Although Halloween this year is slightly different than the previous years, you can still have fun and do kid-friendly activities at home that allows your family to stay safe while participating in this celebration.
As recommended by the CDC, it is better to do low-risk activities that prevents the spread of viruses.
You don’t want to participate in large gatherings, Halloween parties, or other events that will include crowds of people coming together.
You also don’t want to do the traditional trick-or-treating nor do you want to hand out candies to kids as it poses a risk of spreading viruses among one another.
But, what you can do is to enjoy these 31 Halloween activities that is both safe and enjoyable!
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1. Create a Halloween banner
A great way to start the Halloween month is to build the mood in the house with a banner. With this printable banner, you can encourage your kid(s) to help you do the work by printing, cutting, and stringing a string along the words so that you can complete the look in the house!
A banner typically requires simple things such as a yarn or string, scissors, and something to punch a hole into your letters. If you don’t have a hole puncher, you can use the tip of a pen and poke it into the letters.
Make sure you grab a copy of your banner below.
2. Paint pumpkins
Painting pumpkins is one of my favorite ways to enjoy Halloween since you can let your imagination flow into a piece of art.
Grab a brush and some colorful paints and let the Picasso in your child come out. Plus, it’ll be a great exercise for the brain.
For kids, I recommend getting mini pumpkins so that they are easy to hold and paint. You can get real or artificial pumpkins but ideally, real pumpkins are the way to go!
3. Shadow play
Shadow play is a simple and fun activity that has been forgotten but for this Halloween, it’s the perfect opportunity to bring it back and let your kids learn stories through them.
The most popular and easy way to do so is to use your hands and a flashlight for the shadow play. You can easily make a dog, wolf, or any other creature that comes to mind and your kids are sure to enjoy it!
4. Create Halloween paper lanterns
If you’re feeling crafty, you can make Halloween paper lanterns with your little one(s). All you need is a scissor, some colored papers, and a glue to create the face for your lanterns.
Other Halloween lanterns you can make include:
- Ghosts
- Bats
- Vampires
- Monsters
- Frankenstein
5. Watch kid-friendly Halloween movies
Looking for a movie night? This is the perfect time to grab a seat, eat some popcorn, and watch some movies!
A few of my favorites include:
Netflix is also now featuring a section for, “Spooky Stories,” with movies that are the perfect fit for this Halloween mood. If you have a Netflix account, make sure you explore what they have available so you can plan a thrilling night with your little one(s).
6. Listen to kids’ Hal
lowe
en songs
Music is a form of expression and can be used to make this Halloween more entertaining by listening to fun and upbeat songs.
My daughter (soon-to-be 3 years old) is a fan of Halloween songs and often listens to this one on YouTube by the Super Supremes. She also enjoys the popular, “This is Halloween,” song that is sung by talking pumpkins.
7. Have a hand-paint session
Hand painting is not only fun for kids but a great way to improve their fine motor skills. Grab some paper and paint and have your little one(s) explore with colors as they create a master piece for display!
Here’s a, “Mommy’s Little Monster,” handprint idea from Stacey at Glued to My Crafts blog, where you can make handprint monsters or, for more Halloween hand print ideas, check out these cute ideas from My Bored Toddler’s blog. You can even join her free 5-day Halloween craft challenge!
8. Build a Halloween cookie house
Familiar with gingerbread houses? Well, this is no different!
You can build a Halloween cookie house and turn it into a Hansel and Gretel house with a rooftop full of gumdrops. Make your evening a creative building session with your kids and have them decorate with candies of their choice.
I recommend getting a Halloween cookie kit since it already has all the items you need for building but if you’re looking for DIY alternatives, then this one from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe shows you how to make a Halloween house out of graham crackers. Neat right?
9. Print Halloween coloring sheets and color them
Have some crayons and colored pencils? Bring them out and have your kids enjoy a coloring session!
You can download and print free Halloween coloring sheets at Crayola or get these 75 Halloween coloring sheets from Homemade Gifts Made Easy.
Either way, coloring is a therapeutic way to calm the mind and can help your kids focus on one thing at a time.
