Halloween Activities To Do At Home

Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2022 will occur on Monday, October 31. According to History, this tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints in the eighth century. Soon, All Saints' Day incorporated some traditions of Samhain.

The evening before All Saints' Day was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes, and eating candy. Children especially love Halloween. If parents are looking for things to do at home for Halloween, look no further!

11 Skeleton Bone Race

Split everyone into teams of four or more. The first team to successfully connect the yarn with the last player holding the skeleton bone is the winner. The more teams you have, the longer the game will take. See more at, Kid Friendly Things to Do

10 Pumpkin Carving Contest

Pumpkin carving is a classic Halloween activity that will keep everyone engaged and active! From silly faces and unique designs, there's no limit to the ideas they can come up with! Of course, parental supervision is required with any sharp tools and such.

9 Bobbing For Apples

Fill a bucket with water and add the apples. Have the kids try catching the apples with their mouths. The first child to get an apple wins.

8 Pumpkin Bowling

This isn't your regular bowling game. Instead of using bowling balls, play with pumpkins for a fun twist on the classic game. Pumpkin bowling can be done with smaller, more manageable pumpkins or orange foam balls. For real pumpkins, cut the stem off to make them easier for rolling. For orange balls, draw faces on them to give them a more pumpkin feel.

7 Pumpkin Tic, Tac, Toe

This game is as easy as drawing X's and O's on your little pumpkins and creating a tic, tac, toe board on a table with tape, or in the driveway with chalk. Each child gets four pumpkins with either X's or O's and away they go.

6 Truth Or Scare

A twist on Truth or Dare, Truth or Scare tasks players with Halloween-themed questions and physical challenges. You can even head to the Play Party Plan website for lists of family-friendly "truth" questions.

5 Pin The Spider On The Web

To play this classic game, (pin the tail on the donkey), draw a spiderweb onto a roll of paper or piece of cardboard, and hang it up on the wall. Give each player a cutout spider with a piece of double-sided tape on the back. Have them pin the spider onto the web. Whoever gets closest to the center of the web wins.

4 Poke The Pumpkin

Keep the kids entertained with this mystery prize game. Fill plastic cups with candy or little Halloween surprises, then cover them with orange tissue paper. You can put a rubber band around the cup or use tape to keep it in place. Glue the bottom of the cups down on cardboard or poster board in the shape of a pumpkin. Hang it up on the wall and, one by one, kids can poke a hole through the tissue paper and see what's inside. Project Denneler has a full tutorial.

3 Halloween Scavenger Hunt

Parents can hide a variety of Halloween items throughout the home, and make clues for kids to find, or just give them a list of what to find.

2 Monster Says

A Halloween spin on Simon Says! The Monster gives directions in this game. Choose a child or adult to be the monster, and call out directions to the rest. It's even better if they have Halloween directions like:

Squat down like a pumpkin
Pretend to stir a cauldron like a witch
Walk like a Zombie
Say, "trick-or-treat"

When the monster gives directions, they say, "Monster says" beforehand. But if the monster doesn't say, anyone who completes the direction sits out until the next round. There are so many things to act out or say, this is a great way to kill some time.

1 What's In The Cauldron?

This is a memory game that will keep kids entertained and laughing a lot! Have the children sit in a circle, and pick one to go first. The first child will say, "I'm cooking up a creepy creation in my cauldron with...," the child will then say something like carrots. It moves to the next child, who says, "I'm cooking up a creepy creation in my cauldron with carrots and..." then they add something. It keeps going around the circle with everyone repeating everything that has been said, and then adding their own. If someone can't remember, they sit out and the game continues until there is one left.

Sources: History, Kid Friendly Things to Do, Play Party Plan, Project Denneler

Moms.com

11 Halloween Activities To Do At Home