Edible Slime

Here’s an easy way to make slime time exciting! Try our easy-to-make edible slime for the Halloween season. Your kids will be fascinated by this airy, light slime that’s better than Play-Doh. It’s great for little fingers that can quickly make this slime using simple ingredients, plus it’s very delicious!

Pumpkin Bowling

Pumpkin bowling is an easy and classic fun game for kids to play. Rolling a small pumpkin to knock down toilet paper rolls is not only exciting and easy to do but, is a great idea for kids to incorporate fresh air and exercise for the night. You can have the kids decorate the toilet paper with their favorite scary monster.

Halloween Writing Trays

Writing trays are a great way for younger kids to practice handwriting skills. Add cake sprinkles or colorful sand instantly to make handwriting fun!

Educational Halloween Videos

Find a whole selection of spooky Halloween videos. Your kids will learn about Halloween across the globe, practice math problems, or try spooky yoga.

Pumpkin Treat Sensory Bin

If you have a preschooler or toddler at home, then create a sensory bin. It’s an inexpensive and simple way to keep the little ones busy for hours on end. Add pumpkin cake mix, Dunkin Donuts cups, measuring cups, spoons, and cups filled with cinnamon and whipped cream to the sensory board. You can purchase a Halloween sensory board on Etsy.

Pumpkin Witch Broom Race

Grab brooms and small pumpkins, break into teams, and watch your kids race to see who can push the pumpkin across the finish line before the timer is up!

Halloween Magnets

Make your spooky magnets by gluing small magnets to the back of plastic spiders, eyeballs, skeletons, and more from a craft store. Then, use them for educational activities such as math, arrange them to spell words and sentences, or use them to decorate around the house.

Bake Halloween Treats

Many people’s favorite things about Halloween are the delicious trick-or-treat goodies! Desserts, sandwiches, and even snacks get frighteningly creative and tasty. Try Moms Who Think collection of mouth-watering Halloween treats.

Cute Paper Witch Dolls

Create these adorable witch paper dolls. All you need is construction paper, scissors, glue, and toilet paper core rolls, and you’re done!

Decorate A Spooky Table

Have your kids help decorate your family table using DIY ghost leaves. Take maple leaves from your backyard, paint them white, and paint two dots for the eyes once fully dried. String them together around the edge of the table for a Halloween garland.

Halloween Word Search

Encourage your kids to learn new Halloween vocabulary. If you can’t find a great word search, create one! Use colors, items, and eye-catching shapes relating to Halloween.

Candy Wreath

An easy and delicious project to make with your kids is a candy wreath. Let your kids attach the wreath with tasty treats while you handle the glue gun. Make it colorful with some beautiful ribbons and bows.

Monster Pancakes

If you don’t want to or cannot go out on Halloween, you can stay home and have a great time with your kids. Monster pancakes are a nice way to bring out the artist in your children.

Halloween Handprint Painting

Halloween wouldn’t be the same or fun without handprint painting. Have your kids experience different colors of paint by having them dip their hands into it. Then, have them press their hands firmly onto construction paper in Halloween colors.

Hang Cotton Ball Ghosts

These hanging cotton ghosts add an adorable but spooky flare around the house. Use cardboard paper, cotton, and glue so they can get started. Your kids can make the entire project themselves; you can also be there to guide them.

Host A Halloween Party

Organize a Halloween outdoor party for your kids and invite their friends. They can bake and decorate cookies, design and pass out invitations, and come up with a party to play along with other fun activities.

Halloween Jokes

Halloween jokes are a great way to help your kids interact with their peers. Find some suitable jokes for your kids to explore before asking them to come up with their jokes.

Halloween Kid-Friendly Scary Stories

That one childhood scary story your sister used to share when you were younger will be perfect for this activity. If you don’t have any scary stories, you can make one up on the spot. Pull another one from your childhood or recite one of these tried-and-true kid-friendly Halloween spooky stories.

Halloween Bingo

Bingo is a great way to improve vocabulary, along with attention and listening skills. Start by designing a traditional bingo card with a Halloween theme and involve your kids in this fun and exciting Halloween activity.

Candy Bag Building Race

Have each kid pick their favorite candy to include in small goody bags (you can also use a Ziploc bag), then race to see who can assemble the most bags in the shortest amount of time. This race will have your kids entertained assembling bags for hours.

Ghost Hand Puppets

Get into the Halloween spirit with these adorable no-sew ghost puppets! All you need are white felt, permanent marker, scissors, and hot glue. Get ready to haunt your house by using them as decorations or perform a hand puppet show for your kid’s friends.

Make Halloween Costumes

Store-bought costumes are great for last-minute shopping, but if you want to make something unique and to be proud of when your kids tap into their creative side, then making your costume is the way to go. Challenge your family to find a few items at home and build a costume from there. Grab a sheet to make a classic ghost costume. Take a visit to the fabric supply store and make an Incredibles costume. Making costumes is a way for everyone to get a little more creative and potentially save a lot of money.

Host A ‘Glow In The Dark,’ Party

Spook up a room with as many glow-in-the-dark decorations as possible. Use Jack-o’-lanterns, glow sticks, balloons, stars, ghosts, and anything that glows in the dark. Turn out the lights and let the Spooktacular party begin.

Bobbing For Donuts

This social distance-friendly and germ-free Halloween activity only requires string and a donut. From there, all you have to do is hang donuts from free tree branches and invite your kid’s friends to eat their donuts hands-free, by keeping their hands behind their backs during the whole activity.

Apple-Picking

This is a classic and all-time favorite Halloween activity. Pick the apple you want to eat and take a break to enjoy some warm cider.

Visit Or Set Up A Haunted House

It wouldn’t be Halloween without visiting a haunted house or hosting a haunted house event. Get an adrenaline rush visiting a place rumored to be occupied by ghosts. To set up your haunted house event, rent out space to decorate the interior with spooky décor to make a spooky house that will make you the talk of the town.

Halloween Scavenger Hunt

Deck the Halls with spooky decorations, then walk around the neighborhood to scavenge as a family to track down all the Halloween-themed items they see.

Origami Jack-O-Lantern

This requires an expert at work, but the finished result is beautiful and something you will love to save for Halloween years to come.

Read Halloween Themed Books

It’s a perfect way to encourage excitement ahead of trick-or-treating. Choose a selection of titles, whether Harry Potter by JK Rowling or How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead, and read them aloud.

Halloween Movie Marathon

Open up a few cans of sodas and cook a bowl of popcorn to watch Halloween classics with your kids such as Casper, Coraline, Hotel Transylvania, and The Addams Family.

Design Halloween Masks

Instead of buying Halloween masks at your local craft store, challenge your children to make their own. There are a lot of free printable online masks you can choose for last-minute Halloween costume ideas.

Conclusion

Halloween isn’t just about trick-or-treating. While Halloween candy may be the top event, there’s bobbing for donuts, apple picking, pumpkin carving, Halloween crafts, and parties to attend as well. If you’re unable to go trick-or-treating, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun. There are many activities your kids will enjoy to still make plenty of memories on Halloween!

Jack-O-Lantern Balloons

What you will need:

Orange helium balloons
Black markers or paint

Directions:

Step 1: Draw or paint a jack-o-lantern face on the balloon with the markers or paint.

Step 2: Allow to dry.

Step 3: Group the painted balloons with other plain orange and black balloons.

Trick-or-Treat Bags

What you will need:

Large paper shopping bag, large orange gift bag, or large blank tote bag
Halloween stamps, stickers, or clip art
Transfer paper

Directions:

Step 1: Quick and easy: Decorate a large paper shopping bag or orange gift bag with Halloween stamps and/or stickers.

Step 2: Bright and colorful: Print a Halloween picture and use a copier to enlarge it if you wish. Follow the instructions that come with the transfer paper to transfer the design to the blank tote bag.

Haunted House Wall Hanging

What you will need:

Black poster board
Yellow construction paper
Halloween stickers
Craft knife
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Draw a haunted house on the poster board and cut it out. Use the craft knife to cut out the windows,

Step 2: Glue a piece of yellow paper behind the windows.

Step 3: Put Halloween figures (stickers of ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, bats, etc.) in the windows.

Note: Glue white paper behind the haunted house windows, place the cutout in front of a picture window, (first cover the window with blue cellophane), and place a light behind the cutout. Turn all other lights off, and make the house glow.

Jack-O-Lantern Party Invitations

What you will need:

Stiff orange paper
Orange envelopes
Yellow and black construction paper
Stiff white paper
Black magic marker
Craft knife

Directions:

Step 1: Draw a pumpkin shape on a piece of paper and cut it out (make sure the cutout will fit in the envelope).

Step 2: Fold the stiff orange paper and cut to roughly the size of the cutout. Place the cutout over the folded orange paper with one side touching the fold.

Step 3: Trace the cutout onto the orange paper and cut out the pumpkin, leaving the card connected at the fold.

Step 4: Repeat with the white paper and set aside.

Step 5: Print out a jack-o-lantern template. Use a copier to adjust the size of the template. Cut out the face.

Step 6: Using the template, trace the face onto the front of the pumpkin.

Step 7: Cut it out with the craft knife. Open the card so you won’t cut through the back.

Step 8: Glue yellow paper behind the face cutout.

Step 9: Glue the white pumpkin cutout inside the orange pumpkin cutout.

Step 10: Use the marker to write the party details inside (To: From: Date: Time: etc.)

Spider Webs

What you will need:

Fiberfill
Clear thumbtacks

Directions:

Step 1: Pull the Fiberfill apart with your fingers.

Step 2: Attach to ceiling with thumbtacks.

Note: You can add rubber or tissue paper spiders on the webs.

Halloween Chain

What you will need:

Black construction paper
Orange construction paper
Glue
Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Cut 1-inch wide strips out of the construction paper.

Step 2: Fold one of the orange strips over until the ends touch, and glue in place, forming a circle.

Step 3: Take a black strip and place it through the orange circle. Bend the tips until the ends touch, and glue them in place, linking the circles together.

Step 4: Repeat this process until the strips are used up, and the chain is the desired length.

Pumpkin Patch Centerpiece

What you will need:

Tissue paper scraps, or inexpensive white tissue paper, for filling
2 sheets each of orange and dark green tissue paper
Scissors
2 rubber bands
1 green chenille stem
Black or yellow construction paper
Jack-o-lantern template, optional

Directions:

Step 1: Make tissue paper pumpkins in various sizes.

Step 2: Print the template, or create one of your own designs. A nice touch would be to create several different faces so no two pumpkins are alike.

Step 3: Cut out the template and trace it onto black or yellow construction paper.

Step 4: Glue the faces onto the pumpkins. Omit this step if you prefer plain pumpkins.

Step 5: Group the pumpkins together in the center of your table. You can put them in a basket with a bed of imitation leaves or in a fall floral bouquet.

Scary Balloon Spiders

What you will need:

Two black balloons
Black thread
Black construction paper
White paint

Directions:

Step 1: Blow up the balloons. Make one smaller than the other; this will be the spider’s head.

Step 2: Using the thread, tie the balloons together at the knots, leaving a long end to hang the spider.

Step 3: Cut eight 1-inch wide strips out of the construction paper.

Step 4: Fold the strips back and forth accordion style, and glue one end of each strip to the spider, four on each side.

Step 5: Use the paint to create the spider’s face.

Step 6: Allow to dry, and hang.

Note: Hang at the end of the spider’s web with the small tissue paper spiders around it to create a spider’s den. They also make great party favors for your guests.

Bountiful Mobile

What you will need:

Halloween candy molds
Instant paper mache or polymer clay
Acrylic paints
Small paintbrush
Small wire hooks
Embroidery hoop
White thread

Directions:

Step 1: Fill the candy mold with paper mache or clay and remove it just before drying.

Step 2: Insert a small hook in the top of each figure.

Step 3: Let them dry completely.

Step 4: Decorate the figures with the paints.

Step 5: Let them dry completely.

Step 6: Tie the figures to the embroidery hoop at different levels with the thread.

Furry Scaredy Cat

What you will need:

Scaredy cat template
Black construction paper
Black tissue paper
Yellow construction paper, optional
White paper, optional
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Print the template. A copier can be used to enlarge the template if desired.

Step 2: Place the template over the construction paper and cut through both at the same time.

Step 3: Rip off small pieces of the tissue paper.

Step 4: Bunch up the tissue paper with your fingers and glue onto the cutout.

Step 5: The furry cat can be left as is or you can add eyes.

Step 6: Cut eye shapes out of the yellow paper cut the iris out of the black paper and place a small circle cut from the white paper in the black iris.

Helium Ghosts

What you will need:

Round helium balloons
White sheets
White string
Black markers

Directions:

Step 1: Place the balloon in the center of the sheet and tie it with string.

Step 2: Create a face on the ghost with the markers. Let the ghosts float through the house or party room.

Tissue Paper Spider

What you will need:

Tissue paper scraps, or inexpensive white tissue paper for filling
Black tissue paper
Strong sewing thread
Black chenille stems
White paper
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Shape scraps of white tissue into a ball and place it in the center of the black tissue paper.

