Halloween is almost here, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already done more Halloween-related activities than you originally planned. Between school parties, costumes, trunk-or-treats, pumpkin patches and everything else, October can start to feel like one giant holiday to-do list.
And while I love making holidays fun for my kids, I don’t particularly love spending $30 on craft supplies or setting up an elaborate activity that takes longer to prepare than it does for my kids to lose interest.
Plus, sometimes you just need something to keep everyone entertained for a little while that doesn’t involve turning on the TV or handing over a tablet.
So, I started thinking about all the regular activities my kids already enjoy and how easily we could give them a Halloween twist.
Because really, a blanket fort becomes a haunted house. A regular scavenger hunt becomes a Halloween scavenger hunt. And those Magna-Tiles and blocks that are already scattered across the living room floor? Now we’re building an entire spooky village.
No special activity kits, no complicated instructions and, ideally, no extra trip to the store.
Here are 15 easy Halloween activities you can do with your kids using things you probably already have at home.
Easy Halloween Games for Kids
1. Pumpkin Bowling
Save a few empty water bottles or grab some plastic cups and draw little ghost faces on them. Use a soft ball to knock them over, or a small pumpkin if you happen to have one that rolls well.
You can make it a competition with older kids or just let the little ones knock everything down over and over again. Honestly, that’s probably what they’ll want to do anyway.
2. Spider Web Obstacle Course
Use painter’s tape or yarn to create a spider web between sturdy pieces of furniture, then challenge the kids to get through without touching it.
You can make it as easy or difficult as you want depending on their ages. And if you have multiple kids, let the older ones design the course for the younger ones. That’s half the entertainment right there.
Keep strings away from neck height and avoid creating tripping hazards.
3. Halloween Scavenger Hunt
This one is so easy to customize! Make a list of Halloween decorations or objects to find around the house or neighborhood.
Pumpkins, bats, skeletons, spiders, something orange, something black. You get the idea.
If your kids are too young to read, draw little pictures or just call out the items one at a time. Older kids can make the scavenger hunt for their younger siblings.
4. Mummy Wrap Race
All you need is a roll of toilet paper. Divide the kids into teams and have them wrap one person up like a mummy.
You can time them, judge the best mummy or just let everyone have fun. Keep faces and necks uncovered.
Fair warning: You’re probably going to have toilet paper all over your floor afterward. But at least it’s an easy cleanup!
5. Ghost Balloon Volleyball
If you have a white balloon lying around, draw a ghost face on it and play a game of balloon volleyball.
You can use a piece of tape on the floor to divide teams or just challenge everyone to keep the balloon from touching the ground.
This is one of those activities that sounds almost too simple, but kids can get surprisingly competitive about it. Keep uninflated and broken balloons away from young children.
6. Witch’s Hat Ring Toss
Roll a piece of construction paper into a cone or use something cone-shaped you already have. Cut the centers out of paper plates to make rings.
Then see who can toss the most rings onto the witch’s hat.
If you don’t have paper plates, you can use soft rings from another toy or improvise with what you have.
Halloween Crafts and Creative Activities
7. Build a Haunted House With Magna-Tiles or Blocks
This might be my favorite because it requires almost no setup.
Our kids love Magna-Tiles and building blocks, and I’ve found that sometimes giving them a specific challenge is all it takes to make toys they’ve played with a hundred times feel new again.
Instead of building a regular house, challenge them to create a haunted mansion or an entire spooky Halloween village.
Can they build a haunted school? A creepy hospital? A pumpkin patch? What about roads connecting everything?
Add toy cars, little figurines or whatever else you have in the toy bins. If you have multiple kids, give everyone a different building to create.
And the best part? You haven’t actually had to buy or make anything.
8. Paper Bag Monsters
If you have some paper lunch bags, markers and scraps of construction paper, you’re pretty much set.
Let the kids design their own monsters. They can be scary, silly, have 10 eyes or three mouths. Whatever they come up with!
Once they’re finished, turn them into puppets and have the kids put on a little Halloween show.
9. Toilet Paper Roll Bats
Save a few empty toilet paper rolls and have the kids color them black (or whatever color they want, really).
Cut wings from scrap paper, glue or tape them on, and add faces.
If you want to go a step further, string them together for a Halloween garland. Or just let the kids play with them. Not every craft needs to become a decoration.
10. Design Your Own Jack-o’-Lantern
You don’t even need an actual pumpkin for this one.
Draw or cut out a big orange pumpkin and let the kids design different faces. You can use markers, crayons or cut out eyes, noses and mouths from paper.
I actually like the paper version because kids can make as many designs as they want without needing multiple pumpkins.
Plus, there’s no pumpkin guts to clean up afterward.
11. Halloween Sensory Bin
I’m not usually one to put together elaborate sensory bins, mostly because I don’t particularly enjoy cleaning up 10,000 grains of rice afterward.
But if your kids love them, this is an easy one to make festive.
Use dry pasta, rice or another age-appropriate filler, then add measuring cups, scoops and a few Halloween toys or decorations you already have.
If you’re doing this with toddlers who still put things in their mouths, skip the small objects and loose fillers and use larger, age-appropriate items instead.
And maybe put a towel underneath. You’ll thank yourself later.
Halloween Activities That Get Kids Moving
12. Monster Freeze Dance
Turn on some Halloween music and let everyone dance like their favorite monster.
When the music stops, everyone freezes.
You can call out different characters between rounds: zombies, skeletons, witches or Frankenstein’s monster.
This is also a good one when everyone has a little too much energy and you need them to burn some of it off.
13. Pumpkin Patch Obstacle Course
Use orange pillows, paper pumpkins or whatever else you have to create a pretend pumpkin patch.
Have kids jump over pumpkins, crawl through a tunnel made from chairs and blankets or balance along a path marked with painter’s tape.
You can make this as simple or elaborate as you want.
Personally, I’d let the older kids set it up. They get to be creative, the younger kids get to play, and you don’t have to spend 20 minutes arranging pillows.
14. Spider Races
Cut little spiders out of paper or use lightweight toy spiders you already have.
Give each child a straw and have them blow their spider across the table to the finish line.
You can make different courses, add obstacles or race in teams.
For younger kids, skip the straws and have them move larger paper spiders by fanning them with a piece of cardboard.
15. Halloween Storytelling Challenge
This is a fun one for the whole family, especially if you have kids of different ages.
Start with a sentence like, “One dark and stormy night, a pumpkin appeared on our doorstep…”
Then go around the room and have everyone add one sentence.
You never know where the story will end up, especially when little kids are involved.
Older kids can write it down or turn it into a book with illustrations. Or you can just enjoy the ridiculous story everyone came up with and call it a day.
Halloween Fun Doesn’t Have to Be Another Thing on Your To-Do List
I think sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to make holidays special that we forget how little it actually takes to entertain kids.
Not everything needs to be a perfectly planned outing, an elaborate craft or something that looks cute on Instagram.
Sometimes it’s just taking toys you already have and giving them a new purpose. Or turning on some music and having a silly dance party. Or letting the kids build a haunted house out of couch cushions.
Will all 15 of these activities keep your kids entertained for hours? Probably not. Some might last 10 minutes, and others might turn into an entire afternoon of playing.
But they’re easy, inexpensive and give everyone something to do that doesn’t involve a screen.
