1. Decorate a haunted gingerbread house. We did this the past weekend & the kids loved it. Look for kits at your local store (we found ours at Trader Joes). The kids loved putting on the mini bone candy & the spooky black cats!
2. Trick or Treat somewhere in your community. Watch your local newspaper & websites for special Halloween trick or treating. Lots of malls, communities, museums, & other places hold their own special trick or treating time before Halloween. Last year, we went with our local moms’ group in town & did some trick or treating in a nursing home. This year, I know that we are heading to a local outdoor shopping area for a little early trick or treating with the kids!
3. Have a costume dinner. Some kids may be nervous or anxious to put on a costume so to get them prepared for the big day, have a special “costume” dinner earlier in the week where the kids can wear their costumes to dinner. Dim the lights & light some candles and have a fun and festive dinner!
4. Make sure to carve the pumpkins. This is one of my kids’ favorite Halloween activity-scooping the pumpkin seeds & watching their pumpkin turn into a jack-o-lantern. Let the kids play with the pumpkin goop & roast the pumpkin seeds for an extra special fall snack. For young kids or if you don’t have time to carve as a family, then take some time to do some quick pumpkin painting!
5. Read some Halloween books. Some of our favorites include:
- The Monsterator by Keith Graves
- Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane
- Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
- The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan Berenstain
- Five Little Pumpkins
- Clifford’s Halloween by Norman Bridwell
- The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll & Jeni Bassett
- Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler & S.D. Schindler
- Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
- Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman & S.D. Schindler
6. Visit the pumpkin patch. Or a garden center. (Or even the grocery store, if you are busy!) Pick a pumpkin out together & make it a fun adventure for the kids!
7. Have a Halloween Crafting Session. Pick several craft ideas & spend some time together making Halloween projects with the kids. We have lots of craft ideas in our post, 30 Halloween Projects for Kids!
8. Have a fun Halloween movie night. Kids can wear their spookiest pajama wear & have a festive snack! Some movie ideas include:
- It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- Curious George: A Halloween BooFest
- Hocus Pocus
- Spooky Buddies
- Casper
- Room on the Broom
9. Take an early evening walk with flashlights. Now that it’s getting dark out earlier, embrace the chance to bundle up after pajamas are on & take them out for a walk with flashlights to check out the night & the neighbor’s Halloween decorations.
10. Find a local Halloween parade. We are already looking forward to attending ours next week where the kids can wear their costumes & watch the parade go by!
11. Make a special Halloween dessert. One of our favorites is the Candy Corn Cake, but we also love to make the super simple slice & bake Halloween cookies! Other ideas that we have featured include the simple Halloween dessert cups, Halloween Oreo Truffles, & the Pumpkin Spice Cookies.
12. Have a fun Halloween breakfast the morning of Halloween. Here are two simple ideas:
A special Halloween cereal, such as Boo Berry or Count Chocula with orange colored milk (thanks to a few drops of food coloring).
Ghost Pancakes. Make abstract ghost pancakes with batter & add chocolate chips for eyes and mouth.
13. Have a fun & festive photo shoot. You can make it Halloween themed and let them wear their costumes early. It’s easier to get the Halloween costume pictures before the big day arrives! If your little one isn’t big into costumes, take photos in the falling leaves or by the pumpkins.
14. Make Halloween handprints with your kids on canvas to save those little handprints in a fun & festive way! Some ideas include: Candy Corn Handprints, Handprint Vampires, Black Cat Handprint, Handprint Witches, or Spider Handprints.
15. And last, head out and trick or treat!
Happy Halloween!
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I've never thought of doing a Halloween gingerbread house– what a cool idea 🙂
So many fun ideas! Totally printing this out for my little ones to check off!
This is a fantastic bucket list. I've already completed several off of this list, and can't wait to make some Halloween treats! 🙂
Awe, what a fun list! Hope you had a great halloween<3