Step 2: Gather one sheet of tissue paper around the ball and secure it with the thread. Cut off the thread, leaving ends long to secure the spider if desired.

Step 3: Shape a second ball smaller than the first.

Step 4: Gather the ends of the black tissue paper tightly around the second ball pushing the two parts of the spider closely together.

Step 5: Twist the ends under the spider and secure tightly with the ends of the thread. Glue the loose ends in place.

Step 6: Gather the chenille stems and twist them together in the center.

Step 7: Place the center of the leg structure under the bottom of the spider between the head and abdomen. Glue in place and fold the legs up on both sides of the spider.

Step 8: Shape the spider’s legs by bending each leg into a downward arc and then bending the last ½” out for the spider’s foot. There should be four legs on each side of the spider.

Step 9: Cut two eyes out of white paper and glue them into place.

Stamped Decorations

What you will need:

One orange tablecloth
Orange napkins
Orange gift bags
Halloween stamps
Black stamp pad

Directions:

Step 1: Using stamps of Halloween figures (ghosts, witches, pumpkins, etc.) stamp the tablecloth napkins and gift bags.

Step 2: Allow ink to dry.

Screaming Streamers

What you will need:

Package of stiff black or white paper
Template of either a bat or a ghost
Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Print and cut out the template.

Step 2: Fold the paper back and forth accordion style. Make the folds the width of the template.

Step 3: Place the template on the top layer, and cut out the shape.

Step 4: Leave the folds attached at the outermost points of the paper figure so that when the paper is opened, you will have a string of bats or ghosts.

Step 5: Tape pieces together until the streamer is the desired length.

Note: You can draw on faces with a black marker or a white laundry marker.

Spider Web Door Decoration

What you will need:

Embroidery hoop
Black thread
A tissue paper spider

Directions:

Step 1: Attach thread to the hoop with a knot, pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite side of the hoop. Cut off excess.

Step 2: Tie the thread to the hoop diagonal to the original thread, pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite end. Cut off excess.

Step 3: Tie the thread to the right of the original thread (in between the original and second thread), pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite end of the hoop. Cut off excess.

Step 4: Tie the thread to the left of the original thread (in between the original and the end of the second thread), pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite side. Cut off excess.

Step 5: Tie another piece of thread to the original thread toward the center connecting threads, and weave it in and out of the other threads back to the starting point. Tie and cut off the excess.

Step 6: To finish the web, tie another piece of thread to the original thread, halfway between the first weaving and the hoop.

Step 7: Weave the thread in and out of the other threads back to the starting point. Tie and cut off the excess, completing the web.

Step 8: Add tissue paper spider.

Quick and Easy Gift Bags

What you will need:

Orange gift bags
Halloween stamps
Orange and black curling ribbon
Orange tissue paper
Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Using black ink, stamp the Halloween shapes onto the gift bags in a random pattern.

Step 2: Allow to dry.

Step 3: Place several pieces of tissue paper in the bag, leaving the ends sticking out.

Step 4: Tie the curling ribbon to the front handle. Use the ribbon to tie a gift tag to the bag, and curl the ribbon with a pair of scissors. To create the tags: Cut a rectangle out of a stiff piece of paper. Use a small stamp to place a Halloween figure in the corner of the tag. Write the guests’ names on the tags using a black glitter glue pen.

Step 5: Fill the bag with goodies like candy, sticker books, movie tickets, Halloween pins, small toys, etc.

Quick and Easy Sweatshirts

What you will need:

Orange, black, or white sweatshirt
Halloween clipart
Transfer paper

Directions:

Step 1: Print out a Halloween picture, and use a copier to enlarge it.

Step 2: Follow the instructions that come with the transfer paper to place the design on the sweatshirt.

Note: You can use this same technique to decorate t-shirts, tote bags, aprons, etc.

Haunted House Party Invitations

What you will need:

Stiff black paper
Orange or yellow envelopes
Stiff white paper
Black magic marker
Craft knife

Directions:

Step 1: Draw a haunted house shape on a piece of paper and cut it out. (Make sure the cutout will fit inside the envelopes.)

Step 2: Fold the stiff black paper and cut to roughly the size of the cutout.

Step 3: Place the cutout over the folded black paper with one side touching the fold.

Step 4: Trace the cutout onto the black paper and cut out the house leaving the card connected at the fold. Repeat with the white paper and set aside.

Step 5: Cut the windows out with the craft knife. Open the card so you don’t cut through the back.

Step 6: Glue yellow paper behind the window cutouts.

Step 7: Glue the white haunted house cutout inside the black house cutout.

Step 8: Use the black magic marker to write the party details inside (To:, When:, Where:, etc.)

Halloween Wreath

What you will need:

Halloween candy molds
Instant paper Mache or polymer clay
Acrylic paints
Small paintbrush
Small wire hooks
Store-bought or home-made wreath in fall colors
Wire

Directions:

Step 1: Fill the candy mold with paper Mache or clay and remove it just before drying.

Step 2: Insert a small hook at the top of each figure.

Step 3: Let them dry completely.

Step 4: Decorate the figures with the acrylic paints.

Step 5: Allow the paint to dry completely.

Step 6: Cut small pieces of wire.

Step 7: Place a piece of wire through the hook of each figure, twist the wire around the hook, and use it to attach the figures to the wreath.

Step 8: Place the figures around the wreath, nestling them among the dried leaves and flowers.

Scary Balloon Bats

What you will need:

Black balloon
Black thread
Black construction paper
White paint

Directions:

Step 1: Have the balloons filled with helium on the day of the party so they will float well.

Step 2: Cut the ears with some hair in-between out of the construction paper.

Step 3: Fold the bottom edge of the ears back. Cut tabs in the fold. (This will help the earpiece fit better onto the balloon.)

Step 4: Holding the balloon upside down, glue the tabs of the earpiece in front of the knot.

Step 5: Cut wings out of the construction paper.

Step 6: The top of the wings should be the shape of the bottom of the balloon with the wings flaring out to the side.

Step 7: Cut tabs in the round edge of the wings, fold them back, and glue them to the bottom and sides of the balloon.

Step 8: Tie with string to the knot behind the ears, and hang.

Cool Halloween Pins

What you will need:

Halloween candy molds
Instant paper Mache or polymer clay
Safety pins
Small paintbrush
Acrylic paints

Directions:

Step 1: Fill candy molds with paper Mache or clay.

Step 2: Just before drying, insert a safety pin in the back of each figure (the closed side).

Step 3: Let them dry completely.

Step 4: Remove figures from the mold, and decorate with acrylic paints.

Step 5: Let them dry completely.

Spooky Placemats

What you will need:

Halloween drawing
Contact paper

Directions:

Step 1: Make a Halloween-themed drawing.

Step 2: Cover the drawing with contact paper.

Monster Man

What you will need:

White paper
Stiff green and black paper
Magic markers or construction paper
Black tissue paper
Scissors and glue
Needle and light-colored thread

Directions:

Step 1: Draw Frankenstein’s head on a piece of paper and cut it out.

Step 2: Use the head as a template. Trace the shape onto the stiff green paper twice and cut them out. Set aside.

Step 3: Draw Frankenstein’s torso on a piece of paper and cut it out.

Step 4: Use the torso as a template. Trace the shape onto the stiff black paper twice and cut them out. Set aside.

Step 5: Using the head template as a guide, make a cutout for the hair (the top of the hair should have the shape of the top of Frankenstein’s head, and the bottom should have jagged points). Make two hair cutouts from the stiff black paper. Set aside.

Step 6: Draw the hands and boots on a piece of paper and cut them out (you don’t have to use a lot of detail).

Step 7: Use the cutouts as templates. Trace the hand shape onto the stiff green paper four times and cut it out. Trace the boot shape onto the stiff black paper four times and cut it out. Set aside.

Step 8: Glue the bottom of the headpiece to the top of one torso piece. Repeat for the second cutouts.

Step 9: Glue the hair cutout to the top of the head cutout. Repeat for the second figure.

Step 10: Create Frankenstein’s face with magic markers or construction paper scraps. Don’t forget the scar!

Step 11: Cut four strips out of the tissue paper (1″ wide).

Step 12: Fold the strips back and forth accordion style.

Step 13: Glue one end of the strips to the torso of one of the Frankenstein figures for the arms and legs. Be sure to glue them behind the figure.

Step 14: Glue one handpiece on the end of one tissue paper arm and glue another handpiece to the back of the first with the tissue paper in between. Repeat for the other arm.

Step 15: Repeat the above step with the boots. Make sure the boots face the right way before gluing.

Step 16: Thread the needle. Cut off the thread (leave enough thread to hang the Frankenstein figure).

Step 17: Carefully poke the needle through the top of a headpiece (the knot should be at the back of the figure’s head) pulling the thread to the knot.

Step 18: Glue the second figure over the first with the tissue paper in between and cover the knot.

Step 19: Hang your creation!

Tissue Paper Ghost

What you will need:

Several sheets of white tissue paper
Strong white thread
Black construction paper
Craft wire
Scissors and glue

Directions:

Step 1: Shape some white tissue paper into a ball the size you want the ghost’s head to be.

Step 2: Place the tissue paper ball in the center of one layer of tissue paper.

Step 3: Gather the outer layer of paper around the tissue paper ball and secure it with thread.

Step 4: Print the ghost face template and cut it out, or cut eyes and mouth out of black construction paper. Glue in place.

Step 5: Cut 6″ of wire and wrap one end around the neck of the ghost figure. Use the other end to hang the ghost.

Halloween Tree

What you will need:

Silk or real indoor tree
White Christmas lights
Tissue paper bats
Strechable spider webs
Tissue paper ghosts

Directions:

Step 1: Create the ghosts and bats

Step 2: Drape the Christmas lights on the tree.

Step 3: Hang the ghosts and bats from the branches.

Step 4: Spread the spider webs around the branches and on the tissue paper figures.

Hanging Halloween Poster Cutouts

What you will need:

Halloween templates (bat, scaredy cat, and witch)
Poster board in various colors, orange, yellow, white, and black
Yellow, red, and black construction paper
Craft knife
Glue
Needle and thread

Directions:

Step 1: To create the witch poster cutout, glue one black witch figure to the center of a yellow circle (the moon) and glue the other figure to the center of the second moon cutout.

Step 2: Repeat for the bat and cat poster cutout (glue the cat toward the bottom of the moon so it appears as if it is standing).

Step 3: Thread the needle. Make the thread long enough to hang the poster cutout. Tie a knot in the end of the thread.

Step 4: Gently poke the needle through the top of a moon cutout (and pull up to the knot). Cut the thread leaving enough length to hang the cutout.

Step 5: Glue one moon and witch cutout to the other moon and witch cutout, covering the knot, and repeat for the bat and cat poster cutouts.

Note: Another option would be to make three bats (six total) in carrying sizes and glue them all over the moon to look like a group of bats flying in front of the moon.

Candy Filled Ghosts

What you will need:

White tissue paper
Plastic wrap
An assortment of small candy (candy corn, tootsie rolls, etc.)
Black construction paper
Heavy white thread
Black curling ribbon
Scissors and glue

Directions:

Step 1: Place a small amount of candy in the center of a sheet of plastic wrap, and close the wrap around the candy tightly.

Step 2: Make a ball with tissue paper around the candy.

Step 3: Place the ball in the center of another sheet of tissue paper and secure it with thread.

Step 4: Cut a face out of black construction paper and glue it to the face of the ghost.

Step 5: Tie a black curling ribbon around the neck of the ghost and curl it with the side of a pair of scissors.

Chilling Window Scene

What you will need:

Several sheets of white tissue paper
Strong white thread
Black construction paper
Blue cellophane
Scissors and glue

Directions:

Step 1: Shape 1-2 sheets of white tissue paper into a ball the size you wish the ghost’s head to be.

Step 2: Place the tissue paper ball in the center of one layer of white tissue paper. Gather the outer layer of paper around the tissue paper ball and secure it with thread.

Step 3: Cut eyes and mouth out of black construction paper, and glue in place.

Step 4: Cover the inside of a picture window with blue cellophane, then hang the ghosts from the ceiling and varying lengths.

Step 5: Dim the lights and the windows will glow with the eerie scene.

Tissue Paper Bats

What you will need:

Black construction paper
Bat template, optional
Scissors
Needle and strong black thread
Tissue paper scraps or inexpensive white tissue paper for filing
Black tissue paper
Craft wire
White paper
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Print the bat template and cut it out. Trace around the template onto the black construction paper and cut it out.

Step 2: Shape one sheet of white tissue paper or scraps into a ball the size you want the bat’s head to be.

Step 3: Place the tissue paper ball in the center of one layer of the black tissue paper.

Step 4: Gather the black tissue paper around the ball and secure it with thread.

Step 5: Spread the two loose lower layers of the tissue paper figure out into a triangle shape and glue the figure to the bat cut out, making sure that the ears stick up over the head.

