60 Fun Halloween Activities to Celebrate Spooky Season
Carving pumpkins is just the beginning.
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You may reserve your Halloween celebrations for October 31, but fall is called "spooky season" for a reason. The whole month of October is practically made for enjoying fun Halloween activities. And we're not just talking trick-or-treating or crafting a last-minute costume either, but ideas like making a themed charcuterie board or boo basket! To inspire you, the ultimate bucket list of fun things to do on Halloween and all the daring days leading up to it.
These ideas are wonderful additions to your roster of fall activities and family-friendly things to do. Plus, they're the perfect way to keep the kids entertained before they hit the block for trick-or-treating! Create a core memory for the group with traditions like pumpkin carving, apple picking, and getting lost in a corn maze. Plus, there are lots of ideas for Halloween crafts like a fall floral bouquet or eerily decorated treat boxes.
If you're trying to come up with a Halloween party theme, why not organize a game of Halloween trivia or a costume contest. There are also easy ideas like hosting a scary book club (if you dare!) or making tasty snacks. Either way, the whole family will have a howling good time.
Celebrate spooky season with more ideas:
Plan a Scavenger Hunt
If the kids are gathered with buckets to trick-or-treat, get some extra use out of them by sending the kiddos on a scavenger hunt. You can easily buy pre-made options to make life easier. They make them for adults, too!
Bob for Apples
Whether you're hosting a big Halloween party or just want a wholesome activity for the kids, there's nothing quite like the old school game of bobbing for apples! Plus, then everyone will have a healthy snack.
Attend a Fall Festival
Chances are, there's a fall festival near you which combines many ideas on this list in one place: pumpkin patches, costume contests, hayrides, and more. The closer you get to Halloween, the more options you'll have for spooky celebrations.
Carve a Candy Bowl
Not only is carving a candy bowl a cute way to show off your chosen gourd, but it's a great activity to keep the kids busy. Bonus: Those trick-or-treaters will still get candy even if you aren't home.
Get the tutorial at Persia Lou.
Host a Murder Mystery Dinner
Pick a theme and invite your friends over for a fun-filled night of food and murder solving. You can easily buy an all-in-one kit to help you host the game. The dinner menu is up to you!
Participate in 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'
Let's do the Time Warp again! If you're lucky to have a local theater near you that screens this classic flick, be prepared for a lot of audience participation and a rockin' good time.
Visit a Spooky Town
Some of the best places to visit for Halloween are the spookiest towns across the U.S. Take a road trip and go to Salem, Massachusetts or visit a haunted city like New Orleans or Savannah.
Book an Escape Room
Want another problem-solving adventure? Gather your friends of family and try an escape room. Many options are available come Halloween with themes that are as brain-teasing as they are spooky. It's good for bonding with coworkers, too!
Go to a 'Boo at the Zoo'
Zoos and animal sanctuaries are fun any time of year. But when October hits, they often host family-friendly events like "Boo at the Zoo" where they can dress up, play games, and of course, visit animals.
Build a Haunted Gingerbread House
Who wants to wait for Christmas when you can make a haunted version of a gingerbread house for Halloween? You'll have no shortage of candy anyway, so put it to good use!
Shake Up Apple Cocktails
You can't go wrong by mixing up a batch of delicious apple cider cocktails with your best friends this Halloween. Take this caramel apple martini that's everything you love about the fall treat in drink form, for one!
Go Pumpkin Picking
Before Halloween can really get started, you'll need a bunch of picture-perfect pumpkins! Visit a nearby pumpkin patch and spend the afternoon picking the gourd that's just right for your front porch.
Throw a Halloween Dance Party
Crank up your favorite spooky songs and have a Halloween dance party! Of course, at the top of your Halloween songs list needs to be Winifred's rendition of "I Put a Spell on You" from Hocus Pocus.
Enjoy Apple Cider Treats
Fall is the best time to enjoy apple cider—in more than just drink form! Bake warmly-spiced apple cider doughnut cake or classic apple cider doughnuts for a comforting taste of autumn.
Get Creative With Halloween Makeup
Unleash your inner artist by enlisting your friends to practice spooky Halloween makeup looks on each other! Transform yourselves into creepy clowns, vampires, mermaids, and more using face paint, makeup, and glitter.
Host a Halloween Book Club
Instead of just watching scary movies, you can read the books that inspired them first for an even scarier experience! There are tons of Halloween books to center your book club around before having a meeting filled with Halloween treats and spooky discussions about the book.
Paint Pumpkins
Instead of dealing with sharp knives and messy pumpkin guts, channel your creative side and paint your pumpkins! There are so many no-carving pumpkin decorations and pumpkin painting ideas that are cute, spooky, and everything in between.
Make (And Eat) Caramel Apples
The only thing better than eating sweet caramel and candy-coated apples is making them with your friends and family! This fall staple makes for a fun activity and tasty treat with endless possibilities, like the cookie-coated caramel apples pictured here.
Decorate Treat Boxes
Trick or treat (boxes)! Give the kiddos a haunted home to store all their candy with the fun Halloween craft of decorating treat boxes. Provide them with paper cutouts in the shapes of bats, ghosts, black cats, and more!
Play Halloween Trivia
Get the wheels in your brain turning with a healthy game of Halloween trivia! It's a fun activity for people of all ages and so easy to put together with the many ready-made selections of trivia questions available to download.
Tierney McAfee is a freelance writer and Country Living and The Pioneer Woman contributor who covers entertainment, holiday & entertaining, food & drinks, design ideas, DIY, and more.
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