Enormous List of Halloween Activities You Can Do At Home in 2020

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Halloween Activities for Kids are Declining

Halloween doesn’t have to be this huge commercial event we have made it out to be these days.  Halloween used to be fun and lighthearted.  The Halloween I remember as a child is very different from the one I see today.  

The amount the US spends on Halloween is a staggering 9 Billion annually with each individual spending about $90.  This is on costumes, decorations, and candy.  Sure, I love a good costume and I love looking back at photos of what I wore as a child BUT somehow Halloween has morphed into something totally different.

Today we have a huge portion of adults participating and that in itself has changed the entire meaning of the holiday.  Now we have events catering to adult parties and alcohol and it’s a clear sign of a change in our social fabric.

We’ve allowed companies to play on our adult insecurities and fears and they’ve created marketable, sellable products for us.  And we buy it.

What if we decided to not go the consumer route and instead focused on making Halloween about events and activities focused on our kids?  I’m not saying we should give up trick-or-treating or costumes, but maybe scale it back a little.  Maybe not spend hours scrolling social media to feel inspired about how our homes should look, how to create the perfect little gift bag for our children’s class, and master the perfect sexy deer make-up for ourselves.

At Home Halloween Activities for Kids in 2020

Who knows what’s actually going to be open for Halloween this year.  Will there be trick-or-treating?  Some states have already said no.  Will there be trunk-or-treating?  Pumpkin Patches?  Haunted Houses?  

Honestly, I don’t think anyone knows what we should or should not be doing for Halloween in 2020.

What we can control are the things we do in our own homes.  We can still make Halloween an enjoyable event for our kids, with fun activities you can do at home.  This is the year to think outside the box and get creative.

I’ve created a road map of all the activities we CAN still do to celebrate Halloween with our kids this year.   You can print an 8.5×11 to have on hand or I’ve created a poster size you can use for decor.  Grab both options at the bottom of the post.

Below is a MEGA list of Halloween activities for your kids you can do at home.  Several of the Activities are links, some may lead to other posts at The Graceful Olive, several lead to resources on other blogs, a few links to social media posts, and there are a few affiliate links as well.  All links will open up in a new page so don’t worry about losing your place!  Happy Halloween! 

1. Make Cookies
   1. Haunted Gingerbread House 
   2. Skeleton Gingerbread Cookies 
   3. Ghost Cookies
2. Create Fun Halloween Meals 
   1. Halloween Lunches
   2. Halloween Snacks
3. Make Halloween Drinks
   1. Punch 
   2. Butterbeer
   3. Hot Apple Cider
   4. Pumpkin Juice
4. Sensory Bins 
   1. Halloween Themed Sensory Bins
5. Watch Halloween Movies
   1. Halloweentown 
   2. Hocus Pocus
   3. The Littlest Vampire
   4. Casper
   5. Ichabod and Mr. Toad
   6. Bednobs and Broomsticks 
   7. Beetlejuice
   8. Ghostbusters
6. Trick or Treating (Indoors if you must)
7. Tell ghost stories 
8. Pumpkin carving 
9. Roast Pumpkin Seeds
10. Make all the pumpkin foods 
11. Make caramel apples
12. Arts and Crafts
    1. Halloween Masks 
    2. Footprint Art
13. Make window art
14. Read Halloween Stories 
    1. Amazon Books 
    2. Library
    3. Epic Books ( Try 30 days for FREE)
15. Halloween Play Dough
16. Halloween Slime
17. Pumpkin Guts Slime
18. Witches Brew Foam
19. DIY Costumes
20. Halloween Community Events where available
    1. Zoo
    2. Aquariums
    3. Library
    4. Churches
    5. Town 
    6. Children’s Museums 
    7. Amusement Parks 
21. Get Outside
    1. Pumpkin Patch
    2. Visit a Farm 
    3. Apple Picking 
    4. Scavenger Hunt
    5. Jump in the Leaves
    6. Collect and Decorate Pinecones
22. Create your Own Haunted House 
23. Drive Around and Look at Decor 
24. Halloween Games
    1. Bingo
    2. Would you Rather 
    3. Pumpkin Twister
25. Decorate Existing Toys 
    1. Halloween Dollhouse
    2. Halloween Playhouse 
26. Paint Pumpkin Rocks and Leave them Around Town 
27. Make Halloween Peg Dolls 
28. Halloween Countdown Calendar 
29. Play Halloween Music 
30. Build your Own Monsters
    1. Ghost in a Tree
    2. Scarecrow
31. Boo Your Neighbors 

Make this Halloween one your kids will always remember and do as many of these activities at home as you can!  Take the time to make a plan of what you want to do and just do it!  

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