Step 6: Holding the two tissue layers together, cut triangles into the bat’s wings.

Step 7: Cut the eyes for the bat out of white paper (ovals or upside-down triangles) and glue them in place.

Step 8: Cut 6″ of craft wire, attach one end to the back of the bat figure with glue, and let dry.

Step 9: Find a place to hang your creation.

Edible Slime

Here’s an easy way to make slime time exciting! Try our easy-to-make edible slime for the Halloween season. Your kids will be fascinated by this airy, light slime that’s better than Play-Doh. It’s great for little fingers that can quickly make this slime using simple ingredients, plus it’s very delicious!

Pumpkin Bowling

Pumpkin bowling is an easy and classic fun game for kids to play. Rolling a small pumpkin to knock down toilet paper rolls is not only exciting and easy to do but, is a great idea for kids to incorporate fresh air and exercise for the night. You can have the kids decorate the toilet paper with their favorite scary monster.

Halloween Writing Trays

Writing trays are a great way for younger kids to practice handwriting skills. Add cake sprinkles or colorful sand instantly to make handwriting fun!

Educational Halloween Videos

Find a whole selection of spooky Halloween videos. Your kids will learn about Halloween across the globe, practice math problems, or try spooky yoga.

Pumpkin Treat Sensory Bin

If you have a preschooler or toddler at home, then create a sensory bin. It’s an inexpensive and simple way to keep the little ones busy for hours on end. Add pumpkin cake mix, Dunkin Donuts cups, measuring cups, spoons, and cups filled with cinnamon and whipped cream to the sensory board. You can purchase a Halloween sensory board on Etsy.

Pumpkin Witch Broom Race

Grab brooms and small pumpkins, break into teams, and watch your kids race to see who can push the pumpkin across the finish line before the timer is up!

Halloween Magnets

Make your spooky magnets by gluing small magnets to the back of plastic spiders, eyeballs, skeletons, and more from a craft store. Then, use them for educational activities such as math, arrange them to spell words and sentences, or use them to decorate around the house.

Bake Halloween Treats

Many people’s favorite things about Halloween are the delicious trick-or-treat goodies! Desserts, sandwiches, and even snacks get frighteningly creative and tasty. Try Moms Who Think collection of mouth-watering Halloween treats.

Cute Paper Witch Dolls

Create these adorable witch paper dolls. All you need is construction paper, scissors, glue, and toilet paper core rolls, and you’re done!

Decorate A Spooky Table

Have your kids help decorate your family table using DIY ghost leaves. Take maple leaves from your backyard, paint them white, and paint two dots for the eyes once fully dried. String them together around the edge of the table for a Halloween garland.

Halloween Word Search

Encourage your kids to learn new Halloween vocabulary. If you can’t find a great word search, create one! Use colors, items, and eye-catching shapes relating to Halloween.

Candy Wreath

An easy and delicious project to make with your kids is a candy wreath. Let your kids attach the wreath with tasty treats while you handle the glue gun. Make it colorful with some beautiful ribbons and bows.

Monster Pancakes

If you don’t want to or cannot go out on Halloween, you can stay home and have a great time with your kids. Monster pancakes are a nice way to bring out the artist in your children.

Halloween Handprint Painting

Halloween wouldn’t be the same or fun without handprint painting. Have your kids experience different colors of paint by having them dip their hands into it. Then, have them press their hands firmly onto construction paper in Halloween colors.

Hang Cotton Ball Ghosts

These hanging cotton ghosts add an adorable but spooky flare around the house. Use cardboard paper, cotton, and glue so they can get started. Your kids can make the entire project themselves; you can also be there to guide them.

Host A Halloween Party

Organize a Halloween outdoor party for your kids and invite their friends. They can bake and decorate cookies, design and pass out invitations, and come up with a party to play along with other fun activities.

Halloween Jokes

Halloween jokes are a great way to help your kids interact with their peers. Find some suitable jokes for your kids to explore before asking them to come up with their jokes.

Halloween Kid-Friendly Scary Stories

That one childhood scary story your sister used to share when you were younger will be perfect for this activity. If you don’t have any scary stories, you can make one up on the spot. Pull another one from your childhood or recite one of these tried-and-true kid-friendly Halloween spooky stories.

Halloween Bingo

Bingo is a great way to improve vocabulary, along with attention and listening skills. Start by designing a traditional bingo card with a Halloween theme and involve your kids in this fun and exciting Halloween activity.

Candy Bag Building Race

Have each kid pick their favorite candy to include in small goody bags (you can also use a Ziploc bag), then race to see who can assemble the most bags in the shortest amount of time. This race will have your kids entertained assembling bags for hours.

Ghost Hand Puppets

Get into the Halloween spirit with these adorable no-sew ghost puppets! All you need are white felt, permanent marker, scissors, and hot glue. Get ready to haunt your house by using them as decorations or perform a hand puppet show for your kid’s friends.

Make Halloween Costumes

Store-bought costumes are great for last-minute shopping, but if you want to make something unique and to be proud of when your kids tap into their creative side, then making your costume is the way to go. Challenge your family to find a few items at home and build a costume from there. Grab a sheet to make a classic ghost costume. Take a visit to the fabric supply store and make an Incredibles costume. Making costumes is a way for everyone to get a little more creative and potentially save a lot of money.

Host A ‘Glow In The Dark,’ Party

Spook up a room with as many glow-in-the-dark decorations as possible. Use Jack-o’-lanterns, glow sticks, balloons, stars, ghosts, and anything that glows in the dark. Turn out the lights and let the Spooktacular party begin.

Bobbing For Donuts

This social distance-friendly and germ-free Halloween activity only requires string and a donut. From there, all you have to do is hang donuts from free tree branches and invite your kid’s friends to eat their donuts hands-free, by keeping their hands behind their backs during the whole activity.

Apple-Picking

This is a classic and all-time favorite Halloween activity. Pick the apple you want to eat and take a break to enjoy some warm cider.

Visit Or Set Up A Haunted House

It wouldn’t be Halloween without visiting a haunted house or hosting a haunted house event. Get an adrenaline rush visiting a place rumored to be occupied by ghosts. To set up your haunted house event, rent out space to decorate the interior with spooky décor to make a spooky house that will make you the talk of the town.

Halloween Scavenger Hunt

Deck the Halls with spooky decorations, then walk around the neighborhood to scavenge as a family to track down all the Halloween-themed items they see.

Origami Jack-O-Lantern

This requires an expert at work, but the finished result is beautiful and something you will love to save for Halloween years to come.

Read Halloween Themed Books

It’s a perfect way to encourage excitement ahead of trick-or-treating. Choose a selection of titles, whether Harry Potter by JK Rowling or How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead, and read them aloud.

Halloween Movie Marathon

Open up a few cans of sodas and cook a bowl of popcorn to watch Halloween classics with your kids such as Casper, Coraline, Hotel Transylvania, and The Addams Family.

Design Halloween Masks

Instead of buying Halloween masks at your local craft store, challenge your children to make their own. There are a lot of free printable online masks you can choose for last-minute Halloween costume ideas.

Conclusion

Halloween isn’t just about trick-or-treating. While Halloween candy may be the top event, there’s bobbing for donuts, apple picking, pumpkin carving, Halloween crafts, and parties to attend as well. If you’re unable to go trick-or-treating, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun. There are many activities your kids will enjoy to still make plenty of memories on Halloween!

Where’s The Duct Tape?

If you plan to make the costume yourself an ounce of planning is worth a pound of prevention. Start making your plans early, so that the million mind changes most kids experience don’t land in the middle of costume creation.

Make sure you set a deadline for your child to pick a costume so that you aren’t stuck with last-minute changes. Be clear that you won’t allow any major changes after this deadline, so your child should be sure that they are confident in their decision before sharing it.

Don’t let the idea of doing it yourself scare you, after all, it is the costume that should be scary, not the prospect of creating it. There are a few basic supplies you will find useful no matter what type of costume you choose to make.

A short list of necessary items for do-it-yourself costumes 101 are a needle and thread, tape, yarn or string, face paints or at least a wide variety of make-up dedicated for Halloween use, and a variety of dress-up clothes.

The exact supplies you will need depend of course on what your child chooses to be. Help him or her decide well in advance and keep their decision firm by including them in the process of making the costume. Much like dinner, your kids are more likely to enjoy the end result if they are included in the process of creation.

You may even be able to re-purpose last year’s Halloween costume into something new. Refreshing an old costume can turn it into something even better than what it was last year. The ideas you can come up with are only limited by your and your child’s creativity.

The important things are to make the costume look the part and to make it hold up. The last thing you want is for your child’s costume to fall apart in the middle of trick-or-treating. The following are a few homemade Halloween costumes that are sure to please.

Haunting Ghost

Ghosts are among the easiest homemade costumes to create. For a basic ghost take a large white sheet and cut out eye holes to allow your child to see. There are a few obvious drawbacks to this simple costume. It falls off easily, and it is difficult to see out of the small eye holes. It is also not very creative or fun.

To remedy these problems and add a bit of pizzazz try altering the basic plan. You can use just about any color sheet and give your specter a personality all its own. Instead of eye holes try cutting a hole large enough for your child’s head to poke through. You can paint your child’s face white and add a bit of makeup in keeping with the chosen ghostly persona. Your child can be the ghost of a movie star or a politician.

The ill fit of a bed sheet is easily remedied with the addition of a belt. Don’t settle for a standard belt; try chains, ropes, or vines. Anything will do; just think of the personality your ghost is trying to portray. In addition to a belt, a few simple stitches may go a long way to helping the sheet fit properly.

Not So Wicked Witch

A witch is always fun and with certain popular books featuring witches and wizards, the stereotypical witch with a black pointed hat and shoes is no longer standard fare. Sit down with your child and discuss what he or she thinks a witch or wizard would wear.

The clothes aren’t as important as the props. The wand or broomstick will make almost any outfit work. Create a perfect wand by going on a nature walk and finding that perfect stick. A broom can be easily made with a long stick or branch and some straw.

The Mummy

Mummy anyone? First of all, don’t be tempted to use toilet paper. It is long and white and looks like a great item to create bandages, but it won’t stand up to the wrapping process. Make your own wrappings using an old bed sheet. You can also find inexpensive sheets at almost any second-hand shop that make great mummy wrappings.

Depending on your child’s size, you will most likely need more than one sheet. Start by making the rags. Have your child help by ripping the sheets with you. Leave the strips as long as possible, you can cut them later and use them if needed. It is also wise to have an extra sheet in case you need more rags when you get dressed. It is always better to over budget on rags.

When making the costume it will help if your child wears something white or at least light-colored as a base layer. Begin the wrapping process early on Halloween because it may take a long time. With your pile of rags and safety pins begin wrapping.

Don’t worry about frayed edges or knots it will add to the authenticity. Overlap edges and start with the extremities. When you are finished add any stains or personal effects to finish off your desired look.

Undead Zombie

Zombies are a classic, and very easy to create. One of the best things about being a zombie is that it requires very little of what you don’t have on hand. Zombies are the un-dead, so they can wear anything, as long as it is properly ripped, torn, and soiled to resemble a sudden demise and burial.

This is a great way to get rid of clothes that are ready to be retired from your child’s wardrobe. The fun begins when you tell your child to wear their costume and go roll in the dirt. Resist all urges to make them stop, or to launder the soiled items.

The dirt will really sell the zombie look. On Halloween put on the costume, dirt and all, then use make-up to complete the look. Remember the point of this make-up is to create great big black hollow-looking eyes, sunken cheeks, and of course a smear of dirt.

Sports Star

All you need for a sports figure in most cases is a jersey. If your child is a fan you may already have this in your possession. Add the necessary padding, wigs, and ball to complete the look.

Royal Princess

Princesses are a bit trickier. If your little one has a particular princess that she loves, then you may need to shop or negotiate carefully. If you can convince her to wear her chosen princess’s casual look then your job is much easier. A peasant’s gown with a cute apron is all that is needed; you can also add a crown.

Caribbean Pirate

Pirates are very much the rage in children’s toys and movies today. This is good news for do-it-yourself costumes. All you need is a T-shirt and a pair of pants that can be cut ragged across the bottom. Add the accessories and you have an instant Black Beard.

To make a belt, cut out a large cardboard rectangle. Inside the rectangle cut out two smaller ones, leaving a space in the middle between the two. Cover this with tin foil and thread it onto a belt. Fasten the belt in the back with the tinfoil and buckle in the front to complete the look. Use a bandana on the head and some eyeliner on the face to create facial hair in your desired shape. Wala, instant pirate.

NASCAR Driver

For those little NASCAR fans, try making your own race car. This is not as difficult as it may seem. Start with a box. Any size will do, but a box that is large enough for your child to stand inside, but small enough to carry without being too bulky is best. Xerox boxes are ideal. Using paint, stickers, and markers decorate your box so that it looks like your favorite car.

