October is a month filled with spooky fun! Homes are festively decorated to be cute or scary. There are costume contests where individuals can show off their creativity. And you can’t forget the Halloween themed movies to watch with your family. It’s also a fun time to show off your baking and crafting skills with your kids. Here are just a few fun activities that you can do with your little one, when enjoying Halloween this year. 🧡
1. Decorating
My daughter loves looking at the decorations people put up during the Halloween season (and honestly, so do I). Luckily, folks are pretty festive where we live. If you’re neighborhood doesn’t really decorate, you have the option of visiting Costco, Target or other retail stores nearby. Most stores have decorations up or have a designated Halloween section. While you’re out running errands or just want to get out of the house, bring your kids along to the store so that they can look at decorations in a lighted and less scary environment. If you decorate your own home, invite your child to be a part of the process. You can paint or carve pumpkins together and put them outside your home. Kids love feeling that they are a part of something, include them with small age-appropriate tasks. They’ll feel a sense of pride and joy every time they come home and see what they helped decorate. 🕸️
2. Costumes
It wouldn’t be Halloween without costumes. I think it’s the most fun when kids get to the age where they want to choose their own Halloween costumes. My daughters last 3 choices were Mirabel (from Encanto), Elsa (from Frozen) and last year was Spiderman (with full mask and muscles). The joy that kids get from dressing up as their favorite character is priceless (it’s even more fun when you dress up with them). You could also DIY your child’s costume together as a fun project. Pinterest and Instagram have so many fun ideas for a do-it-yourself costume. We love seeing all the family coordinated costumes. And the homemade ones are always super creative and loaded with cuteness. 👻
3. Pumpkin Patches
During the month of October there’s usually a pumpkin patch or two nearby. These are fun and typically non scary places to celebrate the Halloween holiday with your little one. The ones we have been to offer a mini corn maze, multiple areas to take photos, a hayride or mini train, and multiple food vendors. Some have carnival rides or games, hay towers for kids to climb and of course the pumpkins you can pick to take home. You’re little one can dress up in their favorite costume or fall outfit and enjoy the day at the pumpkin patch as another non scary option. 🌻
4. Trunk -or- Treats
Lately I’ve been loving trunk or treats more than actual trick or treating. I know it may be an unpopular opinion, but there is just so much more for little ones who might be scared of the traditional house to house. As someone who tries to limit sugar in our home, this option tends to work better for us. This year, I took my daughter to a trunk or treat at one of the local schools. They had a variety of different activities for kids to play to win a candy. There were bounce houses, a cake walk, dunk tank, and plenty of creatively decorated car trunks with games at each. Her attention was focused more on the games and activities than the amount of candy filling her bucket. She was able to dress up in her costume and still have Halloween fun. 🍬
5. Crafts
If you’re a crafty person and you have a kiddo that loves arts and crafts, this is a fun season to create cute little keepsakes. The stores are filled with different craft sets for the Halloween season that you can make with your child. You can also craft something with items you might already have at home. A simple online search for homemade Halloween crafts will give you tons of ideas to make at home with your kids. After the season is over you can save those same crafts to use as decorations for the following year. My kid’s crafts from each year have become keepsakes and decorations for the following years in our home. 🎨
6. Trick -or -Treating
The night everyone typically looks forward to is trick or treating on Halloween. Most families enjoy this night to go out together in their costumes and go door to door for buckets full of candy by the end of the night. The decorations and special effects on homes look really nice at night and it’s just as fun seeing everyone else’s costumes. It’s a night of excitement, creativity and bonding with your kids and family. If you have a little one who is too scared of decorations, costumes or walking through the neighborhood then passing out candy on Halloween may be another option. I remember spending some Halloween nights at my grandparents’ house when I was younger. We would sit on the front porch in our costumes and pass out candy. There would be a line full of kids, young and old in their different costumes. My brother and I would help pass out candies and it was just as fun as going door to door ourselves. Last year, my daughter and her cousin went trick or treating to a few homes earlier in the evening and later helped pass out candy. Because some of the homes were too scary for them, passing out candies and seeing other people’s costumes was more fun for their age. 🎃
7. Baking
As soon as fall arrives, suddenly everywhere is pumpkin spice everything. Some people, like me, enjoy baking more when the temperature drops. You can make plenty of sweet holiday treats with your kids this Halloween. If you’re not a fan of baking from scratch, pre-made cookie decorating might be for you. There’s also the option of a cookie haunted house. Make it a family event and get everyone involved in creating a decorative haunted cookie house. Most stores have kits that already have everything you need in them and are already pre-baked. Make sweet treats and sweet memories at the same time. 🍪
8. Movie Nights
As you may already know, we love Harry Potter in our household. And now that my youngest has grown a liking to the movies as well, we enjoy spending a weekend night curled up watching it together. Our tradition is to watch these movies during this time of the year and it’s something we look forward to as soon as fall comes around. There are plenty of Halloween themed movies that aren’t too scary for little ones to watch. You can create a fun tradition with them of watching their favorite movies each year and maybe sharing some that you grew up watching too. 🍿
I hope this list has given you some ideas for celebrating Halloween with your little ones. Enjoy creating traditions with them and don’t forget to take those pictures! 📷 Happy Halloween! 🎃