21 Family Halloween Ideas and October Activities for 2024

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In the run-up to Halloween 2024, it’s fun to get involved with your little ghoul.

Donning a spooky costume, picking pumpkins, creating fall crafts ‒ there’s a whole (g)host of Halloween activities to keep everyone entertained!

After all, Halloween isn’t just for kids!

If you’re after some family fun Halloween inspiration and things to do in October 2024, browse our 20 spooktacular family Halloween ideas.

In this article: 📝

What are some fun Halloween activities to do with kids?

When the weather gets chilly, there’s nothing quite like snuggling up indoors with cozy jumpers, warm apple cider, and hot cocoa.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy fun indoor Halloween activities!

Have a look at our favorite 14 fun Halloween activities at home.

1. Carving or painting Jack-o-lanterns

We had to start our list with this most classic of all things to do for Halloween!

When you’ve chosen the perfect pumpkin, make an evening of scooping out pumpkin guts and carving a fun face on it!

Got a little one who wants to get involved?

Skip the carving and instead break out the paints to draw a spooky face on your new pumpkin friend.

Why not give it a name while you’re at it?

Here are some Jack-o-lantern name ideas to choose from:

• Jack: Not just for ‘Jack-o-lantern’, but also for Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
• Mr. Pumpkin: Not the most imaginative, but it is catchy!
• Spice: After the millennial favorite, the pumpkin-spiced latte.
• Sienna: It’s orange, after all!
• Autumn: ‘Tis the season.
• Titan: For a huge pumpkin.
• Sasquatch: A great name for a great big squash.
• Baby Boo: A type of mini pumpkin, it also makes for an adorable name!
• Sweetie Pie: Another cute name, but it could also be your pumpkin’s fate…
• Patch: From the pumpkin patch!
• Rusty: Another name for your pumpkin’s orange hue.
  Or you could let your little one choose the name for your pumpkin!

2. Read some Halloween books

Got a little bookworm?

Try reading some Halloween children’s books together for some Halloween family fun.

We like Room on the Broom, Trick or Treat Little Pumpkin, Baby Touch and Feel: Halloween, Peppa’s Halloween Party, and the Harry Potter series for bigger kids.

3. Costume report

Add a little education to the traditional Halloween family activity of dressing up in a costume.

Encourage your little one to research whoever they’ve chosen to dress up as, and give a mini ‘report’ to your family or their friends.

They can learn research skills as well as improve their communication.

4. Make-your-own Halloween costumes

Instead of buying a pre-made Halloween costume online or in-store, why not try making your own from old clothes at the back of your closet?

We love how DIY-ing can bring everyone together ‒ it’s one of our favorite Halloween family ideas on this list!

Get some extra crafting supplies to make this family Halloween activity extra fun!

5. Create a candy wreath

Go one step further than a carved Jack-o-lantern to get trick-or-treaters to your front door with a DIY candy wreath.

Find a ‘naked’ wreath, like this pair on Amazon, then attach some of your little one’s favorite candy using a hot glue gun.

6. Bake some spooky cookies

There are so many ideas for this fun family Halloween activity ‒ from sugar cookie skulls to ghostly meringues, Rice Krispie pumpkins, and spider truffles.

We can’t decide what our favorite family Halloween activity is: baking or eating the treats!

🎃 Get more creepy inspiration: 31 Boo-licious Halloween Food Ideas for Kids

7. Halloween movie spook-a-thon

From Halloween movies for toddlers and babies to scary movies for bigger kids.

Get the popcorn popping, dim the lights, and snuggle up with your little one.

Not sure what to watch? Have a look at our ultimate list of the best kids’ movies for Halloween.

8. Easy pom-pom spiders

Make your own creepy crawlies to spookify your house!

This fun family Halloween activity is great for toddlers ‒ simply get a bag of pom-poms, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners to make your own eight-legged creeps!

9. Paper plate masks

One of our favorite classic things to do for Halloween!

Paper plates, elastic, scissors, coloring pens, and extra crafty embellishments make some creepy Halloween masks!

Simply snip some eye holes and attach elastic to the paper plate, then let your little artist’s imagination run wild!

10. Watch a Halloween video

If your little one has watched all the Halloween movies, or you’re keen to have them learning while getting their spook on, how about some Halloween videos on Youtube?

From magical math videos and Halloween vocabulary lessons to spooky nursery rhymes and not-so-scary stories for littler hobgoblins.

11. Magical floating ghost

For bigger kids keen to learn some weird science, how about this electric Halloween family activity?

Show your little one the magic of static electricity by making a tissue ‘ghost’ float over an inflated balloon.

12. Counting candy corn

Another of our educational family fun Halloween activities, this one teaches important math skills to littler children.

Try one of these math printable candy corn counting activity sheets from Math Geek Mama.

13. Blow-painting monsters and ghosts

Got a mini artist in the family?

All you need for this family Halloween activity is straws, paint, and paper.

Simply use the straws to blow paint onto the paper, adding googly eyes and black pen to add details for a totally unique monster or ghost.

Just make sure your little one doesn’t completely slurp up the paint!

14. Hair-raising antics

Give your little hobgoblin a Halloween hair makeover with one of these spooky hairstyles!

Or if hair styling isn’t your thing, how about going for their usual hairstyle but spookifying it with some creepy accessories, like this pack of 12 on Amazon?