Use extra cardboard to add details like fins, a steering wheel, a dashboard, or fenders. Once the box has been transformed into the car of your child’s dreams remove the bottom with a box cutter so your child can stand inside of it.

To help your child carry the car attach two lengths of ribbons from the front and back of the car long enough to rest comfortably on your child’s shoulders yet let the car hang around the waist. Add a few sponsor logos, driving gloves, and a ball cap and you are all set.

Ratatouille

Children everywhere love the movie Ratatouille. There are two very easy costumes from this movie that you and your child can create. For the rodent star you can use the face paints to make a nose and whiskers, complete the look with grey sweats.

For the little rat’s hands use pink or white gloves. What rat would be complete without a tail? This is not a problem, to create a tail use a bit of rope. Tie a knot near the end and fray it just a little. Ears are also necessary. With the use of a headband and a bit of heavy construction paper, this is not a problem.

Cut two circles out of grey paper and two smaller ones from pink. Glue the pink circles inside the grey ones. To create a bit of three dimension shape, cut a slit to the center and then overlap the ends, and glue them in place. Attach the ears to the headband using duct tape (it’s grey and very strong) or hot glue.

Other animal costumes are just as easily created. Using face paints, and clothing colored like the animal’s coat you can create almost any animal. Stripes and spots are easily added with a bit of scrap fabric and a needle. If you don’t sew, you can still add those using safety pins or fabric paints.

Top Chef

If you or your child doesn’t fancy the idea of being vermin for Halloween then try the chef! A pair of oversized pants, a white shirt, and an apron should not be difficult to dig up. What might be trickier, but essential, is a chef’s hat. If you are handy with a sewing machine you can whip one up easily enough.

But there are also other options. Most party stores sell an inexpensive paper chef’s hat that will be fabulous. Load the apron pockets with a whisk and ladle, smear the apron with tomato sauce, and dust the nose and cheeks lightly with flour and your little one is ready with a four-star costume.

Scary Skeleton

Who wouldn’t like to have a skeleton or two in their closet? Not the deep dark family secrets, but a skeleton costume. Start with your basic black sweat suit, and add the bones. You can do this by cutting bones from poster paper and pasting them on with fabric glue. For a more sturdy costume use fabric paint or sew on the bones with a needle and thread.

For the face add liberal amounts of white paint and a bit of black for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Hide the hair by flattening it to the head with loads of hairspray, for long hair a tight bun will help. Once the hair is properly plastered, use a white colored hairspray to tint it white. For a bit of fun and safety, use glow-in-the-dark paints on the bones.

With a bit of creativity, you can create a wonderful and creative homemade Halloween costume, and have a ton of fun doing it. You and your child will have so much fun it might be the start of a new family tradition!

Edible Slime

Here’s an easy way to make slime time exciting! Try our easy-to-make edible slime for the Halloween season. Your kids will be fascinated by this airy, light slime that’s better than Play-Doh. It’s great for little fingers that can quickly make this slime using simple ingredients, plus it’s very delicious!

Pumpkin Bowling

Pumpkin bowling is an easy and classic fun game for kids to play. Rolling a small pumpkin to knock down toilet paper rolls is not only exciting and easy to do but, is a great idea for kids to incorporate fresh air and exercise for the night. You can have the kids decorate the toilet paper with their favorite scary monster.

Halloween Writing Trays

Writing trays are a great way for younger kids to practice handwriting skills. Add cake sprinkles or colorful sand instantly to make handwriting fun!

Educational Halloween Videos

Find a whole selection of spooky Halloween videos. Your kids will learn about Halloween across the globe, practice math problems, or try spooky yoga.

Pumpkin Treat Sensory Bin

If you have a preschooler or toddler at home, then create a sensory bin. It’s an inexpensive and simple way to keep the little ones busy for hours on end. Add pumpkin cake mix, Dunkin Donuts cups, measuring cups, spoons, and cups filled with cinnamon and whipped cream to the sensory board. You can purchase a Halloween sensory board on Etsy.

Pumpkin Witch Broom Race

Grab brooms and small pumpkins, break into teams, and watch your kids race to see who can push the pumpkin across the finish line before the timer is up!

Halloween Magnets

Make your spooky magnets by gluing small magnets to the back of plastic spiders, eyeballs, skeletons, and more from a craft store. Then, use them for educational activities such as math, arrange them to spell words and sentences, or use them to decorate around the house.

Bake Halloween Treats

Many people’s favorite things about Halloween are the delicious trick-or-treat goodies! Desserts, sandwiches, and even snacks get frighteningly creative and tasty. Try Moms Who Think collection of mouth-watering Halloween treats.

Cute Paper Witch Dolls

Create these adorable witch paper dolls. All you need is construction paper, scissors, glue, and toilet paper core rolls, and you’re done!

Decorate A Spooky Table

Have your kids help decorate your family table using DIY ghost leaves. Take maple leaves from your backyard, paint them white, and paint two dots for the eyes once fully dried. String them together around the edge of the table for a Halloween garland.

Halloween Word Search

Encourage your kids to learn new Halloween vocabulary. If you can’t find a great word search, create one! Use colors, items, and eye-catching shapes relating to Halloween.

Candy Wreath

An easy and delicious project to make with your kids is a candy wreath. Let your kids attach the wreath with tasty treats while you handle the glue gun. Make it colorful with some beautiful ribbons and bows.

Monster Pancakes

If you don’t want to or cannot go out on Halloween, you can stay home and have a great time with your kids. Monster pancakes are a nice way to bring out the artist in your children.

Halloween Handprint Painting

Halloween wouldn’t be the same or fun without handprint painting. Have your kids experience different colors of paint by having them dip their hands into it. Then, have them press their hands firmly onto construction paper in Halloween colors.

Hang Cotton Ball Ghosts

These hanging cotton ghosts add an adorable but spooky flare around the house. Use cardboard paper, cotton, and glue so they can get started. Your kids can make the entire project themselves; you can also be there to guide them.

Host A Halloween Party

Organize a Halloween outdoor party for your kids and invite their friends. They can bake and decorate cookies, design and pass out invitations, and come up with a party to play along with other fun activities.

Halloween Jokes

Halloween jokes are a great way to help your kids interact with their peers. Find some suitable jokes for your kids to explore before asking them to come up with their jokes.

Halloween Kid-Friendly Scary Stories

That one childhood scary story your sister used to share when you were younger will be perfect for this activity. If you don’t have any scary stories, you can make one up on the spot. Pull another one from your childhood or recite one of these tried-and-true kid-friendly Halloween spooky stories.

Halloween Bingo

Bingo is a great way to improve vocabulary, along with attention and listening skills. Start by designing a traditional bingo card with a Halloween theme and involve your kids in this fun and exciting Halloween activity.

Candy Bag Building Race

Have each kid pick their favorite candy to include in small goody bags (you can also use a Ziploc bag), then race to see who can assemble the most bags in the shortest amount of time. This race will have your kids entertained assembling bags for hours.

Ghost Hand Puppets

Get into the Halloween spirit with these adorable no-sew ghost puppets! All you need are white felt, permanent marker, scissors, and hot glue. Get ready to haunt your house by using them as decorations or perform a hand puppet show for your kid’s friends.

Make Halloween Costumes

Store-bought costumes are great for last-minute shopping, but if you want to make something unique and to be proud of when your kids tap into their creative side, then making your costume is the way to go. Challenge your family to find a few items at home and build a costume from there. Grab a sheet to make a classic ghost costume. Take a visit to the fabric supply store and make an Incredibles costume. Making costumes is a way for everyone to get a little more creative and potentially save a lot of money.

Host A ‘Glow In The Dark,’ Party

Spook up a room with as many glow-in-the-dark decorations as possible. Use Jack-o’-lanterns, glow sticks, balloons, stars, ghosts, and anything that glows in the dark. Turn out the lights and let the Spooktacular party begin.

Bobbing For Donuts

This social distance-friendly and germ-free Halloween activity only requires string and a donut. From there, all you have to do is hang donuts from free tree branches and invite your kid’s friends to eat their donuts hands-free, by keeping their hands behind their backs during the whole activity.

Apple-Picking

This is a classic and all-time favorite Halloween activity. Pick the apple you want to eat and take a break to enjoy some warm cider.

Visit Or Set Up A Haunted House

It wouldn’t be Halloween without visiting a haunted house or hosting a haunted house event. Get an adrenaline rush visiting a place rumored to be occupied by ghosts. To set up your haunted house event, rent out space to decorate the interior with spooky décor to make a spooky house that will make you the talk of the town.

Halloween Scavenger Hunt

Deck the Halls with spooky decorations, then walk around the neighborhood to scavenge as a family to track down all the Halloween-themed items they see.

Origami Jack-O-Lantern

This requires an expert at work, but the finished result is beautiful and something you will love to save for Halloween years to come.

Read Halloween Themed Books

It’s a perfect way to encourage excitement ahead of trick-or-treating. Choose a selection of titles, whether Harry Potter by JK Rowling or How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead, and read them aloud.

Halloween Movie Marathon

Open up a few cans of sodas and cook a bowl of popcorn to watch Halloween classics with your kids such as Casper, Coraline, Hotel Transylvania, and The Addams Family.

Design Halloween Masks

Instead of buying Halloween masks at your local craft store, challenge your children to make their own. There are a lot of free printable online masks you can choose for last-minute Halloween costume ideas.

Conclusion

Halloween isn’t just about trick-or-treating. While Halloween candy may be the top event, there’s bobbing for donuts, apple picking, pumpkin carving, Halloween crafts, and parties to attend as well. If you’re unable to go trick-or-treating, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun. There are many activities your kids will enjoy to still make plenty of memories on Halloween!

What Kind of Candy Should You Avoid?

Kids should avoid many unhealthy candies because of the high sugar and damage it can cause to their teeth. Looking at these candies can give you a better idea of what to take out of their bag before they consume it.

While no particular candy is healthy for you, certain candies are worse than others.

Candy Corn

Candy corn consistently tops lists of the most hated candies. For good reason: it’s often a candy that people don’t like because of the unique maple flavor.

It’s also one of the worst candies for you because it’s filled with corn syrup. There are 31 grams of sugar and 150 calories. While eating them in moderation is fine, it’s fine to dump them out if you’re trying to keep only the healthier candy.

Smarties

Smarties are chock-full of sugar. They also taste like sweet chalk. While they seem small and harmless, they are the worst because you get zero nutritional value from them.

They are comprised of high sugar, even though they have little calories or fat.

Almond Joy

Almond Joys might be hard to pass up if you love coconut with chocolate. This classic candy is also one of the worst for your teeth and overall health, let alone terrible for kids.

It’s filled with high fat and sugar content that will leave you in a daze after you eat it. It specifically has 16 grams of fat and 9 grams of sugar.

Peanut M&Ms

Peanut M&Ms are the perfect snack for movies. They are also one of the most classic Halloween candies. They are delicious peanuts covered with milk chocolate.

No matter how tasty they are, they are also one of the worst candies because of the high fat and sugar content. One of the main reasons they are unhealthy is because they have chemical-filled shells that aren’t the greatest for you or your kids. It has 180 calories, 18 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of total fat.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

It’s hard to deny the deliciousness of eating a Reese’s peanut butter cup. They melt in your mouth as soon as you eat it.

They are also among the worst because they have about 220 calories, 22 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of total fat. In some instances, the Halloween edition of these candies is often worse than the original versions.

Fun Size Twix Bars

There’s nothing like a crunchy Twix bar with caramel and chocolate. They also have a tremendous amount of fat, making them one of the worst candies for your kids.

The Fun Size Twix Bars are even worse because they are much larger with more fat content.

Gummy Bears

Another unhealthy Halloween candy you should avoid is gummy bears. While kids love these candies, they also have 100 calories for 13 pieces. They also contain 13 grams of sugar.

One of the worst things about gummy bears is that they are notorious for getting stuck in your teeth. If your kids have cavities, you may find that these candies can disturb the cavity and leave your kids in a lot of pain on Halloween night.

Nestlé Crunch

While not an incredibly common candy bar that is usually found in your kids’ candy pails after trick-or-treating, it still gets in there from time to time. These little puffed-rice-filled treats are filled with artificial ingredients and are high in calories.

Raisinets

While raisins are typically a healthy and delicious treat, Raisinets are incredibly high in sugar and saturated fat. To top it off, they actually contain very little real fruit. Moderation, of course, is key, but if you’re looking to limit your child’s candy intake, you can feel good about tossing these.

Skittles

Say it isn’t so! Skittles are an incredibly popular candy among trick-or-treaters and candy-lovers in general. But Skittles is a candy that has been deemed one of the unhealthiest candies out there. Filled with sugar and artificial flavorings, these little candies are as unhealthy as they get.

Why Should You Avoid the Most Unhealthy Halloween Candy?

The most obvious reasons to avoid these candies are their high fat and sugar content. They have candy that can destroy your health, especially your kid’s teeth. It can also elevate your kid’s blood sugar and give them a sugar high.

