Halloween: Get The Cauldron Bubbling With These Ideas
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Halloween is a time for costumes, candy, and creative fun! Whether you're looking for exciting trick-or-treat alternatives, spooky crafts, or haunting activities, there are so many ways to celebrate the magic of Halloween at home and beyond. Here are some spooktacular ideas to make this Halloween one to remember! 🦇🎃
Trick Or Treat Without The Street
No need to walk from house to house when you can create a mini trick-or-treat adventure right at home! This fun Halloween village activity lets kids use their toys and imagination for a unique trick-or-treating experience. First gather together any toy buildings your children might have—doll houses, Peppa Pig’s house, Playmobil.... anything.
It doesn’t matter if they’re from wildly different franchises—who says GI Joe can’t live next door to She-Ra? If you don’t have (m) any such things, you can instead build houses from Lego or other building blocks.
Or you can, of course, make houses from old shoe boxes or cereal packers. The more, the merrier. Line up all your houses into a toy street.
Next, we need to decorate the street. You could craft some Halloween bunting with a bit of string and some orange and black paper. Make mini-pumpkins from Playdoh. Whatever you can conjure from the imagination.
Then, we need to assign householders to each building. Kids love doing this sort of thing. Let them choose which dolls, soft toys, or action figures live in which house.
Finally, you need to choose another toy to do the trick or treat. Have fun dressing it up in a Halloween costume. An old white cloth and an elastic band make a quick and easy ghost disguise, for example.
Or perhaps you could ink some fangs onto a plastic toy or craft a tiny facemask. Up to you.
Now, you’re all ready to play trick or treat. Have the costumed toy knock at each door in turn. Perhaps the residents will have sweet treats waiting... or maybe you’ll need to play a trick on them.
Take A Ghost Bus Tour
Haunted houses are fun, but have you ever been on a ghost bus tour? 🚍👀
Cities like London, York, and Edinburgh offer spooky bus rides, where costumed guides tell ghost stories while you ride through eerie locations. If you're looking for a thrilling Halloween adventure, a ghost bus tour is a fun way to experience local folklore and history!
For an at-home twist, set up a ghost tour in your living room:
🔦 Turn off the lights, grab flashlights, and tell spooky stories while walking through different rooms!
📖 Read classic ghost tales or make up your own haunted house legends.
👀 Hide Halloween decorations in different rooms and let kids spot the spooky surprises!
Spooky Halloween Crafts
Besides the idea outlined above, there’s no end to spooky craft projects you can get stuck into. Ever made a spider from pipe cleaners? How about an origami bat? Looking for creative face-painting ideas? This should cover it.
Halloween and crafting go hand in hand! Whether you're making decorations, costumes, or fun props, here are some easy and exciting ideas:
🎃 Pipe Cleaner Spiders: Twist black pipe cleaners into spider legs and glue them onto a pompom. Add googly eyes for a cute but creepy effect!
🦇 Origami Bats: Fold black paper into tiny bats and hang them on walls, doors, or windows.
🕷️ Spider Web Decorations: Use white string or yarn to weave a web design and attach small plastic spiders for an eerie touch.
🍵 Witch’s Potions: Mix baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring in a clear jar to create a bubbling magical potion (completely safe for kids!).
For even more DIY fun, try crafting your own haunted house using cardboard boxes and decorating it with cotton spider webs and LED candles!
🎬 Watch a Spooky Movie
Nothing says Halloween like a cozy family movie night filled with magical and ghostly films! Instead of just watching, why not turn it into an interactive experience?
🎥 Set up a Halloween-themed movie night with popcorn, pumpkin-shaped cookies, and themed drinks (like green "witch’s brew" punch!).
🛻 Visit a Halloween drive-in movie for a thrilling outdoor experience!
🎭 Dress up as your favorite Halloween movie characters before the film starts.
Some family-friendly Halloween movies include:
👻 Hocus Pocus
🦇 Hotel Transylvania
🕸️ The Addams Family
🧛♂️ Casper
Pairing a movie with themed snacks and activities makes Halloween extra special!
🏛️ Visit a Spooky Museum or Attraction
Halloween is the perfect time to explore eerie castles, haunted mansions, and ghostly museums! Many attractions offer Halloween-themed activities, including:
🔍 Spooky scavenger hunts in history museums🧙 Pumpkin-carving contests in community parks👀 Guided ghost tours in old castles and historic buildings
For a home version, create a "Halloween mystery hunt" where kids solve clues to find hidden treats or spooky surprises!
🧛 Get Into Costume!
Dressing up is one of the best parts of Halloween, even if you're celebrating at home!
🎭 DIY Costume Ideas – Use old clothes, sheets, or fabric scraps to create fun, last-minute costumes! A black sheet can turn into a vampire cloak, and a white pillowcase makes a simple ghost costume.🦹 Face Paint Fun – Try out creative
Halloween face-painting ideas, like zombies, skeletons, or black cats!
📸 Costume Contest – Host a costume contest with friends and family!
Whether it's a witch, a mummy, or a friendly pumpkin, dressing up brings out the Halloween spirit!
🧩 Solve Halloween Riddles & Jokes
Monsters like riddles, for some reason. Remember the time Harry Potter was almost squashed by a sphinx in the Goblet of Fire as he tried to solve her conundrum? Well, we’ve got 17 Halloween-themed riddles to try out on your kids, from the simple to the tough-as-old-pumpkins.
🕸️ What room does a ghost never go into? 👻 The living room!
🎃 Why did the skeleton go to the party alone? Because he had no one to go with! Alternatively, and if you ever wondered what an Australian witch flies on, check out these 80 Halloween-themed jokes. They’ll have you howling like a werewolf. Possibly.
🕯️ Banish the Monsters with Monster Spray!
Finally, if it’s all too much for the little ones and the talk of monsters, ghosts, and other spooks is going to cause problems at bedtime, then you need some Monster Spray. This simple recipe makes enough Monster Spray to keep the nasties out of your child’s bedroom for several nights.
🧪 Mix water with a few drops of lavender or chamomile essential oil in a spray bottle.👻 Add a fun label like "Monster Repellent" or "Ghost-Proof Spray".🌙 Let kids spray their room before bed to keep imaginary ghouls away!
This simple but fun ritual adds a comforting Halloween twist to bedtime!
See also: our complete guide to staging a Halloween party for just your (hubble) bubble.
Fangs for reading!
🎃 Have the Best Halloween Ever!
Halloween is all about imagination, fun, and a little bit of spookiness! Whether you’re crafting, dressing up, or telling ghost stories, there are endless ways to celebrate.
So grab your pumpkins, costumes, and candy, and make this Halloween magical! 👻🎃🕸️
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Bachelor of Science specializing in Chemistry, Master of Research specializing in Biomolecular Sciences
Matt BrownBachelor of Science specializing in Chemistry, Master of Research specializing in Biomolecular Sciences
With a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and a Master's in Residency specializing in Biomolecular Sciences and roots in the Midlands, Matt has developed a passion for writing about London. As a former editor and prolific contributor to Londonist.com, he has authored several books exploring the city's hidden gems. In addition to his work, Matt enjoys spending time with his two preschool-aged children.
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2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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