Fun Alternatives to Trick-or-Treating for Your Kids
Not everyone wants to go trick-or-treating, whether you are concerned about your neighborhood, your kiddo is sick, or you simply don’t live somewhere that makes it convenient.
Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives you can consider that either can be done at home or in your local community.
The list below has a variety of options to consider, and depending on your circumstances will determine which ones will suit you and your family!
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Host a Halloween-Themed Game Night
A Halloween game night is a super fun idea to consider!
You can plan some different Halloween-themed games that the family can play instead of going out trick-or-treating.
By putting a Halloween-theme twist on some common games you can make the night truly unique for the kids.
You can even have candy inspired games, such as a Halloween piñata or having candy as a prize for winner of each game.
There are plenty of ways to do a game-night that will make a very memorable Halloween night that the kids will always remember.
Game Ideas:
- Ring Toss
- Cup Toss
- Board Game “Clue”
- Board Game “Jumanji”
- Doughnut Eating Competition
- Halloween Charades
- Halloween Bingo
- Pin the Bow Tie on the Skeleton
- Or just any favorite card games!
Also, if you decide to look into costumes for the kiddo’s to make the most of your Halloween themed activities a not well known 2nd hand store for kids items is GoodBuyGear. Lovely store, and doesn’t give you the run around like FB marketplace seems to theses days. Just a mom budget friendly tip from me to you!
Just type “Halloween” in the search bar and any second hand costumes, games, etc.. will come up and you can filter which ones are near you!
Halloween Movie Night
If you need a more quiet Halloween night at home, such as if one of your kids is sick or there is bad weather so you’re not able to go trick-or-treating, a movie night might be just the thing to do.
You can find a variety of Halloween movies that are appropriate for kids of different ages.
The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown is great for younger children, or there are movies like Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown for your children or teens.
Make some themed treats and cozy up to watch movies together for the evening.
Making it a “special occasion” is what will make this stick out to your kids, so making special food, dressing up a bit, and picking a themed movie that suits your family can make your Halloween family movie night a big success.
> > If you’re wanting to stay home specifically our article Halloween Big Night In might suit you better!
Local Event
Maybe trick-or-treating isn’t really an option where you are, but you would still like to participate in some Halloween festivities.
Check out local paper for Halloween-themed events near you. These organized events can be found usually at a local church, community hall, or other public location that can be trusted.
I remember as a child going to one such event and having a blast in all the different jumping castles they had hired. This is a fun & safe way to spend Halloween with your family.
Community events that might be hosted could be jumping castles, truck-or-treats, community street party, and others similar in nature.
Keep an eye out for posters, do a little google investigating, or maybe ask on a community Facebook page to see what local events are around you.
Murder Mystery Dinner
If you have older kids or teens you could host your own Halloween Themed Murder Mystery Dinner for just your family or invite over family and/or friends.
You can make a Halloween inspired dinner foods and enjoy an evening of fun entertainment trying to solve the murder mystery through the evening.
Create Fun Spooky Crafts
For those that enjoy being crafty and have younger kids a Halloween craft night can be quite fun!
Again, if the weather is not great or maybe you live somewhere rural and trick-or-treating isn’t really possible a fun night in doing crafts together could be a great solution.
Keep your kids interested by setting up some a selection of craft stations inside.
You could decorate pumpkins, have a coloring area, or even some face painting to have a little fun dressing up still.
Combine craft & cooking! If you have time to prep for Halloween grab a kit, such as a pumpkin cakepop kit, and have making something then enjoy the deliciousness of all you creation!
If you need some inspiration for craft, here are a few free ones that can access easily!
Craft Ideas
- Paint a Pumpkin
- Chalkboard Pumpkin
- Handprint Ghost painting
- Toilet paper roll friends
- Brown bag Haunted House
Do Them All!
If you really want to have some fun for the night do a little of everything!
Have a Halloween Big Night In!
Whatever you decide to do as an alternative to trick-or-treating, just make sure to have fun and focus on making memories with the family.
Click of few snapshots, but don’t worry about getting in “perfect”.
Just have a good festive night of fun!