Consider dark chocolate candies if you’re wondering what candy to stick with. Dark chocolate is known to have ingredients that are healthier for you. Dark chocolate has flavanols that help lower your risk of diseases. Overall, choosing less sugary and high-fat content candies can be better for your kid’s health.

Where’s The Duct Tape?

If you plan to make the costume yourself an ounce of planning is worth a pound of prevention. Start making your plans early, so that the million mind changes most kids experience don’t land in the middle of costume creation. Make sure you set a deadline for your child to pick a costume by so that you aren’t stuck with last-minute changes. Be clear that you won’t allow any major changes after this deadline, so your child should be sure that they are confident in their decision before sharing it.

Don’t let the idea of doing it yourself scare you, after all, it is the costume that should be scary, not the prospect of creating it. There are a few basic supplies you will find useful no matter what type of costume you choose to make. A short list of necessary items for do-it-yourself costumes 101 are a needle and thread, tape, yarn or string, face paints or at least a wide variety of make-up dedicated for Halloween use, and a variety of dress-up clothes.

The exact supplies you will need depend of course on what your child chooses to be. Help him or her decide well in advance and keep their decision firm by including them in the process of making the costume. Much like dinner, your kids are more likely to enjoy the end result if they are included in the process of creation.

You may even be able to re-purpose last year’s Halloween costume into something totally new. Refreshing an old costume can turn it into something even better than what it was last year! The ideas you can come up with are only limited by your and your child’s creativity. The important things are to make the costume look the part and to make it hold up. The last thing you want is for your child’s costume to fall apart in the middle of trick-or-treating!

The following are a few homemade Halloween costumes that are sure to please.

Haunting Ghost

Ghosts are among the easiest homemade costumes to create. For a basic ghost take a large white sheet and cut out eye holes to allow your child to see. There are a few obvious drawbacks to this simple costume. It falls off easily, and it is difficult to see out of the small eye holes. It is also not very creative or fun. To remedy these problems and add a bit of pizzazz try altering the basic plan. You can use just about any color sheet and give your specter a personality all its own. Instead of eye holes try cutting a hole large enough for your child’s head to poke through. You can paint your child’s face white and add a bit of makeup in keeping with the chosen ghostly persona. Your child can be the ghost of a movie star or a politician.

The ill fit of a bed sheet is easily remedied with the addition of a belt. Don’t settle for a standard belt; try chains, ropes, or vines. Anything will do; just think of the personality your ghost is trying to portray. In addition to a belt, a few simple stitches may go a long way to helping the sheet fit properly.

Not So Wicked Witch

A witch is always fun and with certain popular books featuring witches and wizards, the stereotypical witch with a black pointed hat and shoes is no longer standard fare. Sit down with your child and discuss what he or she thinks a witch or wizard would wear. The clothes really aren’t as important as the props. The wand or broomstick will make almost any outfit work. Create a perfect wand by going on a nature walk and finding that perfect stick. A broom can be easily made with a long stick or branch and some straw.

The Mummy

Mummy anyone? First of all, don’t be tempted to use toilet paper. It is long and white and looks like a great item to create bandages, but it won’t stand up to the wrapping process. Make your own wrappings using an old bed sheet. You can also find inexpensive sheets at almost any second-hand shop that make great mummy wrappings. Depending on your child’s size, you will most likely need more than one sheet. Start by making the rags. Have your child help by ripping the sheets with you. Leave the strips as long as possible, you can cut them later and use them if needed. It is also wise to have an extra sheet in case you need more rags when you get dressed. It is always better to over budget on rags.

When making the costume it will help if your child wears something white or at least light-colored as a base layer. Begin the wrapping process early on Halloween because it may take a long time. With your pile of rags and safety pins begin wrapping. Don’t worry about frayed edges or knots it will add to the authenticity. Overlap edges and start with the extremities. When you are finished add any stains or personal effects to finish off your desired look.

Undead Zombie

Zombies are definitely a classic, and very easy to create. One of the best things about being a zombie is that it requires very little of what you don’t have on hand. Zombies are the un-dead, so they can wear anything, as long as it is properly ripped, torn, and soiled to resemble a sudden demise and burial. This is a great way to get rid of clothes that are ready to be retired from your child’s wardrobe. The fun begins when you tell your child to wear their costume and literally go roll in the dirt. Resist all urges to make them stop, or to launder the soiled items! The dirt will really sell the zombie look. On Halloween put on the costume, dirt and all, then use make-up to complete the look. Remember the point of this make-up is to create great big black hollow-looking eyes, sunken cheeks, and of course a smear of dirt.

Sports Star

All you need for a sports figure in most cases is a jersey. If your child is a fan you may already have this in your possession. Add the necessary padding, wigs, and ball to complete the look.

Royal Princess

Princesses are a bit trickier. If your little one has a particular princess that she loves, then you may need to shop or negotiate carefully. If you can convince her to wear her chosen princess’s casual look then your job is much easier. A peasant’s gown with a cute apron is all that is needed; you can also add a crown.

Caribbean Pirate

Pirates are very much the rage in children’s toys and movies today. This is good news for do-it-yourself costumes. All you need is a T-shirt and a pair of pants that can be cut ragged across the bottom. Add the accessories and you have an instant Black Beard. To make a belt, cut out a large cardboard rectangle. Inside the rectangle cut out two smaller ones, leaving a space in the middle between the two. Cover this with tin foil and thread it onto a belt. Fasten the belt in the back with the tinfoil and buckle in the front to complete the look. Use a bandana on the head and some eyeliner on the face to create facial hair in your desired shape. Wala, instant pirate.

NASCAR Driver

For those little NASCAR fans, try making your own race car. This is not as difficult as it may seem. Start out with a box. Any size will do, but a box that is large enough for your child to stand inside, but small enough to carry without being too bulky is best. Xerox boxes are ideal. Using paint, stickers, and markers decorate your box so that it looks like your favorite car. Use extra cardboard to add details like fins, a steering wheel, a dashboard, or fenders. Once the box has been transformed into the car of your child’s dreams remove the bottom with a box cutter so your child can stand inside of it. To help your child carry the car attach two lengths of ribbons from the front and back of the car long enough to rest comfortably on your child’s shoulders yet let the car hang around the waist. Add a few sponsor logos, driving gloves, and a ball cap and you are all set.

Ratatouille

Children everywhere love the movie Ratatouille. There are two very easy costumes from this movie that you and your child can create. For the rodent star you can use the face paints to make a nose and whiskers, complete the look with grey sweats. For the little rat’s hands use pink or white gloves. What rat would be complete without a tail? This is not a problem, to create a tail use a bit of rope. Tie a knot near the end and fray it just a little.

Ears are also necessary. With the use of a headband and a bit of heavy construction paper, this is not a problem. Cut two circles out of grey paper and two smaller ones from pink. Glue the pink circles inside the grey ones. To create a bit of three dimension shape, cut a slit to the center and then overlap the ends, and glue them in place. Attach the ears to the headband using duct tape (it’s grey and very strong) or hot glue. Other animal costumes are just as easily created. Using face paints, and clothing colored like the animal’s coat you can create almost any animal. Stripes and spots are easily added with a bit of scrap fabric and a needle. If you don’t sew, you can still add those using safety pins or fabric paints.

Top Chef

If you or your child doesn’t fancy the idea of being vermin for Halloween then try the chef! A pair of oversized pants, a white shirt, and an apron should not be difficult to dig up. What might be trickier, but essential, is a chef’s hat. If you are handy with a sewing machine you can whip one up easily enough. But there are also other options. Most party stores sell an inexpensive paper chef’s hat that will be fabulous. Load the apron pockets with a whisk and ladle, smear the apron with tomato sauce, and dust the nose and cheeks lightly with flour and your little one is ready with a four-star costume.

Scary Skeleton

Who wouldn’t like to have a skeleton or two in their closet? Not the deep dark family secrets, but a skeleton costume. Start with your basic black sweat suit, and add the bones. You can do this by cutting bones from poster paper and pasting them on with fabric glue. For a more sturdy costume use fabric paint or sew on the bones with a needle and thread. For the face add liberal amounts of white paint and a bit of black for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Hide the hair by flattening it to the head with loads of hairspray, for long hair a tight bun will help. Once the hair is properly plastered, use a white colored hairspray to tint it white. For a bit of fun and safety, use glow-in-the-dark paints on the bones.

With a bit of creativity, you can create a wonderful and creative homemade Halloween costume, and have a ton of fun doing it. You and your child will have so much fun it might be the start of a new family tradition!

Let’s Get Started with Rules and Supplies

A few ground rules and basic supplies will make all the difference in the world between a successful crafting session and a nightmare.

One: crafts are messy. Children are also messy. Putting the two together is a perfect storm of paste, paint, and minuscule pieces of paper and glitter that will soon be permanently adhered to your dining room table unless you take the necessary evasive action. You will find that an investment in disposable plastic table coverings, or a big stack of newsprint will be worth its weight in gold not only for mess prevention but also for easy clean up: just roll plastic table cloth up, mess and all, then toss it in the waste bin. Done. Other mess and stress savers include aprons, old t-shirts, and in some cases latex gloves.

Make sure your kids understand how to use scissors safely. They should know to walk, never run when carrying them, and always carry them point-down. If you have very young children, use safety scissors or have mom or dad do the cutting instead. Keep an eye on your kids to ensure no craft products are consumed! Sometimes, curiosity gets the best of a kid and earns you a trip to the emergency room. If you’re working with any hot glue, make sure your kids know not to touch it until it has cooled. Always supervise your kids during craft time to ensure any mishaps are avoided.

Now that the scary mess is tamed and safety concerns are addressed, basic supplies are the next items on the crafts list. Having a well-stocked crafts box means that even if you don’t have a specific craft planned you can get out the supplies and let the kid’s imaginations take flight. Must-have items are crayons, pencils, rulers, glue or paste, and lots of paper both in plain white and colored varieties. Items that are not a must, but are certainly fun include glitter, colored and plain craft pasta, markers, colored pencils, paint, mixed varieties of beans, felt, lace, ribbon, scraps of material, and stickers. This may seem like a lot of stuff, but it comes together naturally over time as you craft and is not expensive.

Halloween Crafts for Kids

You can craft any time of the year, but Halloween crafts for kids are so fun, and with the advent of poorer weather there is never a better time to start.

Pumpkin Crafts

The orange gourd that graces the front porch of most homes this time of year has so much craft potential. This year try painting your faces. Use stencils and tape to cover spots that are to remain orange and paint the rest. This is an easy way for a child to create their own Jack-o-lantern from start to finish without having to use a knife.

Other pumpkin fun includes decorating them with glow-in-the-dark paint. You can paint faces, stars, or handprints. Turn out the lights and watch them glow. You can also use paints to draw faces then top them with yarn for hair, sturdy construction paper for ears, ties, collars, and ribbons.

Beyond faces, there is still more pumpkin fun. When you haven’t polluted the pumpkin’s flesh by burning a candle in it you can use it in your holiday baking. Pumpkin is fabulous and nutritious. Kids will love helping you use their creations to make pies or roasted seeds.

Sugar + Water + Cheesecloth = Ghost

This is true, and so much fun. To begin combine at least two parts water and one part sugar. (Tip: the sugar dissolves much better in warm to hot water.) Once the sugar is all dissolved, put several layers of cheesecloth in it to soak.

Now it is time to prepare the framework for your ghost. Do this by blowing up a balloon to the desired size and affixing it to a glass, vase, or jar of the height that you would like your ghost to stand. Now begin to layer the cheesecloth over the balloon. If you would like your ghost to stand on its own then be sure to leave long portions of the cheesecloth trailing onto the work surface to support it once it dries. Layer as many sheets of cheesecloth as you wish; more layers will look floaty and airy, while fewer layers will create a more spectral see-through ghost. Add folds and bumps as desired by shaping the cheesecloth with your fingers.

Once you have the shape and thickness you desire, let your creation dry; it will take at least one night. When the ghost is dry it will be very stiff. You can now decorate your ghost with eyes, lace, felt, patches, and hats as you desire. To remove the balloon pop it with a pin and then pull the cup out of the bottom. Boo!

Frightening Felt

There are so many things you can do with felt, but a Halloween favorite has got to be finger puppets. To create the base use inexpensive knit gloves. Those tiny stretchy gloves work great. An alternative is to create your own base by tracing the fingers or hands of your child, allowing an ¼ inch seem allowance and either stitching it together or using hot glue to stick two sides together. (Glue works best when only doing individual fingers.)

Once the bases are made use felt to create faces, clothes, and shoes of your favorite Halloween figures. Ghosts, witches, pumpkins, mummies, and Dracula are all fun. If you want to add a bit of pizzazz use googly eyes or yarn for hair.

Halloween Masks

This is the season of dress-up, so why not create a mask? Use a basic paper plate, the kind that you have to double and triple up in order to hold potato chips. Fold the plate along the mid-section and cut it in half. (If the plates are small then hold the plate to the child’s face before cutting. The cut should fall across the bridge of the nose.) A nice effect for fancier masks is to cut a higher spot in the middle for the nose, then dip down on the sides to cover the cheeks. Cut out the eye holes and use a hole punch to make a hole on each side where yarn or ribbon will be used to make ties.

