10 Halloween Activities for Kids: Fun Family Ideas for a Spooky Celebration

Just like that, summer has slipped away. The air now feels crisper, the leaves are changing into beautiful hues of red, yellow, and orange, and pumpkin patches are calling your name.

Spooky season has officially arrived, and along with it comes the perfect chance to start new family traditions.

We're thinking pumpkins glowing on porches, cozy nights spent in fun costumes, Halloween parties, relaxing movie marathons, and more!

Whether you’re looking to celebrate with toddlers or older kids, indoors or outside, these 10 Halloween activities blend creativity, laughter, and a little bit of spookiness so that you can have the perfect family-friendly Halloween!

Fun and Safe Halloween Activities for Toddlers

When you’ve got little ones in the mix, Halloween will likely be more about giggles than ghosts.

Here are a few ways to celebrate without the jump scares.

1. Pumpkin Carving Ideas for Kids: Simple, Imaginative & Family-Friendly

Few things say “Halloween” like a glowing jack-o’-lantern, but for little hands, carving can be dangerous and messy.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways for kids to make their own pumpkin masterpieces without ever picking up a knife, so that they can still be a part of this fun Halloween activity.

Instead of carving pumpkins, you can set up a pumpkin decorating station. We suggest laying out paints, markers, stickers, felt cutouts, googly eyes, and any other craft supplies that you can think of.

Let your child’s imagination run wild! You may end up with a pumpkin turned into a cat, a silly monster, or you can even create pumpkin families, using mini pumpkins or gourds for each family member to decorate.

Once your creations are dry, you can display them along your front steps or make a pumpkin “village” on your porch. Not only does this make cleanup easier, but it also gives every family member a creative role in the Halloween décor.

If you still want the pumpkin carving experience, you can draw the face first, do the carving yourself, and let your child scoop out the seeds. After that, you can create a tasty treat by roasting those seeds with cinnamon sugar or sea salt for Halloween.

2. Halloween Costumes for Kids: Cute, Creative & Kid-Friendly

Half the magic of Halloween is transforming into someone, or something, else for the night, and you don't need to buy an expensive store costume to make it special.

Creative DIY Costume Ideas

You'd be surprised at what you can find in your own home, without having to set foot in a store. Old t-shirts can become superhero capes, cardboard boxes can turn into robots, and face paint can transform a toddler into a lion or a ladybug in seconds.

If your kids are old enough, let them design their own costumes from whatever’s on hand. Give them some markers, fabric scraps, and you’ll be amazed at what they come up with. Not only does this save money, but it also gives them a sense of pride in creating something all their own that they can show off at Halloween events for kids.

Fun Dress-Up Themes for Families

If you want to take it a step further, you can also try a family costume theme. Maybe you’re all farm animals, classic movie characters, or even a group of matching skeletons.

Family themes make for adorable photos and an instant conversation starter during trick-or-treating.

Overall, creating costumes is such a great way to encourage your child to be creative and imaginative.

3. Halloween Scavenger Hunt for Kids: Playful & Perfect for Families

If your family loves adventure, a scavenger hunt is a fun Halloween activity for kids to keep them entertained. To prepare this activity, all you have to do is hide little prizes or treats around your home or yard and give them a spooky-themed list of clues to follow.

We suggest tailoring the hunt to your child’s age. For toddlers, it's best to stick to simple picture clues, and for older kids, you can even add riddles. For a spooky evening twist, use flashlights or glow sticks and dim the lights.

Some fun Halloween gifts for kids include:

• A toy spider

• A tiny bag of candy

• A plastic bat or skeleton key

• Stickers or glow bracelets

• Halloween-themed pencils and erasers

• Mini bubbles with spooky labels

• Mini slime or putty jars

• Vampire teeth or monster masks

• A small coloring book with crayons

• Halloween cookie cutters or stamps

• Mini puzzles or activity sheets

• “Potion” bottles filled with juice or glitter water

At the end of the hunt, you can also reward your little ghouls with a “treasure chest” of snacks or small Halloween toys.

4. Indoor Halloween Games for Kids: Trick-or-Treat

Not every family wants to head out for traditional trick-or-treating, especially if the weather is chilly or your kids are still very little; however, you can easily bring the fun indoors with fun Halloween games for kids.

If you want to bring the spirit of trick or treating inside, you can turn each room of your house into a different “house” or “neighbourhood.” Decorate doors with spooky or fun themes like a ghost door, a pumpkin door, a candy castle door, and have an adult or sibling behind each one with a treat or small surprise. This is also a great idea if you want an engaging Halloween party activity for kids.

This is a good stepping stone for infants or toddlers who might still find door-to-door trick-or-treating overwhelming. Plus, you can play festive music, dim the lights, and keep things cozy while still giving kids that classic Halloween excitement.

