Are you searching for new ways to celebrate Halloween besides traditional trick-or-treating? Maybe the weather outside is not cooperating, or maybe trailing the kids all over your neighborhood doesn’t sound all that appealing. These fun family Halloween activities will help!
Here are some fun family Halloween activities to try at home.
But remember, everyone still gets to dress up! It is Halloween, after all!
Glow-in-the-dark candy hunt
Who says Easter eggs can only be used once a year? Add glow sticks along with pieces of candy to plastic Easter eggs and hide them around your house. Turn off the lights, give your kids a flashlight, and let them hunt for glowing eggs all over the house! You can also hide them outside if the weather isn’t too cold.
Papier-mâché pumpkin piñata
Kids love piñatas, and making a pumpkin piñata is pretty simple to do, even for those parents who don’t consider themselves very crafty. The needed supplies are probably things you already have around the house—a balloon, newspaper, white glue, orange and black craft paint, and string. Because you have to let each layer dry as you go, allow a few days to complete this project.
Here are the directions:
Mix 1 part glue with 2 parts water. Tear up newspaper into small pieces. (2 inches by 1 inch is a good size to start. You might need to go even smaller around the top edges.)
With your hands or a foam paintbrush, apply a small amount of glue mixture to the blown-up balloon. Add a small piece of newspaper. Coat the newspaper with a little more glue mixture. Repeat this step until the balloon is covered, slightly overlapping the newspaper as you go.
Once you have the first few layers down, let the balloon dry overnight. Add a couple more layers the next day. Once the balloon is completely dry, paint it to look like a pumpkin.
Cut a small hole at the top and fill it with candy. Poke or punch two holes near the top edge, and add a strong string to hang it from the ceiling or tie it onto something. (We tied ours to the end of a long broom handle.)
On the night of Halloween, put a blindfold on your kiddo, give them a quick spin, and then let them have a whack at it with a plastic bat. Depending on your kids’ age, you might want to make it a bit more challenging to break open (since you spent so much time on it!) An easy way to make it more challenging is to move the pumpkin up and down while they are trying to bust it open. This can be quite entertaining for those watching!
Halloween memory game
Cut up a few sheets of card stock into 3” by 3” pieces and write or draw Halloween themed words or images on the pieces of card stock. Make duplicates so each word/image has an identical card to match.
Mix up the cards and spread them out on the table. Take turns trying to find matches. You can make the game harder or easier by adding/taking away the number of pairs you are using. Whomever ends up with the most matches gets to choose a candy treat.
Trick-or-Treat at home
Close all the doors to the rooms in your house, and have your kids wait in one room while you hide. Have your kids go around the house, searching for you as they knock on each door. When they find you, they get to “trick-or-treat.”
If you have Halloween costumes from years past, dress in a different costume for each “trick-or-treat” encounter to make it even more fun for your kiddos.
Pin the nose on the Jack-O-Lantern
This a twist on the classic pin the tail on the donkey game. Use some freezer paper or tape together 4 pieces of construction paper to make the game board. Draw a pumpkin on the paper along with the eyes and mouth, and the outline of the nose.
Cut out triangular noses out of black construction paper and attach small pieces of tape to the back of each. Blindfold each participant, spin them around, point them towards the pumpkin and let the laughter ensue.
Candy taste test contest
This game is better suited for older kids who have been through their fair share of Halloweens! Chop up small candy bars into little pieces and place each chopped up candy bar in its own bowl. Label each bowl with a number.
Kids get to taste test a little bit of each type of candy bar and then write down on a piece of paper what they think each one is. Whomever gets the most correct gets a king size candy bar!
Song contest
Break up the family into teams of two or three. (Depending on family size and age of kids, you can mix siblings together or pair up a child with a parent.)
Each pair has to pick a popular song (lullabies are easier for little kids…like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”), and come up with new Halloween-themed lyrics for that song. Then each team gets to perform their new song rendition for the rest of the family.
Decorate Halloween cupcakes and/or sugar cookies
To make this extra easy, you can buy cupcake mix and pre-made sugar cookie dough. And you can easily bake the cupcakes and cookies ahead of time and freeze them until you are ready to decorate.
You can either do traditional round cookies or try to find some Halloween-themed cookie cutters. You can also usually find some special Halloween-themed cupcake liners at the dollar store a craft store. It’s also fun to use frosting and sprinkles that are traditional Halloween colors.
Halloween movie night
End the evening with a family movie night featuring your favorite Halloween movie and some Halloween treats. Check out your local library’s selection of movies, or see what is offered on your favorite streaming service.
I hope this list will help you discover some new Halloween traditions to try with your family and friends. Have fun celebrating with family Halloween activities!
