost.
Wander through a corn maze
Get lost in a corn maze as a family or pair up to race against each other. Who will get out alive?
'Boo' the neighbors
Leave Halloween treats on a neighbor’s doorstep with a note stating, "You've been BOO'd" and instructions to pay it forward.
Find your way out of an escape room
Visit a child-friendly Halloween escape room, an experience that has players finding their way out of locked rooms by decoding clues and riddles. You can also play the game online.
Tell ghost stories
No campfire is needed to delight in the tradition of ghost stories. Cut the lights and pass around a flashlight to scare each other.
Learn about Día de Muertos (“The Day of the Dead”)
Día de Muertos, otherwise known as “The Day of the Dead,” is a Latin American tradition to honor late family members and friends. Celebrants paint their faces with skulls and display altars with food and flowers. Kids can learn more about the holiday by watching the Disney movie “Coco.”
Guess at Halloween trivia
Why do we trick-or-treat? Why do we dress in costumes? Why do we eat candy? Learn about the history of Halloween with a fun trivia game.
Go on a hayride
No tricks, just a fun fall afternoon!
Try a Halloween craft
We love paper plate pumpkins and masking tape mummies.
Play Halloween musical chairs
Break out the Halloween tunes and play musical chairs.
Read scary stories
Hide under the covers with a flashlight and a scary book. Older kids can read the “Goosebumps” or Stephen King book series while younger kids might prefer "Spooky Pookie" by Sandra Boynton or “Creepy Carrots!” by Aaron Reynolds.
Go apple picking
Find a local orchard and stock up on a bushel or two of your family's favorite apples. Snack on them plain or dip them in caramel for a special treat.
Play, ‘Guess how many candy corns are in the jar?’
Remember this childhood game? Fill a jar with candy corn (only you know how many there are inside) and have people guess the right amount. The winner gets them all!
Host a post-Halloween candy swap
Little trick-or-treaters might not be entirely thrilled with the candy they collected on Halloween, so organize a swap to keep the fun going.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