Now that the mask pattern is ready, let the kids decide what kind of mask they want, and turn them loose. They can use paper or crayons to create spots or stripes for animals, feathers or glitter for birds, and fancy party masks. Yarn and tinfoil crowns are great for a princess mask. The sky is the limit here, and to think all you needed to add to your basic craft kit was a paper plate.

Wands at the Ready

This is a fun craft for fans of a certain teenage British wizard. To create the base of the wand use odds and ends of tinker toys, dowels, or even a stick. Once the wand shape is chosen let your budding witch or wizard decorate it with paint, glitter, ribbons, or scraps of cloth.

This is a fun craft to make an all-day event. Start the day with a nature walk, during which the perfect wand stick is selected. Come home for hot cocoa, wand decorating, and maybe a movie.

Shrunken Heads

This craft combines the harvest fruits of the season with the spooks of Halloween. It is very simple. Start with your favorite variety of apples. Now, stop! No matter how delicious this apple looks, don’t eat it. Use a carving knife (the blunt-edged pumpkin carving knives are a safer choice, especially for younger kids) and cut pieces of the apple away to create a face. For the best results fashion your carved face after a plump-cheeked person.

Once the apple is carved, either place it in a sunny window or a food dehydrator. It will take 24-48 hours to shrink. Once it does the transformation will be surprising and fun. What once looked like a round-cheeked granny now looks like a shriveled hag. Hang these witch apples by their stems in a window or use them as a centerpiece.

Pipe Cleaner Spider

These spiders are spooky, yet cute! Gather the following supplies: pipe cleaners, black puff balls, hot glue, and glue gun. To assemble the spider, the size and shape are up to you. You can use one large puffball, or one large for the body and a smaller one for the head. Once you have the body shape you like, use the pipe cleaners to make the legs. For long-legged spiders don’t cut the pipe cleaners, just bend them in the middle for knees, and then again about a half inch from the bottom for feet. Use hot glue to attach them to the body. Adding accessories like googly eyes or a red hourglass is fun. You can go all out by dressing your spider up like a witch, mummy, princess, or pirate. Or, create a dead one! Create your post-mortem arachnid by simply making any kind of spider you like, then rolling it on its back and folding the legs back onto themselves! Make two ‘x’s’ for the eyes, and perhaps a little red tongue poking out of the mouth or a grave marker.

Tips for Having a Successful Halloween Party

Throwing a successful Halloween party can be a daunting task, especially if this is your first time doing it! Fortunately, we’ve got some tips here to help you along the way.

Have your kids help when they can

Involving the kids in party preparation is fun for them and stress-relieving for you. Giving them a few age-appropriate tasks to do will shorten your to-do list and allow you to focus more on other things. Younger children can help decorate, while older children can help with stringing up decorations or preparing the food.

Re-purpose household items into decorations

Sometimes, simple household items can be turned into cool Halloween decorations. This can save a nice chunk of cash while allowing you to do something with all that extra stuff lying around your house. This is another great way to get your kids involved; have them find items around the house that they think you can use for decorations. Once they’ve found some, have them give these items their best Halloween flair!

Go shopping for costumes in advance

While it might be tempting to put off shopping for Halloween costumes while you do other things, waiting means that there will be fewer options available. In addition, stores will likely be crowded with all the families who also waited until the last minute. Keep it easy and shop early. That way, you’ll have plenty of options. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you’ll still have time to look at other stores.

Send invites out at least two weeks in advance

Generally, this is the minimum amount of time people need to clear their schedules for something. If you can send them out a little sooner, that’s also great. Don’t send them out more than a month in advance, as people are likely not going to be planning for Halloween at that time. Make sure to ask for RSVPs, and follow up with those you haven’t heard from after one week.

Themes for All Ages

Let’s start with the most challenging group, a party theme for all ages. It is tricky to choose a theme that pleases teens, entertains younger children, and doesn’t drive parents batty. For this to work it might be best if you make your guest list before you choose a theme. Once you know who will be invited, what their interests are, and the exact age spread you are aiming to please, then the theme is narrowed.

If you can’t seem to settle on a theme that is sure to please each member of your multi-generational guest list then you can choose a theme that you know is most likely to please the bulk of your guests and just add a few games or activities not totally related, but that will appease the age group your chosen theme might leave hanging out to dry.

Old Wilde West

A surefire family-pleasing theme is an old-west theme. Take it one step further and narrow it down to classic Western television shows or movies. What kid didn’t go through a cowboy or horse-loving phase? Make it a family affair, and ask your guests to come ready for a regular hoe down. With the Wild West as your theme, games, décor, and food is easy. Have your guests try lassoing a makeshift steer, pin the tail on the donkey, and square dancing are all fun. To get creative, try an old-time Western showdown. For the décor, use checkered tablecloths and corn stalks in abundance. If you can get a hold of a few hay bales. For delicious eats, apple pie, BBQ beef sandwiches, and lemonade fit the bill just fine.

The Monster Mash

Have guests dress up as their favorite monsters and get ready for a hauntingly good time.

Clue

Play a family-wide game of Clue based on the classic game or even watch the movie. In this world of all things old becoming new again, a Clue party might be the perfect solution. It is similar to a murder mystery dinner, but for those who don’t like the idea of dressing up or acting a part, it is a much cooler idea.

Peanuts Halloween

A Peanuts Halloween party is sure to please your youngest partygoers and bring back fond memories for older siblings and parents.

Themes for Ages 3-8

A party geared for the younger set, ages 3-8, is a lot of fun but also requires a lot of planning to make sure that your pint-sized guests don’t declare boredom after five minutes and begin to ransack the house. Halloween parties are the one possible exception to this rule. Most of the entertainment needs are met for you in the form of trick or treating, and after your partygoers return home with a sack of loot, most of them will want to do little else other than worship their newly attained treasures.

To pick a party theme aimed at youngsters, begin by taking a look at your child’s interests. A cartoon character or movie character-themed party is sure to be a hit and easily managed entertainment. Once you meet and trick or treat, simply pass out pillows and blankets, then punch play on the DVD. It’s sure to bring instant entertainment.

Night at the Museum

For this party, set up a few displays to entertain and include them in your games.

Haunted Mansion

A haunted mansion is always a classic. Turn each room in your house into a different creepy experience. Be careful not to overdo it; these are young kids.

Superheroes

Superheroes are fantastic fun and not at all creepy if you are worried about the chill factor. They are just fun, and the games you can play based on superhero powers are sure to be a hit!

Themes for Tweens

Tweens are a difficult category when it comes to thinking up cool Halloween party ideas. They have rejected anything that in the slightest will connect them with baby or kid stuff but are not ready for a hard-core Halloween fright night. There are, however, lots of things that will please these wanna-be grown-ups yet not induce nightmares, nor will it require them to mix with the cootie-infested members of the opposite sex.

Disney Channel Party

Try a Hanna Montana or Zack and Cody party. The Olsen Twins might be old news, but thanks to them, there is likely to always be a fresh crop of television and movie starlets aimed at your pre-teen kids. A few of the brightest stars on the tween horizon are Hannah Montana or Zack and Cody from the Disney Channel. With the plots of these shows involving quick costume changes, divas, hotel guests, and secret identities, there is plenty of Halloween party material.

Gross-out Party

A gross-out party is always a Halloween favorite. Take a tip from Fear Factor and create your own ghoulishly disgusting party.

Indiana Jones

If you are more in the mood for heroics with just a touch of the grotesque, then an Indiana Jones-themed party is just the ticket. Mummies, snakes, and hidden treasure; what could be more Halloweenish than that?

Themes for Teens

Teens can be the easiest group to host a party for. The two tricks are appropriate chaperonage, discreet for your kids yet ever present for your peace of mind, and the all-important theme. Once your child adjusts to the idea of chaperones and a theme is chosen, all you really need to do is sit back and offer a bit of advice and perhaps bankroll the goodies. Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling on your teenager’s Halloween party.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party

This is fun, and if you buy the box set, it is very easy to set up; all you need to do is follow the instructions. But you can do it yourself if you don’t want to buy an expensive deluxe set. Several sites litter the net that offers murder mystery scripts and ideas on how to host successfully. Just send your teen and his or her friends online. They should return with a plethora of ideas that they will love, and all you have to do is be sure the internet connection is in good working order.

Rock Stars

Most teens think they are rock stars, and for parents, rock stars are scary enough without the addition of haunting or Halloween. This is a great party theme. Games can be lip-syncs, the actual video game rock star, or air guitar contests. But it is not really up to you. If your teens like the idea of a rock party, they can come up with entertainment ideas and menus all on their own.

Haunted Oscar Party

Hollywood is always a fun idea for party themes; why not host a haunted Oscar party? The only rule is that the teens come dressed as a deceased Hollywood legend. This can be a very ghoulish party if you want to add the bloody rotten skin effects of famous corpses or forgo the gore and simply assume the persona of a star whose flame has been snuffed.

Jack-O-Lantern Balloons

What you will need:

Orange helium balloons
Black markers or paint

Directions:

Step 1: Draw or paint a jack-o-lantern face on the balloon with the markers or paint.

Step 2: Allow to dry.

Step 3: Group the painted balloons with other plain orange and black balloons.

Trick-or-Treat Bags

What you will need:

Large paper shopping bag, large orange gift bag, or large blank tote bag
Halloween stamps, stickers, or clip art
Transfer paper

Directions:

Step 1: Quick and easy: Decorate a large paper shopping bag or orange gift bag with Halloween stamps and/or stickers.

Step 2: Bright and colorful: Print a Halloween picture and use a copier to enlarge it if you wish. Follow the instructions that come with the transfer paper to transfer the design to the blank tote bag.

Haunted House Wall Hanging

What you will need:

Black poster board
Yellow construction paper
Halloween stickers
Craft knife
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Draw a haunted house on the poster board and cut it out. Use the craft knife to cut out the windows,

Step 2: Glue a piece of yellow paper behind the windows.

Step 3: Put Halloween figures (stickers of ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, bats, etc.) in the windows.

Note: Glue white paper behind the haunted house windows, place the cutout in front of a picture window, (first cover the window with blue cellophane), and place a light behind the cutout. Turn all other lights off, and make the house glow.

Jack-O-Lantern Party Invitations

What you will need:

Stiff orange paper
Orange envelopes
Yellow and black construction paper
Stiff white paper
Black magic marker
Craft knife

Directions:

Step 1: Draw a pumpkin shape on a piece of paper and cut it out (make sure the cutout will fit in the envelope).

Step 2: Fold the stiff orange paper and cut to roughly the size of the cutout. Place the cutout over the folded orange paper with one side touching the fold.

Step 3: Trace the cutout onto the orange paper and cut out the pumpkin, leaving the card connected at the fold.

Step 4: Repeat with the white paper and set aside.

Step 5: Print out a jack-o-lantern template. Use a copier to adjust the size of the template. Cut out the face.

Step 6: Using the template, trace the face onto the front of the pumpkin.

Step 7: Cut it out with the craft knife. Open the card so you won’t cut through the back.

Step 8: Glue yellow paper behind the face cutout.

Step 9: Glue the white pumpkin cutout inside the orange pumpkin cutout.

Step 10: Use the marker to write the party details inside (To: From: Date: Time: etc.)

Spider Webs

What you will need:

Fiberfill
Clear thumbtacks

Directions:

Step 1: Pull the Fiberfill apart with your fingers.

Step 2: Attach to ceiling with thumbtacks.

Note: You can add rubber or tissue paper spiders on the webs.

Halloween Chain

What you will need:

Black construction paper
Orange construction paper
Glue
Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Cut 1-inch wide strips out of the construction paper.

Step 2: Fold one of the orange strips over until the ends touch, and glue in place, forming a circle.

Step 3: Take a black strip and place it through the orange circle. Bend the tips until the ends touch, and glue them in place, linking the circles together.

Step 4: Repeat this process until the strips are used up, and the chain is the desired length.

Pumpkin Patch Centerpiece

What you will need:

Tissue paper scraps, or inexpensive white tissue paper, for filling
2 sheets each of orange and dark green tissue paper
Scissors
2 rubber bands
1 green chenille stem
Black or yellow construction paper
Jack-o-lantern template, optional

Directions:

Step 1: Make tissue paper pumpkins in various sizes.

Step 2: Print the template, or create one of your own design. A nice touch would be to create several different faces so no two pumpkins are alike.

Step 3: Cut out the template and trace it onto black or yellow construction paper.

Step 4: Glue the faces onto the pumpkins. Omit this step if you prefer plain pumpkins.

Step 5: Group the pumpkins together in the center of your table. You can put them in a basket with a bed of imitation leaves or in a fall floral bouquet.