For more coloring sheets, check out these links below:
- Get these ready-to-download Halloween coloring pages for kids at Free N Fun Halloween
- Find bats, ghosts, cats, monsters, and more coloring pages at Coloring.Ws
- For intricate Halloween designs, you can get these beautiful coloring sheets available at Primary Games
10. Build a spider web using craft sticks, yarn, and glue
The number of Halloween crafts out there is endless but one craft idea you can make is a spider web out of craft sticks.
To do so, you will need:
- 3 craft sticks
- A string or yarn
- Glue (I used hot glue)
This activity is so easy to do and will take less than 7 minutes to complete! For a visual tutorial, check out my video here.
11. Make Halloween pumpkins with orange paper plates and black construction paper
The most simplest activity you can do is to make Halloween pumpkin faces out of paper plates.
To make it even better, you can use orange paper plates and simply cut out eyes, nose, and a mouth out of black colored paper. If you can’t find orange paper plates, don’t worry, use regular white paper plates and paint them!
Or if you don’t want the Jack-o’-lantern look, you can find more paper plate ideas by Carolina at Mama Instincts.
12. Play a counting game with candy corn
I’ve never been much of a candy corn person but when it comes to activities, it’s a great tool (and treat) to use when counting numbers.
You can do so by having your kids play a counting game using candy corn or you can do so with printable activity sheets.
For starters, grab my free counting activity sheets that are available for download today!
13. Create a handprint or footprint art hanging canvas
You can have your kids personally make their own Halloween home décor by creating a handprint or footprint art hanging canvas. With some paint, your little one(s) can make spiders, monsters, hats, or witches!
You can find a nice picture tutorial over at ChemKnits, which shows how to make a hanging canvas by turning your footprints and handprints into ghosts, spiders, and Frankenstein. Such a cute addition to your home!
14. Make an Eyeball Tree Monster
Turn a tree into an a “thousand eyeball monster” using printable tree templates and craft eyeballs! You can snag printable tree templates online and use these craft eyeballs that are self-adhesive to avoid the mess.
15. Bake Halloween cookies
Have a baking session and bake some cookies! You can find Halloween cookie cutters and make skeletons, cats, bats, and more!
16. Make a bat hat out of paper
Another craft activity you can do is to make a Halloween bat hat out of paper. You can grab a free printable template over at Kids Craft Room so you don’t have to make your own.
17. Read a fun and spooky book for kids!
Have some fun with spooky and chilling books! Here are some of the top Halloween books for kids.
18. Have a spider day
One thing you can do is to have a spider day and do spider-related crafts. You can sing the, “Itsy Bitsy Spider Song,” meanwhile building spiders with play-dough, craft sticks, and more.
19. Decorate your front door with Halloween decorations
Take a day to decorate your front door with Halloween decorations. You can encourage your kids to come up with ideas and do some crafts that will make your door appealing. It’ll also be a good addition to the neighborhood look!
20. Make Halloween rice crispy treats
Looking for some Halloween rice crispy treats? You can easily make your own with this cute Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treat recipe at Cooking Classy that requires rice crispies, orange food coloring, pretzels, and marshmallows. It’ll be a yummy addition to the menu and can encourage your kids to improve their sensory skills as they mold, pat, and shape their pumpkins.
For more Halloween rice crispy ideas, check out these 10 Spooky Rice Krispie Treat ideas at Wide Open Eats.
21. Watch a Disney movie (For example, Monsters Inc., Coco)
I’m a huge fan of Disney and can’t miss out recommending a night watching Disney movies.
My top two favorites for Halloween include Monsters Inc. and Coco but other movies that is not so far off my top list include Maleficent and James and the Giant Peach.
Disney movies are available via Disney+, which they are currently featuring a Halloween Collection of spooky movies for kids.
22. Play with Halloween stickers
Do you have a sticker child who loves to play with stickers? I do! And my almost 3 year-old enjoys sticking them everywhere.
To avoid turning your walls into a wall full of stickers, use blank copy paper or notebooks and have your child play with stickers. You can even encourage him or her to help you decorate cups, pencils, cards, and more and give them away to family or friends.
23. Print out activity sheets for kids
Pick your child’s brain with these fun-filled Halloween activity sheets that are sure to keep them busy!
