19 Fun Halloween Activities Your Family Will Love This October

Do you feel excited for Halloween or “booing” with dread (sorry, had to go for the pun)? Maybe you’re somewhere in between, where you want to make it fun and special for your family without overdoing it, overthinking it or overspending. I hear you.

And since when did Halloween become as big as Christmas? Since stores started forcing displays, costumes, food and decor into our heads the minute July is over. The pressure to do it all is real — but it doesn’t have to be.

Fun Halloween activities for your family don’t have to look Pinterest-worthy or cost a fortune. The 19 ideas below are simple, good old fashioned family fun that cost little to nothing and can be done in one evening or spread across the whole month of October.

19 Fun Halloween Activities Your Family Will Actually Enjoy

Below are 19 fun Halloween activities I’ve come to love with my own kids at every age and I think you will too. They’re meant to be simple, low-key and without extra stress or cost. Halloween is so fun to celebrate and easy can absolutely still be memorable. In fact the simplest moments — a family walk through the neighborhood to spot Jack O’ Lanterns, a cozy movie night with popcorn — are often the ones kids remember the most.

This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase at no extra cost to you. I only share things I genuinely love and think you will too!

Pumpkin carving

The easiest, least expensive way to have some Halloween fun as a family? Carve pumpkins together. No special tools required (although they can be helpful). Grab an old tablecloth or newspapers, set up a table in your backyard or in your garage (this can get messy) and, carefully, design and carve. A sharp knife and a little bit of creativity go a long way for this traditional Halloween project.

Put together a Halloween puzzle

Working on a puzzle together is such an enriching family activity and a great pastime. A 500-1000 piece puzzle is a good number for a group, as family members or guests come and go, they can all help out. Set the puzzle up on a table where it won’t be disturbed and it’ll be completed in no time — a family accomplishment everyone can be proud of (check out this spooky fun “scary portraits” 500 piece puzzle).

Read Halloween books

There are tons of scary (and cute) Halloween books kids can enjoy. A visit to your local library is the best way to stock up on holiday-themed books. Consider a book exchange with friends if you want to swap books while having a Halloween gathering. Below are some of my family favorites over the years:

Halloween Books For KIDS

• The Good, The Bad and The Spooky by Jory John and Pete Oswald
• Halloween Hustle by Charlotte Gunnufson
• It’s Halloween I’m Turning Green! by Dan Gutman
• Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine (what I read as a kid!)
• What is the Story of Frankenstein? by Shelia Keenan
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• Hour of the Pumpkin Queen by Megan Shepherd
• Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories by Roald Dahl

Create Halloween art

Channel your inner artist and have everyone contribute to your very own, family-made art book. Use printable coloring pages or enjoy a free art lesson by Art for Kids Hub or a directed drawing by Deep Space Sparkle, two awesome art resources.

Decorate the house

Create a spooky vibe at home with simple Halloween decorations such as posters, banners, and candles. Let kids in on the action by allowing them to put up something in their bedrooms such as pumpkin, bat, or ghost battery-operated string lights.

Get cozy with Halloween-themed blankets

Gift each family member a soft, cozy Halloween throw blanket to use for their beds or on the sofa for movie night. Have these folded up in a basket in your family TV room or place across their beds for nighttime snuggling.

Assemble a haunted gingerbread house

Not just for Christmas gingerbread houses anymore, edible house kits can be done during Halloween too. This is a fun Halloween activity for the whole family to enjoy. They are often available at Trader Joe’s, Target, or your local grocery store chain.

Tip: Use a hot glue gun for the main pieces and icing for the decor. Eating the house pieces usually isn’t very tasty anyways!

Use an old box to create a haunted house

Grab some stickers, markers, and tape and have the kids design their own haunted house with an unused medium to large size box. I recently had a delivery and saved the box for just this purpose. Use cotton balls and tissue for ghosts and battery-operated tea lights for ambiance.

Bake and decorate cookies

This is another winter holiday tradition that is fun for Halloween too. Sugar cookies work best for decorating or you can buy decorating kits from the grocery if you don’t want to purchase all the extra icing, etc. separately.

Boo your neighbors

This has become a fun idea in recent years when neighbors “Boo!” each other with surprise goody bags on their doorstep. Use a small basket or Halloween gift bag, fill it with candy, a baking kit, stickers, a fall-scented candle, mini water bottles (or wine :), etc. and drop on your neighbor’s front door.

Wear Halloween pajamas

Not just for Christmas, gift the kids cute Halloween PJs for extra bedtime fun this time of year. Cozy up for family movie night or outdoor stories wearing festive sleepwear. Target, Amazon and just about any sort of major clothing retailer offer these. Even teens can enjoy a fun pair of PJ pants!

Have a family movie night

Cuddle up with your Halloween blankets and popcorn for one of the coziest fun Halloween activities: family movie night.

Halloween movies for the whole family

• Bettlejuice
• Coraline
• Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
• Disney’s Zombies
• Hocus Pocus
• Hotel Transylvania
• The Addam’s Family (2019)
• The Book of Life
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Toy Story of Terror

Share spooky stories

Grab a flashlight and blankets and gather around an outdoor fire to swap kid-friendly spooky stories. Make up your own or have a round table story share (everyone takes a turn adding to the story). If you don’t have an outdoor option, sit on the living room floor with blankets, pillows, and candles.

Need some story inspiration? Here’s a roundup of shareable campfire stories from the Kampgrounds of America (KOA) blog.

Host a Halloween scavenger hunt

A Halloween scavenger hunt is one of the most fun Halloween activities for the whole family and requires very little setup. Write out a list of Halloween-themed items for kids to find around the house or yard — think a plastic spider, an orange crayon, something shaped like a pumpkin or a piece of candy corn. The simpler the clues the better, especially for younger kids.

For older kids or tweens, make it a little more challenging with riddle-style clues that lead from one spot to the next. Hide a small prize or treat at the final destination and let the hunt begin. It takes about 10 minutes to set up and delivers way more fun than the effort it costs.

Play a Halloween music mix

A bit of music always gets the house warmed up and in a seasonal mood. Put on a fun Halloween playlist for background music during the day or if hosting a get together. Here’s my own curated family-friendly playlist on Spotify (no affiliate, just a way to put music together).

Take a family neighborhood walk

A fun Halloween activity the whole family can do (the dog too) is simply taking a walk. Go at night to take in your neighbors’ Jack O’ Lanterns and spooky decor.

Do a Halloween craft

There are tons of craft options out there. Colored paper, stencils and stickers can be all you need or get a little more sophisticated with Made With Happy adorable Halloween projects for kids.

Check out a pop-up Halloween store together

At least two or three Halloween stores pop up during the month of October where we live. Spirit Halloween is one with locations nationwide. Have fun checking out the over-the-top decorations and tons of costume ideas for adults and kids. Warning for kids who scare easily!

Visit a pumpkin patch

The most classic fun Halloween activity of all — a visit to the pumpkin patch. Even in the hot October weather we can have here in San Diego, everyone loves to pick pumpkins and drink apple cider at a local farm. If you have true fall weather for this activity, I’m jealous!

Happy Halloween for Simple, Family Fun

My hope for you is that Halloween is fun and (maybe just a little) spooky without any stress to make it over the top. You don’t need the most elaborate decorations or a costume that took weeks to make. Treats, laughs and family time is all you need to celebrate this time of year. That’s the good stuff and it’s always enough.