Spooky Fun and Safe Halloween Activities

It’s no wonder why people love Halloween — it’s a celebration filled with excitement and wonder! Folks of all ages eagerly plan their costumes and decorate their homes welcoming the fall holiday.

While trick or treating may be one of the most traditional ways to get into the Halloween spirit, it’s not the only way to enjoy some spooky fun this season.

Whether you’re skipping going door to door this year and looking for alternative activities, or if you’re just looking for some additional ideas for spicing up your Halloween celebrations, you’ve come to the right place! We have lots of tips and ideas for your family to keep themselves entertained and enchanted by the spookiest holiday of the year!

Fun Family Halloween Activities

Looking for things to do to celebrate the Halloween season? These fun activities will add some excitement to your holiday plans.

1. Costume Photo Shoot

Get your witch hat out of the closet, pick the most festive part of your home or yard and strike a scary pose! Get the whole family together for a silly and fun costume photoshoot. You can keep these photos for memories or share them with your friends for an online costume contest.

Create a private Facebook event to share your fun photos with family and friends. Have each kid or family win a costume category from “most spooky” to “most imaginative.” Everyone should feel like a winner and get a special treat accordingly.

2. Spooky Movie Marathon

Nothing gets you in the spirit quite like classic Halloween movies! Turn your living room into a scary movie-lovers dream with lots of pillows and blankets. Or, if the weather permits, have a nighttime watch party outside. Get out a projector and play movies in the backyard under the twilight sky with snacks and sleeping bags.

3. Monster Mash Dance Party

Who doesn’t love a good dance party? Clear the living room and turn up the Halloween tunes to bust a move. Your kids will have a blast and you’ll love seeing so much joy on their faces!

5. Check What’s Happening in Your Community!

Whether or not your area is doing trick or treat this year, there might be some other community activities happening. Make sure to keep and open ear out for upcoming events. Do you belong to any online communities, too? Check your favorite social networks to see what kind of virtual festivities may be in the works

Recipes So Good, It’s Scary

Cooking and baking Halloween-themed goodies is a great way to get in the holiday mood while staying at home. We have easy recipes the whole family can safely create in the kitchen, together.

1. Health-O-Ween

You can create holiday friendly treats without going straight to artificially sweet snacks. If your family prefers to eat naturally sweet foods, you can turn fruit in your fridge to frightful snacks! Give tangerines and bananas a holiday spin with just a matchstick of celery, a couple of raisins or mini chocolate chips to transform them to cute, yummy ghosts and pumpkins the whole family will enjoy!

2. Spooky Brownies

Craving something craftier than a fun-size candy bar? Melt a few marshmallows on top of a fudgy brownie and add dots of melted chocolate for a ghostly upgrade.

3. Witches’ Brew

What do you have stewing in the cauldron? Make a mysterious mocktail with your favorite soda or sparkling water and a splash of colorful sherbet. Add garnishes like orange wheels, gummy worms or whipped cream, and finish with themed ice cubes or paper straws.

4. Classic Cookies

Just because trick-or-treating might be cancelled, it doesn’t mean you can’t share some goodies with your friends or neighborhood. Bag a few sugar cookies with packets of different-colored icing and send them to friends for a grown-up cookie-decorating challenge! Challenge each other for fun, or maybe do an online poll to declare a cookie-decorating champion.

Halloween Crafts

Crafts are a fun and simple way to celebrate this special time of year. With so many iconic characters to represent Halloween — Frankenstein’s monster, mummies, vampires, werewolves, etc. — there are an endless amount of crafts your family can do! Here are some examples to get your creativity flowing.

1. Halloween Toilet Paper Roll Crafts

Your crafts can be tricky, but you can still treat the environment! Reuse old toilet paper rolls to create your favorite Halloween character. You can get as creative as you’d like using paint, paper or googly eyes to make a fun, sustainable decoration!

2. DIY Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Garland

Spending more time at home this year gives you even more reason to go all out for decorating your home! Why not start by adding a Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin garland? It’s the perfect way to welcome the October holiday.

3. Classic Pumpkin Carving

We can’t talk about Halloween crafts without mentioning carving pumpkins! It’s a timeless Halloween craft the whole family will enjoy. Just make sure to assist your little ones when working with sharp carving tools.

4. DIY Costumes

While it might seem easier to search and buy costumes online, creating costumes at home can be far less expensive and far more special! You don’t need to be a seamstress to create something totally unique and cool either; there are plenty of DIY costume ideas that’ll make wearing your Halloween outfit that much more satisfying.

Halloween Themed Games

With the house decorated and your tummies full of witches’ brew, it’s time for some family-friendly Halloween games! We have ideas for game time with your loved ones that could make Dracula smile.

1. Halloween Trivia

Do you know why we call October 31 “Halloween?” Or do you know Frankenstein’s middle name? Have your family dress in their festive best and challenge one another to a friendly game of trivia. It’ll keep your family entertained and you’ll learn a thing or two along the way.

2. Halloween Tin-Can Bowling

Skip the smelly bowling shoes and find a forgiving spot on your floor or driveway to do Halloween tin-can bowling. This is a two-part game: First, you paint the cans to represent your favorite Halloween characters — and then you get to knock them down!

3. Pin the Bow on the Skeleton

If you’re hoping for something super easy that takes little-to-no preparation, look no further. Pin the Bow on the Skeleton is easy to setup and you can find it easily online to print at home, for free!

4. Halloween Charades

Do you think you have the best werewolf impersonation? Test your luck with a family game of charades. Winner gets to pick which scary movie you get to watch later!

Download and print a free game of Halloween charades here.

However you plan to spend your Halloween this year, remember that there are an endless number of options. As long as you surround yourself with good spirits and add a dash of creative magic, every Halloween can be your favorite one yet.

Happy Halloween!

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