5. Halloween Songs for Kids: Monster Dance Party

No Halloween is complete without a little dance party. Clear out some space in the living room, dim the lights, and queue up a Halloween playlist filled with fun, kid-friendly hits like:

• Monster Mash

• Ghostbusters Theme

• Purple People Eater

• Thriller

• This Is Halloween

• Spooky, Scary Skeletons

• Oogie Boogie’s Song

• Time Warp

Add glow sticks, flashing lights, or a bubble machine to make it extra fun. You can even turn it into a mini performance, let your kids choreograph a “monster dance” or do a family dance-off.

Dancing together is not only a fun family Halloween idea, but also a great way to burn off the inevitable sugar rush before bedtime!

6. Halloween Stories for Kids: A Fun Way to Spark Imagination

There’s something magical about curling up under a blanket and reading a spooky story by flashlight.

Choose age-appropriate Halloween books, like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

You can also make it interactive by taking turns making up your own ghost stories. Use a flashlight under your chin and let your kids fill in the silly or spooky details.

For a cozy finish, add hot cocoa or apple cider to the mix.

7. Halloween Craft Ideas for Kids: Spooky Corner

For some kid Halloween craft fun, set up a “spooky corner” with simple materials like construction paper, glue, scissors, yarn, and pipe cleaners.

You can let them get creative, but if you want to provide direction, here are some easy Halloween crafts for toddlers:

• Paper bats: Cut out black paper wings and hang them from the ceiling

• Ghost garlands: Use tissues or coffee filters around cotton balls

• Spider webs: Made from yarn or string on a paper plate frame

• Pumpkin faces: Cut from orange paper and decorate with silly expressions

• Handprint ghosts: Trace your child’s hand on white paper, cut it out, and add a spooky face with a marker

• Pumpkin seed art: Paint dried pumpkin seeds and use them to decorate paper pumpkins or fall scenes

• Witch hats: Make mini cone hats from black construction paper and decorate with stickers or glitter

8. Halloween Treat Baking: Healthy Halloween Snacks for Kids

Sure, candy is part of the Halloween fun, but making time to cook and bake together can be just as sweet.

Bringing kids into the kitchen gives them a chance to play, create, and taste along the way. Plus, with a few clever swaps, you can serve up treats that feel festive but still sneak in a bit of nutrition.

Here are a few simple Halloween food ideas for kids to try:

• Banana Ghosts: Start with peeled bananas and let the kids add chocolate chip eyes and a mouth. For an extra spooky twist, freeze them first; they become frosty little ghosts perfect for dipping in yogurt or white chocolate.

• Pumpkin Oranges: These couldn’t be simpler, and they look amazing on a snack board. Peel a clementine or mandarin orange, then stick a small piece of celery (or a pretzel stick) in the top for a “stem.” If you want to go all-out, you can also use edible-ink markers to draw on Jack O' Lantern faces.

• Witch Hat Cookies: Use a chocolate wafer or round cookie as the base, then press a Hershey’s Kiss on top with a dab of frosting to “glue” it in place. Add a ring of coloured icing for the hat band.

• Apple Monster Mouths: Slice apples into wedges, spread peanut butter or sunflower butter between two slices, and add mini marshmallows for teeth.

• Halloween Snack Board: Arrange all your spooky creations on a platter with extra Halloween-colored snacks, popcorn, pretzels, carrot sticks, grapes, and mini muffins. Add a few spider rings or edible eyes for decoration, and you’ve got a show-stopping centerpiece for your family celebration.

9. Memory-Making Activities: Capture the Best Moments with Halloween Photo Booth

Between costumes, crafts, and dancing, you’ll want to remember it all. You can do so by setting up a DIY photo booth to capture the night’s funniest and sweetest moments. This is also the perfect addition to a Halloween party.

Hang a simple backdrop, black fabric, orange streamers, or a sheet covered in paper bats, and gather a few props like witch hats, fake mustaches, plastic pumpkins, and silly glasses.

Let kids take turns being the photographer or posing. You can even make a “best monster face” contest and print out the photos afterward.

For older kids, try using a Polaroid camera so they can instantly see their photos and keep them. Then create a scrapbook or “Halloween memory wall” to revisit each year.

10. Halloween Movies for Kids: Spooky Fun Without the Scares

When the candy bags are full and the costumes start to itch, there’s nothing better than winding down with a cozy movie night.

Choose something lighthearted and magical rather than scary, especially for younger kids. Some favourites include:

• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

• Hotel Transylvania

• Coco

• The Addams Family (animated version)

• Casper

• Hocus Pocus

Wrapping Up: Happy Halloween with Your Little One!

Halloween is one of those holidays that invites everyone, young and old, to play pretend and get creative. Whether you’re carving pumpkins, dancing like a monster, or just watching a movie in your pajamas, the real joy of the season comes from time spent together.

It doesn’t need to be Pinterest-perfect or completely sugar-free; it just needs to be fun, safe, and full of heart.

So light those pumpkins, cue the Monster Mash, and make this Halloween one your family will never forget!