How can I make Halloween fun at home?

One of the best ways to make Halloween extra special for your little monsters this October is to have fun yourself!

All our indoor spooky things to do can be Halloween activities at home, or wherever you are!

Halloween can be a fun time for kids and adults alike, so get involved in as many of our Halloween family activities as you like!

What are outdoor Halloween activities for families?

The weather’s getting chilly, but there are some things to do around the Halloween season outside that simply can’t be missed!

Wrap up warm for these outdoor Halloween family activities that are perfect for the October half-term:

15. Navigate a corn maze

One of our favorite fall traditions and family Halloween activities, getting lost in a corn maze is all part of the Halloween family fun!

Let your little spooks lead the family to encourage problem-solving and leadership skills.

16. Explore a haunted house

Sure, some haunted houses are a little too scary for littler hobgoblins, but others are the perfect Halloween family activity.

No haunted houses nearby?

Turn your own house into a spooky scene with devilish decorations.

17. Dine out for a Halloween meal

Rain dampening the festivities?

Eating out as a family might fill you with dread, but it doesn’t need to be a horror show.

If you’re in London for the October half term 2024, kids under 12 can eat for free at Westfield and keep the Halloween hijinks going with free arts and crafts sessions.

And with almost 30 eateries to choose from, even the fussiest toddlers can be tamed and entertained.

It’s an easy way to treat the whole family without breaking the bank, so you can keep those savings for another rainy day.

18. Apple picking

Another of the more classic things to do for Halloween, find your nearest apple farm or orchard and let your little one pick the best apples.

Then, when you get home, make a boo-licious apple pie from your freshly-picked apples!

19. Visit a pumpkin patch

One of the more traditional outdoor Halloween activities for families, visiting a pumpkin patch is perfect for picking pumpkins, getting some exercise, and snapping some boo-tifully spooky fall photos.

20. Contactless trick-or-treating

Looking for safe alternatives to trick or treating?

Make some pre-packaged Halloween candy goodie bags to drop off at neighbors’ homes with your little spook in tow.

You can even encourage your little one to practice their writing by penning some handwritten notes for your neighbors with the goodie bags.

21. Make a ghost garland

A crafty Halloween family activity for kids of all ages.

Find some dried fall leaves in your garden or a nearby park, then take them home to paint white and add ghostly faces in black pen.

Next, punch a hole on either side of the ‘ghost’, thread some string through it, and repeat, until you have a spook-tastic homemade ghostly garland.

What are 5 traditional Halloween activities?

We think that the best Halloween activities are the classics.

After all, they’re classics for a reason!

This includes family-friendly Halloween activities like:

• Pumpkin picking and pumpkin carving
• Trick-or-treating
• Watching Halloween movies
• Dressing up in spooky costumes
• Decorating your yard with creepy ghosts and ghouls

When do kids trick or treat?

So, what age to start trick-or-treating? Well, it’s entirely your choice, mama.

But generally speaking, most of our Peanut moms tend to take their little pumpkins trick-or-treating from 3 years old ‒ dressed up in costumes, of course.

They’ll have to be accompanied by an adult at all times, and it’s worth explaining to them that not every house will have candy and to set expectations of how much candy they’re allowed to eat in one go.

Is there a trick-or-treat age limit?

On the other side of the scale, what age is too old to trick or treat?

It depends on the child ‒ some think they’re too cool for trick-or-treating from the age of 14, while others love it till they’re 18.

But somewhere from 14 to 18 is generally the limit for trick-or-treating.

8 fun alternatives to trick-or-treating

Not so keen on trick-or-treating in your area?

No problem! Here are a few alternatives to trick-or-treating as a family Halloween activity:

1. Halloween candy scavenger hunt in the house ‒ just make sure you have a list of where each piece of candy is hidden so there’s nothing left behind!
2. Halloween trivia quiz with candy as the prizes.
3. Halloween charades to compete for candy.
4. Halloween costume competition ‒ make sure everyone’s a winner!
5. Backyard bonfire with marshmallows for s’mores. Just make sure any kids around the fire are being supervised at all times.
6. Halloween pass-the-parcel, with pieces of candy between each layer of wrapping.
7. Eyeball pong ‒ like ‘beer pong’, but more child-friendly. Pop a piece of candy in some red solo cups and equip the ghouls and goblins with ping-pong balls, painted to look like eyeballs. Then have them bounce the ‘eyeballs’ into the cups to win the treat inside.
8. Trick or treat? It’s best to fill your kids in on the treat here, to avoid tears and make it more of a game. Get some chocolate truffles and some Brussels sprouts, and dip the Brussels sprouts in melted chocolate. Wait for them to set, then put the truffles and sprouts into a bowl together. Then have your little pumpkins pick a treat… or could it be a trick?

How do you make a Halloween special?

If you want to make this year’s Halloween memorable for your little one ‒ particularly after the limited Halloweens of the past few years ‒ there’s just one thing you can do to make it special.

Get involved.

Throw yourself into Halloween ‒ costumes, pumpkin picking, arts and crafts, decorations, Halloween movies, spooky music, the works.

The more you get involved with your little pumpkin’s Halloween fun, the more fun they’ll have.

Simple as that.

That’s our top 21 family Halloween activities for 2024 ‒ what are your favorites for the spooky season?

Share them with the rest of the mamas on Peanut and get some more ideas in the app!