13 Spooky Ideas For Halloween At Home With Children

Halloween will be a very different affair this year thanks to Covid-19. For us, having no neighbours means we don’t trick or treat anyway so I feel like Halloween might not be too different for us.

I know the children will be sad about the lack of Halloween disco at school though so I have got my thinking cap on and decided to share some of the things I have planned.

Treasure hunt. This is an annual event for us. I got the idea from our Easter egg hunt and the children love running around the farm finding spooky treats. I realise no everyone has a farm to hunt in but you could do it just as well in a garden or in the house.

Spooky film. We love to draw the curtains and curl up with popcorn or other treats for a movie afternoon. We pretend we are at the cinema. There are loads of child-friendly Halloween films so get choosing.

Pumpkin carving. We are going pumpkin picking in a few weeks at our local pick-you-own farm. It is outdoors and socially distanced and I plan to carve them when we get home.

Make something with the pumpkin. Do check they are the edible sort before you make anything but soup is a good idea in chilly weather or pumpkin pie. You can also roast the seeds and, if like us you have poultry, they love a peck at a pumpkin.

Toffee/chocolate apples. We made these last year and they were a big success. I provided a choice of sprinkles and they were a lovely activity to do. Last year I had no lolly sticks so we used a dinner knife as the holder and I think it worked quite well.

Apple dunking. Fruit related again. I remember doing this when I was a child and I am sure the combination of water and getting hair wet will be just as popular with my children now.

Make decorations. From bunting to posters, a craft afternoon is always a winner and really, all you need is some black, white, orange and green paper or card, some crayons or pencils and as much imagination they can muster.

Halloween tree. I have seen some people say they will be putting a tree up for Halloween this year. I have a twig tree on the kitchen table which I will hang pumpkins on but some people are going the extra mile with a black Christmas tree and as many ghoulish adornments they can find.

Read themed books. I usually provide a book each in the Halloween treasure hunt so we have quite a few themed ones now that we can read each day in the lead up to October 31st.

Face painting. Who don’t love face painting? You can pick up sets relatively cheaply and you could even let the children have a go at painting you. I dare you.

Nail painting. Just the fact of having a devilishly coloured nail can make children thrilled and don’t get all gender fatigued on me. Boys can wear nail varnish too.

Spooky window poster. Get your poster paints out and go crazy on your window or, if you are not that brave, make posters and hang spooky lights.

Spooky meal. My lot love a themed meal. I’ve got jelly worms and lime jelly this year and we will probably have hot dogs or pizza with the lights off and our carved pumpkins on the table. I also picked up some Halloween serviettes and spooky cups and paper straws.

Whatever you do this Halloween, I hope you enjoy yourself and please stay safe.