Before you know it, it will be time to carve pumpkins and stock up on Halloween candy. While you still have some time to savor the Fall season, Halloween is right around the corner! And what better way to get your children excited for the holiday than some pre-Halloween, spooky activities!
Decorate Your Home & Yard
The best way to get into the spooky mood is to decorate anything and everything! Whether you have a box or two of decorations in the attic or need to buy some new items, your kids will definitely be on board. For your yard, you can use inflatable decorations or get pumpkins to adorn your porch. You can even make scarecrows with old clothes your family doesn’t use anymore! Have your children paint the pumpkins with cute faces, and use straw or old stuffing to fill out your old clothes. You can explore your yard for leaves, pinecones, acorns and other fun Fall foliage that you can preserve and decorate with.
Corn Mazes
Depending on where you live, visiting a corn maze will delight your children! During the first part of fall, most corn mazes will be just that; the chance to get lost within a maze of cornstalks. Some mazes, if looked at from high above, form a shape! Once October hits, the mazes will usually switch to a haunted corn maze, with spooky characters and apparitions. The haunted corn maze will obviously be for older children, although they are usually less scary than typical haunted houses. But be prepared to get your socks scared off! The regular corn mazes will also continue during day time hours, and the haunted aspect will begin once it becomes dark.
Make Your Own Halloween Treats
Whether you’re going Trick-or-Treating or not, baking and decorating some spooky cookies and cakes will get you into the Halloween mood in no time! Having your children help with the baking can help them learn how to cook on their own, no matter their age. Decorating will be the fun part, making ghosts, witches, pumpkins, and more come alive with sprinkles and icing.
Scary Movie Night
This activity may be a little tricky if you have real little ones at home, but there is always some sort of media available for any age. If your children are older, you can pick the appropriately-aged Halloween or scary movie to watch a few Fridays throughout the month of October. If your children are a little too young for mainstream Halloween movies, then search through their children’s programs for Halloween episodes to watch together. You can also find many Halloween books for a wide range of ages to read by candlelight on a few chilly evenings.
Katie Kyzivat