Scary Balloon Spiders

What you will need:

Two black balloons
Black thread
Black construction paper
White paint

Directions:

Step 1: Blow up the balloons. Make one smaller than the other; this will be the spider’s head.

Step 2: Using the thread, tie the balloons together at the knots, leaving a long end to hang the spider.

Step 3: Cut eight 1-inch wide strips out of the construction paper.

Step 4: Fold the strips back and forth accordion style, and glue one end of each strip to the spider, four on each side.

Step 5: Use the paint to create the spider’s face.

Step 6: Allow to dry, and hang.

Note: Hang at the end of the spider’s web with the small tissue paper spiders around it to create a spider’s den. They also make great party favors for your guests.

Bountiful Mobile

What you will need:

Halloween candy molds
Instant paper mache or polymer clay
Acrylic paints
Small paintbrush
Small wire hooks
Embroidery hoop
White thread

Directions:

Step 1: Fill the candy mold with paper mache or clay and remove it just before drying.

Step 2: Insert a small hook in the top of each figure.

Step 3: Let them dry completely.

Step 4: Decorate the figures with the paints.

Step 5: Let them dry completely.

Step 6: Tie the figures to the embroidery hoop at different levels with the thread.

Furry Scaredy Cat

What you will need:

Scaredy cat template
Black construction paper
Black tissue paper
Yellow construction paper, optional
White paper, optional
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Print the template. A copier can be used to enlarge the template if desired.

Step 2: Place the template over the construction paper and cut through both at the same time.

Step 3: Rip off small pieces of the tissue paper.

Step 4: Bunch up the tissue paper with your fingers and glue onto the cutout.

Step 5: The furry cat can be left as is or you can add eyes.

Step 6: Cut eye shapes out of the yellow paper cut the iris out of the black paper and place a small circle cut from the white paper in the black iris.

Helium Ghosts

What you will need:

Round helium balloons
White sheets
White string
Black markers

Directions:

Step 1: Place the balloon in the center of the sheet and tie it with string.

Step 2: Create a face on the ghost with the markers. Let the ghosts float through the house or party room.

Tissue Paper Spider

What you will need:

Tissue paper scraps, or inexpensive white tissue paper for filling
Black tissue paper
Strong sewing thread
Black chenille stems
White paper
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Shape scraps or white tissue into a ball and place it in the center of the black tissue paper.

Step 2: Gather one sheet of tissue paper around the ball and secure it with the thread. Cut off the thread, leaving ends long to secure the spider if desired.

Step 3: Shape a second ball smaller than the first.

Step 4: Gather the ends of the black tissue paper tightly around the second ball pushing the two parts of the spider closely together.

Step 5: Twist the ends under the spider and secure tightly with the ends of the thread. Glue the loose ends in place.

Step 6: Gather the chenille stems and twist them together in the center.

Step 7: Place the center of the leg structure under the bottom of the spider between the head and abdomen. Glue in place and fold the legs up on both sides of the spider.

Step 8: Shape the spider’s legs by bending each leg into a downward arc and then bending the last ½” out for the spider’s foot. There should be four legs on each side of the spider.

Step 9: Cut two eyes out of white paper and glue them into place.

Stamped Decorations

What you will need:

One orange tablecloth
Orange napkins
Orange gift bags
Halloween stamps
Black stamp pad

Directions:

Step 1: Using stamps of Halloween figures (ghosts, witches, pumpkins, etc.) stamp the tablecloth napkins and gift bags.

Step 2: Allow ink to dry.

Screaming Streamers

What you will need:

Package of stiff black or white paper
Template of either a bat or a ghost
Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Print and cut out the template.

Step 2: Fold the paper back and forth accordion style. Make the folds the width of the template.

Step 3: Place the template on the top layer, and cut out the shape.

Step 4: Leave the folds attached at the outermost points of the paper figure so that when the paper is opened, you will have a string of bats or ghosts.

Step 5: Tape pieces together until the streamer is the desired length.

Note: You can draw on faces with a black marker or a white laundry marker.

Spider Web Door Decoration

What you will need:

Embroidery hoop
Black thread
A tissue paper spider

Directions:

Step 1: Attach thread to the hoop with a knot, pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite side of the hoop. Cut off excess.

Step 2: Tie the thread to the hoop diagonal to the original thread, pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite end. Cut off excess.

Step 3: Tie the thread to the right of the original thread (in between the original and second thread), pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite end of the hoop. Cut off excess.

Step 4: Tie the thread to the left of the original thread (in between the original and the end of the second thread), pull it taut, and tie it to the opposite side. Cut off excess.

Step 5: Tie another piece of thread to the original thread toward the center connecting threads, and weave it in and out of the other threads back to the starting point. Tie and cut off the excess.

Step 6: To finish the web, tie another piece of thread to the original thread, halfway between the first weaving and the hoop.

Step 7: Weave the thread in and out of the other threads back to the starting point. Tie and cut off the excess, completing the web.

Step 8: Add tissue paper spider.

Quick and Easy Gift Bags

What you will need:

Orange gift bags
Halloween stamps
Orange and black curling ribbon
Orange tissue paper
Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Using black ink, stamp the Halloween shapes onto the gift bags in a random pattern.

Step 2: Allow to dry.

Step 3: Place several pieces of tissue paper in the bag, leaving the ends sticking out.

Step 4: Tie the curling ribbon to the front handle. Use the ribbon to tie a gift tag to the bag, and curl the ribbon with a pair of scissors. To create the tags: Cut a rectangle out of a stiff piece of paper. Use a small stamp to place a Halloween figure in the corner of the tag. Write the guests’ names on the tags using a black glitter glue pen.

Step 5: Fill the bag with goodies like candy, sticker books, movie tickets, Halloween pins, small toys, etc.

Quick and Easy Sweatshirts

What you will need:

Orange, black, or white sweatshirt
Halloween clipart
Transfer paper

Directions:

Step 1: Print out a Halloween picture, and use a copier to enlarge it.

Step 2: Follow the instructions that come with the transfer paper to place the design on the sweatshirt.

Note: You can use this same technique to decorate t-shirts, tote bags, aprons, etc.

Haunted House Party Invitations

What you will need:

Stiff black paper
Orange or yellow envelopes
Stiff white paper
Black magic marker
Craft knife

Directions:

Step 1: Draw a haunted house shape on a piece of paper and cut it out. (Make sure the cutout will fit inside the envelopes.)

Step 2: Fold the stiff black paper and cut to roughly the size of the cutout.

Step 3: Place the cutout over the folded black paper with one side touching the fold.

Step 4: Trace the cutout onto the black paper and cut out the house leaving the card connected at the fold. Repeat with the white paper and set aside.

Step 5: Cut the windows out with the craft knife. Open the card so you don’t cut through the back.

Step 6: Glue yellow paper behind the window cutouts.

Step 7: Glue the white haunted house cutout inside the black house cutout.

Step 8: Use the black magic marker to write the party details inside (To:, When:, Where:, etc.)

Halloween Wreath

What you will need:

Halloween candy molds
Instant paper Mache or polymer clay
Acrylic paints
Small paintbrush
Small wire hooks
Store-bought or home-made wreath in fall colors
Wire

Directions:

Step 1: Fill the candy mold with paper Mache or clay and remove it just before drying.

Step 2: Insert a small hook in the top of each figure.

Step 3: Let them dry completely.

Step 4: Decorate the figures with the acrylic paints.

Step 5: Allow the paint to dry completely.

Step 6: Cut small pieces of wire.

Step 7: Place a piece of wire through the hook of each figure, twist the wire around the hook, and use it to attach the figures to the wreath.

Step 8: Place the figures around the wreath, nestling them in among the dried leaves and flowers.

Scary Balloon Bats

What you will need:

Black balloon
Black thread
Black construction paper
White paint

Directions:

Step 1: Have the balloons filled with helium on the day of the party so they will float well.

Step 2: Cut the ears with some hair in-between out of the construction paper.

Step 3: Fold the bottom edge of the ears back. Cut tabs in the fold. (This will help the earpiece fit better onto the balloon.)

Step 4: Holding the balloon upside down, glue the tabs of the earpiece in front of the knot.

Step 5: Cut wings out of the construction paper.

Step 6: The top of the wings should be the shape of the bottom of the balloon with the wings flaring out to the side.

Step 7: Cut tabs in the round edge of the wings, fold them back, and glue them to the bottom and sides of the balloon.

Step 8: Tie with string to the knot behind the ears, and hang.

Cool Halloween Pins

What you will need:

Halloween candy molds
Instant paper Mache or polymer clay
Safety pins
Small paintbrush
Acrylic paints

Directions:

Step 1: Fill candy molds with paper Mache or clay.

Step 2: Just before drying, insert a safety pin in the back of each figure (the closed side).

Step 3: Let them dry completely.

Step 4: Remove figures from the mold, and decorate with acrylic paints.

Step 5: Let them dry completely.

Spooky Placemats

What you will need:

Halloween drawing
Contact paper

Directions:

Step 1: Make a Halloween-themed drawing.

Step 2: Cover the drawing with contact paper.

Monster Man

What you will need:

White paper
Stiff green and black paper
Magic markers or construction paper
Black tissue paper
Scissors and glue
Needle and light-colored thread

Directions:

Step 1: Draw Frankenstein’s head on a piece of paper and cut it out.

Step 2: Use the head as a template. Trace the shape onto the stiff green paper twice and cut them out. Set aside.

Step 3: Draw Frankenstein’s torso on a piece of paper and cut it out.

Step 4: Use the torso as a template. Trace the shape onto the stiff black paper twice and cut them out. Set aside.

Step 5: Using the head template as a guide, make a cutout for the hair (the top of the hair should have the shape of the top of Frankenstein’s head, and the bottom should have jagged points). Make two hair cutouts from the stiff black paper. Set aside.

Step 6: Draw the hands and boots on a piece of paper and cut them out (you don’t have to use a lot of detail).

Step 7: Use the cutouts as templates. Trace the hand shape onto the stiff green paper four times and cut it out. Trace the boot shape onto the stiff black paper four times and cut out. Set aside.

Step 8: Glue the bottom of the head piece to the top of one torso piece. Repeat for the second cutouts.

Step 9: Glue the hair cutout to the top of the head cutout. Repeat for the second figure.

Step 10: Create Frankenstein’s face with magic markers or construction paper scraps. Don’t forget the scar!

Step 11: Cut four strips out of the tissue paper (1″ wide).

Step 12: Fold the strips back and forth accordion style.

Step 13: Glue one end of the strips to the torso of one of the Frankenstein figures for the arms and legs. Be sure to glue them behind the figure.

Step 14: Glue one hand piece on the end of one tissue paper arm and glue another hand piece to the back of the first with the tissue paper in between. Repeat for the other arm.

Step 15: Repeat the above step with the boots. Make sure the boots face the right way before gluing.

Step 16: Thread the needle. Cut off the thread (leave enough thread to hang the Frankenstein figure).

Step 17: Carefully poke the needle through the top of a head piece (the knot should be at the back of the figure’s head) pulling the thread all the way to the knot.

Step 18: Glue the second figure over the first with the tissue paper in between and covering the knot.

Step 19: Hang your creation!

Tissue Paper Ghost

What you will need:

Several sheets of white tissue paper
Strong white thread
Black construction paper
Craft wire
Scissors and glue

Directions:

Step 1: Shape some white tissue paper into a ball the size you want the ghost’s head to be.

Step 2: Place the tissue paper ball in the center of one layer of tissue paper.

Step 3: Gather the outer layer of paper around the tissue paper ball and secure with thread.

Step 4: Print the ghost face template and cut it out, or cut eyes and mouth out of black construction paper. Glue in place.

Step 5: Cut 6″ of wire and wrap one end around the neck of the ghost figure. Use the other end to hang the ghost.

Halloween Tree

What you will need:

Silk or real indoor tree
White Christmas lights
Tissue paper bats
Strechable spider webs
Tissue paper ghosts

Directions:

Step 1: Create the ghosts and bats

Step 2: Drape the Christmas lights on the tree.

Step 3: Hang the ghosts and bats from the branches.

Step 4: Spread the spider webs around the branches and on the tissue paper figures.

Hanging Halloween Poster Cutouts

What you will need:

Halloween templates (bat, scaredy cat, and witch)
Poster board in various colors, orange, yellow, white, and black
Yellow, red, and black construction paper
Craft knife
Glue
Needle and thread

Directions:

Step 1: To create the witch poster cutout, glue one black witch figure to the center of a yellow circle (the moon) and glue the other figure to the center of the second moon cutout.

Step 2: Repeat for the bat and cat poster cutout (glue the cat toward the bottom of the moon so it appears as if it is standing).

Step 3: Thread the needle. Make the thread long enough to hang the poster cutout. Tie a knot in the end of the thread.

Step 4: Gently poke the needle through the top of a moon cutout (and pull up to the knot). Cut the thread leaving enough length to hang the cutout.

Step 5: Glue one moon and witch cutout to the other moon and witch cutout, covering the knot, and repeat for the bat and cat poster cutouts.