- Find Halloween mazes, worksheets, and more at Education.com
- Learn about letters, numbers, and colors with these worksheets at K12reader.com
- Connect the dots, color some art by numbers, and learn to count with these fun sheets available at All Kids Network.
24. Make kid-friendly Halloween drinks
Want to experiment some new Halloween drinks?
You can do so with these 16 ideas from Brit+Co, featuring Halloween-themed drinks such as Marshmallow Ghost Hot Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice Churro Milkshake, Jolly Rancher Punch, and Creepy Shirley Temples.
25. Snag Halloween freebies and deals
Schedule a special day this October to snag some amazing Halloween freebies and deals available near you.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Krispy Kreme is offering a $1 Sweet-or-Treat Dozen to share with family and friends when you buy any dozen. This deal is avilable to redeem in a shop or online (use code SweetOrTreat) on 10/10, 10/17, 10/24/ and 10/31!
- Baskin Robbins is offering guests a regular or kid-sized ice cream scoop for only $1.31 on October 31st. In addition, by downloading Baskin Robbin’s new mobile app, guests can enjoy a free regular 4 oz. scoop of their favorite ice cream treats with a Baskin Robbins card.
- Chipotle is hosting a Boorito event this year for Halloween! On Wednesday, Oct. 31, from 3 p.m. to closing, customers who are in costume at all Chipotle locations in the U.S. and Canada can order a burrito, bowl, salad or tacos for only $4. The deal will be also be available via the Chipotle app or online.
- Chuck E. Cheese is offering free treat bags all October long when your child visits in a costume or when you buy an All You Can Play card of 30-minutes or more. Only one free treat bag per day per kid.
- Lowe’s is hosting a Curbside Trick-or-Treat event by offering a free kid-sized pumpkin along with free sweet treats on October 22nd and on October 29th. Registration starts on October 10th as space is limited. Make sure you mark your calendars so you can sign up!
26. Decorate glazed donuts
Have some donut fans in the house? Grab some donuts and decorate them!
You can turn your donuts into spider webs, vampires, ghosts, and monsters! What a wonderful way to make donuts more enjoyable.
To make it easier for you, I’ve collected Halloween donut ideas on my Pinterest board so you don’t have to do the extra work. Check them out here.
27. Make an Orange sherbet punch
If you’re looking for a delicious drink to try, try this orange sherbet punch and have your kids help you make some. All it requires is orange juice concentrate, lemon-lime soda, pineapple juice, and orange sherbet. Get the recipe here from Layne at Spaceships and Laser Beams.
The best part about this is the creamy foam that forms once the orange sherbet slowly melts in the drink! Yum~
28. Carve a pumpkin
The most popular activity during Halloween is to carve a pumpkin. Grab these free printable pumpkin design templates from Red Tricycle to help you carve some amazing pumpkins for this year’s celebration.
After completion, display your master pieces in front of the house so others can enjoy your artwork.
29. Make some healthy Halloween snacks
Get creative with food and have your kids help you make some healthy Halloween snacks!
Learn how to make creative snacks such as orange pumpkins with carrots, mandarins, and other fruits from Jamielyn at I Heart Nap Time or, if you prefer strawberries, Scarlett from Made It Ate It Loved It made cute little ghost strawberries that are easy to make using only three ingredients!
30. Have a Halloween egg hunt
Egg hunting doesn’t have to be for Easter only, it can also be for Halloween!
Have a backyard Halloween egg hunt filled with yummy treats to get your kids active and going! You can stuff those eggs with gummy brains, chocolates, and eyeball candies.
To host a Halloween egg hunt, you can do a glow in the dark Halloween egg hunt using this creative idea from Party Delights or make your own by using Easter eggs and adding Halloween stickers to them. Either way, they will both be fun.
31. Have a mini Halloween party at home
With COVID-19 still going on, it is best to avoid large gatherings or parties but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a Halloween party at home.
Have your own little Halloween party with just you and your family on the night of Halloween and make it a memorable night to remember.
Set up Halloween decorations, make some popcorn, watch some movies, or play some music and start a dance party! You can play Halloween bingo, matching games, and more.
Want a free printable 2020 Halloween calendar for this list? Download your copy below!
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