7 Fun Halloween Activities to Do at Home

Halloween is almost here! Like every year, the excitement of fun costumes, tricks, and treats is still all around. Fall and Halloween decorating has already begun at my house, and we can’t wait to start on our pumpkin carving.

Because of COVID-19, this year’s Halloween celebrations are certain to be different. While many traditional events like parades, door-to-door trick or treating and trunk or treat may be canceled, we have a list of activities you can do at home to make the best of Halloween this year.

Don’t let the best day to trick or treat pass you by. Parents can plan a fun trick or treat scavenger hunt indoors, outdoors or a combined indoor outdoor activity. Hide treats, tricks, trinkets and healthy bites around your home. Make it a 1-2-3 go theme or write/draw out clues to find the next prize. Be sure to keep a list of everything you put out and where you put it. Hide a few special find items for extra added fun.

Every October, our kids school celebrates book character day just before Halloween. This is a fun way to bring a favorite book to life. Use materials you have around the house to make DIY costumes. There are lots of clothing items that can be turned into a simple costume with a few tweaks. Fabric glue or any other bonding glue is a good idea to have on hand. Let children pick their favorite book and then help come up with the design of their costume. Book character day makes for great photos to add to your child’s memory book. Be sure to include the book in a few photos with them!

Pumpkin decorating is a time honored tradition for Halloween. Choose to carve a pumpkin (try these pumpkin carving stencils featuring PBS KIDS characters!) or grab several pumpkins to paint and decorate. Use acrylic paint so that design doesn’t wash away, especially if you plan on setting your pumpkins outdoors.

You can have fun making Halloween decorations around your house. You could even dedicate one room or nook to a Halloween set up. An easy craft you can hang around the room is Halloween themed paper lanterns. There are lots of ways to do this by using plain paper lanterns, construction paper, a little glue and some halloween mesh webbing. Cut out eyes, a mouth and even some fun shapes from the construction paper for an emoji effect. Use a string to hang your lanterns around. Another fun alternative is to make a luminary lantern using a mason jar, paint or paper cut outs and an electric tea light. Place your luminary lantern on any flat service as a part of your Halloween decor.

Speaking of taking pictures, a DIY photo booth is a fun way to capture the Halloween fun. A cardboard box, colored card stock and some art supplies are all you need to make an oversized photo frame and a few props.

Nothing says fall — and even Halloween! — like s’mores. Have an outdoor firepit? Go for it. No firepit? Well you're in luck, oven baked s’mores are a thing and they are so good. Take it up a notch by adding some fresh fruits to your s’mores before sandwiching the two cookies together. That’s an easy way to add a healthy “treat” in the mix for Halloween. Add some Halloween themed sprinkles once your s’mores are put together. Children love helping with making s’mores. Let them put their own s’mores together picking out the fruits and decorations they want. Easy, yummy, and fun.

Who doesn’t love a fun face painting? Grab an inexpensive face painting kit in order to create simple Halloween designs or go all in and Google some full face designs. A simple pumpkin, cat or boo on the cheek will go a long way for children that love face paint. Add glitter and other things that sparkle.

No matter what activities you do, kids will have fun and be excited to still celebrate Halloween even during these unprecedented times. Traditional activities can be adjusted so that they work for your family. Get children involved in the process of planning so they feel like their opinions and ideas matter. A few activities will go a long way to ensure a safe and fun celebration. Happy Halloween!