Note: Another option would be to make three bats (six total) in carrying sizes and glue them all over the moon to look like a group of bats flying in front of the moon.

Candy Filled Ghosts

What you will need:

White tissue paper
Plastic wrap
An assortment of small candy (candy corn, tootsie rolls, etc.)
Black construction paper
Heavy white thread
Black curling ribbon
Scissors and glue

Directions:

Step 1: Place a small amount of candy in the center of a sheet of plastic wrap, and close the wrap around the candy tightly.

Step 2: Make a ball with tissue paper around the candy.

Step 3: Place the ball in the center of another sheet of tissue paper and secure it with thread.

Step 4: Cut a face out of black construction paper and glue it to the face of the ghost.

Step 5: Tie a black curling ribbon around the neck of the ghost and curl it with the side of a pair of scissors.

Chilling Window Scene

What you will need:

Several sheets of white tissue paper
Strong white thread
Black construction paper
Blue cellophane
Scissors and glue

Directions:

Step 1: Shape 1-2 sheets of white tissue paper into a ball the size you wish the ghost’s head to be.

Step 2: Place the tissue paper ball in the center of one layer of white tissue paper. Gather outer layer of paper around the tissue paper ball and secure it with thread.

Step 3: Cut eyes and mouth out of black construction paper, and glue in place.

Step 4: Cover the inside of a picture window with blue cellophane, then hang the ghosts from the ceiling and varying lengths.

Step 5: Dim the lights and the windows will glow with the eerie scene.

Tissue Paper Bats

What you will need:

Black construction paper
Bat template, optional
Scissors
Needle and strong black thread
Tissue paper scraps or inexpensive white tissue paper for filing
Black tissue paper
Craft wire
White paper
Glue

Directions:

Step 1: Print the bat template and cut it out. Trace around the template onto the black construction paper and cut it out.

Step 2: Shape one sheet of white tissue paper or scraps into a ball the size you want the bat’s head to be.

Step 3: Place the tissue paper ball in the center of one layer of the black tissue paper.

Step 4: Gather the black tissue paper around the ball and secure it with thread.

Step 5: Spread the two loose lower layers of the tissue paper figure out into a triangle shape and glue the figure to the bat cut out, making sure that the ears stick up over the head.

Step 6: Holding the two tissue layers together, cut triangles into the bat’s wings.

Step 7: Cut eyes for the bat out of white paper (ovals or upside-down triangles) and glue in place.

Step 8: Cut 6″ of craft wire, attach one end to the back of the bat figure with glue, and let dry.

Step 9: Find a place to hang your creation.

Trick or Treating Scavenger Hunt

Create a simple scavenger hunt to do while trick or treating. This will take the focus off of the candy and add an element of fun. Scavenger hunt items can include certain costumes, decorations, or even specific kinds of candy. If you’re up for the trip, you can travel to a different destination to have your scavenger hunt! The local park can be a fun place, but make sure it’s okay for you to be there after dark before committing to this one. You can also ask some neighbors if they’d be open to letting you use their yards as part of your scavenger hunt!

Watch a Silent Movie

The era of silent horror movies can provide great ideas for Halloween party games. This might be best for older kids who can grasp the concept of not talking, can operate cameras, and who aren’t easily scared. One silent movie game involves the actual use of video cameras and props. You can either prepare bags of props, costume clothing, and make-up beforehand, or have this be part of the game. Divide into teams and have each team gather items that should be used in the other team’s movie and pick a theme. Once the items are gathered and themes picked, switch bags. It is helpful to assign a time limit for preparation and filming. Then let the groups go! When the films are complete come together and have a screening. The results will range from zany to terrifically terrifying, but no matter what this party game is sure to entertain!

Murder, They Played

No Halloween party is complete without a good game of murder. This game has many variations and can be very simple or quite complex. One of the funniest versions is played sitting in a circle, with or without a corpse. The murderer is chosen at random. This can be done by marking the underside of the chair or pulling papers out of a hat. Once your killer knows who he or she is, play becomes deadly. This killer kills with a single look and with a wink of the eye. The killer tries to kill as many players as possible by winking at them without being caught by another player. The unlucky victims must fall over dead; dramatics are fun but not necessary. To make an accusation, a player announces “I would like to make an accusation.” If they are correct, a new killer is chosen, all victims are revived and a fresh game is begun. If they are wrong, they die. More complicated versions of this game add other roles, such as a detective and a doctor.

Relay Races, Nimbus Style

For a less bloodthirsty crowd, Halloween relay races are always fun. Try a twist by adding a broomstick that the players must “ride” through a course. To really make it a challenge, set up a few cones, chairs, or other objects to serve as slalom markers. Place a ball at one end and have the teams attempt to ride their brooms while pushing the ball in and out of the course markers.

There are about a zillion ways to modify an ordinary relay to fit Halloween parties. Try having the players race to dress in Halloween costumes, or apply face paints. Maybe have them race to unwrap candy with only their mouth, or while wearing monster claws. Inspiration can come from anything. Kids love relay races so get thinking and come up with an idea or two of your own.

Jack-o-Lantern Bean Bag Toss

For younger kids, bean bag tosses are great fun. They are easy for you to assemble and cost next to nothing. To make this toss fit for Halloween try painting a huge jack-o-lantern on a big box. The kids can score points by tossing their bean bags through the eyes, nose, and mouth. Don’t have a box? Try tossing bean bags into trick-or-treating buckets, witch’s cauldrons, or actual pumpkin tops. If you don’t have bean bags, then you can make your own by buying some beans and filling Ziploc bags with them. As a tip, you may want to clip the bags shut in addition to sealing them as normal. The force of them hitting the cornhole box may cause them to blow open if they don’t have this extra seal! You can also use any other alternative that you come across; just make sure it’s similar enough to bean bags to keep the spirit of the game.

Pin the Wart on the Witch

A spin off of pin the tail on the donkey makes a fun Halloween party game. In this version, kids pin the wart on the witch’s nose. Draw a witch on poster board. With play-dough, make “warts” for each child to try to attach to the witch. Make wart sized lumps out of green play-dough, then blindfold each child. They should try attach a wart on the witch’s face as close to her nose as possible. If you want to make it extra difficult for your players, have each of them spin several times before trying to pin the wart on! You can also have them approach the witch backwards. There are many fun twists that you can add on to this simple and cheap party game to keep everyone entertained!

Bandage the Mummy

In this Halloween party game, you use rolls of toilet paper and see which team can wrap up their partner the fastest. It’s a good idea to keep safety scissors nearby so you can cut someone free if there’s an emergency. Some variations of this game require teams to completely wrap their person so that no part of them is visible, while others allow for the face to remain uncovered. Which version you pick is entirely up to you, but definitely consider the variation that leaves the face free if you have young children playing this game. You can also let your guests decide!

No matter what Halloween party game you choose, you can’t lose with all the pomp of Halloween costumes and free candy as your back drop! Just let your hair down and have a good time, and party until the vampires flee from the crack of dawn.

What About Food on Halloween?

If you’re going to be playing all these party games, then chances are you’re going to get pretty hungry! While your guests might fill themselves up on Halloween candy, it’s still a good idea to have some other food around that they (or you!) can munch on.

A go-to idea is some Halloween cookies! Pillsbury usually sells ready-to-bake cookies that have pumpkins or ghosts printed on them, if you want something that’s fast and easy to whip up. Or, you could make basic sugar cookies and frost them in orange and black! You could even have a cookie frosting contest as part of your party.

Another fun idea is to bake a cake and put eyes on it! These eyes can be edible or not- just be sure you let your guests know which! It isn’t a hard addition to a cake; it’s even easier if you choose to use a box cake mix instead of making a cake from scratch. Consider using black or orange frosting for your cake to give it a Halloween look!

Caramel apples, a no-bake strawberry cheesecake brain, pumpkin-shaped cheese ball, punch with fake eyeballs, or a crispy witch’s hat are all great ideas! Check out this article here to read more about these great recipes, and to find some more that might interest you!

Wednesday

The 2022 Wednesday series wrapped a whole new generation up in the kooky, spookiness of the Addams family. Wednesday’s popularity skyrocketed after the series. While there’s always a classic Gomez or Morticia costume, kids are most likely to be fans of Wednesday herself or popular characters like Enid or Xavier. The good news is the show signed for a second season in 2023, so this may be a costume you can pass down for a few years.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

Yes, these two are in their mid-30s, but that doesn’t mean your child wouldn’t look adorable as one of them. Pick up a friend who wants to go along for the couple, or just let your child dress like the one they love the most. Get a bejeweled leotard or bodysuit, with plenty of tips from Swifties online to help you make one, and join Chiefs Kingdom by purchasing a Travis Kelce jersey or repurposing an old one. You really can’t go wrong with these costumes because they are so versatile. And they’re sure to be a hit because we all need a good love story.

Ghostbusters

Those of us who are old enough remember who to call when there’s something strange in the neighborhood, and many younger fans caught on when Ghostbusters made a comeback with the movie “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” in 2024. The franchise attempted to revive itself back in a 2021 film, but it seems this is the year that kids are really catching on. Dress your kids as Ghostbusters and you and your partner like a marshmallow, and just see how fun Halloween can be.

Minions

The Minions are back in Despicable Me 4 and are likely to make their return to the Halloween costume scene. Or did they ever really leave? Plan on your kids being excited about them whether they’ve seen the movie or not. The good news is that if you can’t find the costume, it’s pretty easy to create on your own with just a simple yellow turtleneck, a pair of white-rimmed glasses, a yellow beanie and a pair of overalls.

Red

Is anyone ready for The Descendants to be back on the scene? If so, you’re in luck. Descendants: The Rise of Red was released in July of this year and is likely to inspire your kids in all ways. We chose Red as the most popular costume, but be on the lookout for others including the Queen of Hearts, Chloe Charming, Cinderella, Hook and Bridget.

Bluey

This show has remained a classic for years, and it’s easy to see why. The wholesome messages and fun characters make it a hit for kids. Most kids who watch Bluey range from 5-7, so expect your toddlers and up to be excited about it this year, and there’s even a Bingo costume to match it. If you’re looking for a family theme, this is a great one. Blue lives with her mom, dad and sister and interacts with uncles, aunts and people in the community, so you can add as many costumes as you need to fit your family.

Glinda or Elphaba

Wicked has been a successful show on Broadway for years now, but with the new motion picture coming out starring favorites Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, it’s likely to hit an entirely new generation. The story of connection and friendship is a good one, and costumes are easy to find. If you can’t find one or want to save money, Elpheba’s costume consists of a witch hat, black dress, and green face paint. Glinda simply needs a pale pink dress, a crown, and a wand that can be made with sparkly silver pipe cleaners.

Barbie or Ken

If you think the Barbie craze has faded, you may be surprised to find that this costume is still extremely popular. The great thing about a Barbie or Ken costume is that there are so many different versions that creating your own is easy. Expect Barbie to be popular for a few more years as more and more viewers appreciate the message of the movie. And who doesn’t love dressing up in pink and sparkles? If your kid doesn’t want to be like everyone else, have them be President Barbie, Writer Barbie, or even our favorite, Weird Barbie.

Beetlejuice

It seems all the old-time movies and shows are making a comeback, so plan to be nostalgic this Halloween when your kids choose the same costumes you love. For example, with the movie coming out in the fall, Beetlejuice will make a resurgence as a popular character. If you want to make it a group or family event, add Lydia Deetz or the new character Astrid to your roster.

Pokemon Characters

These are a hit every year. From Bowbosaur to Charizard to Pokemon itself, kids love to dress up as their favorite character. Some costumes are harder to find than others, so you may want to start early on these. Unless you’re an expert seamstress, they may also be hard to make on your own. This is another one that would be great for an entire family because there are so many characters to choose from.

Sonic

Another oldie but goodie brought back into the limelight is Sonic the Hedgehog. The video game plus the movies made this guy a hit, and there’s likely to be a ramp-up of advertising around him as the third movie comes out in December. Want to get the whole family involved? Add Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, or Sonic Prime.

Mario or Luigi

Mario and Luigi are characters that span decades, and this year is no different. This is a perfect costume if you have siblings or best friends who plan to go trick-or-treating together. If you can’t find the costumes in stores, just grab some jeans, suspenders, white gloves, fake mustaches, and a green or red shirt. The hat may be difficult to make, but you should be able to purchase that.

Add Bowser, Yoshi, Toad, and Princess Peach if you want to do a complete Nintendo theme for Halloween.

Optimus Prime

Transformers is a hit with almost all kids, and who doesn’t love the leadership and strength of Optimus? Even if your kids haven’t seen the movies, they’ve probably played with the toys or heard of them. These costumes are easier to find and also adapt to be a great group costume.

Huggy Wuggy

This costume is a bit disturbing to look at, but kids seem to love it. The costume itself comes with a blue onesie and gloves, with a wide-open smile for your kids to stick their heads through. If you can get through the initial shock, it’s a perfect costume for toddlers and older kids.