8 Halloween Activities to Replace Trick-Or-Treating

Trick or Treating has been a fun part of Halloween in the US for many years. Small kids, big kids, and a large percentage of adults look forward to this day all year long. But Trick or Treating isn’t for everyone. Perhaps the weather’s too cold in your neck of the woods. Or maybe you’re concerned about safety, or your kids gobbling too much candy.

There are many reasons why donning costumes and going door to door may not work for you. But fear not! We’ve listed 8 other fun activities you can plan to make Halloween memorable for you and your family.

1. Halloween Themed Scavenger Hunt

Get in the Halloween spirit with a scavenger hunt. Create a list of Halloween-themed objects and hide them all over your home and yard. Then invite friends and family over. Older kids or adults can help the younger kids race around finding treasures.

Having a hard time thinking of items for your scavenger hunt list? Start with these ideas to get going:

2. Glow-in-the-Dark Egg Hunt

Hunting for plastic eggs filled with treats or toys doesn’t have to be limited to Easter. You can buy glow-in-the-dark Halloween eggs and host a Halloween egg hunt. Fill your eggs with candy and other goodies and then leave them under a light so they’ll glow brightly at night.

3. Movie Marathon

A family movie marathon is a great option for Halloween fun. Depending on the temperature, you can build a pillow and blanket fort in your living room or head outside and set up an outdoor theatre.

Decide on age-appropriate movies or add Halloween episodes from your kids’ favorite TV shows. Plan to make Halloween-themed snacks with your family beforehand. Try adding “spiders” made of black olives to a pizza or throwing some candy corn into your popcorn for a festive treat.

4. Halloween Party

Hosting a party at home is a great way to celebrate without having to leave the house. Hand out glow sticks and dim the lights. Encourage everyone to dress up and show off their costumes by dancing to a spooky-themed playlist. If dancing isn’t your style, host a pumpkin carving party.

5. Harvest Festival

Turn your backyard into a fall harvest festival. Head over to your local feed store, grab a few hay bales and a bunch of pumpkins. Then fill a large, shallow bucket with water and apples for an apple bobbing contest. Other fun festival-like events: Create a cake walk or fill a jar with that iconic Halloween candy for a “guess how many pieces of candy corn” game.

6. Haunted House

This doesn’t have to be a labor-intensive production. Kids have BIG imaginations. Use your garage or basement, hang some spiders, lots of webs to get caught in, and a few ghoulish apparitions. Then dim the lights and turn on the scary soundtrack of maniacal laughter and screams.

7. Halloween Pinata

Find a Halloween-themed pinata and — if you want to keep the candy to a minimum — source small toy items like finger puppets, tiny art supplies, bouncy balls, and slinkies.

8. Crafting Party

Younger kids love to craft. Grab some inexpensive craft supplies like pipe cleaners, googly eyes, tissues, popsicle sticks, and a bunch of glue sticks. Your kids will have fun creating ghosts, scary spiders, paper bats, and every mother’s favorite, glitter slime.

And…that’s a wrap on Halloween done your way. Your kids will go to bed happy and tired after a fun-filled evening. And you didn’t even have to leave the house. Now, all that’s left is a big clean up and purple glitter and glue to get off the carpet.