25+ Ideas for Creating Halloween Family Fun at Home

So many of my favorite childhood memories are of Halloween family fun: sorting and trading candy with my sister, dressing up as Debbie Gibson (it was the ’80s!) and freaking out at the kid dressed (extra authentically!) as Freddy Krueger. My girls love it, too—they start brainstorming costumes in spring and our attic stores twice as much Halloween décor as Christmas.
Letting go of our beloved fall traditions is out of the question, so this year, we’re adapting them. (Some classics, like bobbing for apples, are out—but let’s face it, that’s always been kinda gross.) Here are a bunch of ideas for an at-home Halloween full of family fun.
Inspired? Create and share by tagging @HallmarkStores.
Getting the family in the Halloween spirit
Make sure kiddos know the 31st won’t be your average Saturday night by getting them involved in the planning. Along with figuring out their costumes (we’ve got ideas for showing them off below), they can help:
- Figure out a theme. How will you decorate your house this year: Ghost-filled graveyard? Creepy circus? Haunted house? Spiders and snakes?
- Plan the day. Give them a window of time based on their age and your energy level, and let them plug in the activities.
- Choose the menu. Will you fill the dinner table with spooktacular snacks or monstrous munchies…decorate a haunted gingerbread house…or treat yourself to jack-o’-lantern or skeleton cupcakes, black cat cookies or Dracula, Mummy and Things With Eyes cookie pops.
You don’t have to wait for the 31st to start the treating. “Boo-ing” your neighbors is an easy, no-contact way to share goodies, and we make it super easy:
- Say “boo” to your buddies. Get ideas, inspiration and instructions (not to mention free printables) in this post about how to say, “You’ve been boo-ed.”
- Plant some pumpkin treat bags. Turn a little candy, some tissue paper and googly eyes into sweet snack-filled pumpkins—perfect for dropping on doorsteps.
- Share the boo-ze. Grab a bottle of your favorite adult beverage and use these free printable tags to tell a neighbor “You’ve been boo-zed.”
And we love a good countdown…so we’ll show you how to set up your own Halloween Countdown Tree.
Big ideas for decorating your house

Once the Halloween Countdown Tree is up, what’s next? Go all out this year. Make it fun for folks walking through the neighborhood or costume car parades (more on that in a sec). Some ideas:
- Cut simple, oversize silhouettes of cats, bats and spiders out of cardboard from all those deliveries. Spray paint them black and string or set them up all over the exterior of your house.
- Or use white or yellow poster board to cut out eyeballs in different shapes and sizes. Use black construction paper or paint to make the pupils, and put them everywhere: windows, trees, behind the bushes, under the car.
- Chat with your neighbors about blowing out a theme across multiple houses. Turn your block into a mini-zombie village, make each house the home of a classic Halloween character or make each porch a room in a haunted house.
- Repurpose your artificial Christmas trees and wreaths. You can decorate them with Halloween-themed Keepsake Ornaments, wrap them in spiderwebs or cover them with lollipop ghosts and an invitation to take one.
- Draw or write messages on a glass door or windows using Crayola acrylic paint (add a little dish soap for easy removal) or window markers. Or use liquid shoe polish in black for bats, spiders and cats or white for ghosts.
Neighborhood activities to try on Halloween

We’ve made birthday parades a thing—so leveling it up for Halloween should be easy. Work with your online neighborhood group or HOA and try one of these ideas:
- Costumed-car parade: Decorate the car and the passengers and designate a time (and a map) for a neighborhood parade. Prizes optional. Or consider organizing a “reverse trick-or-treat” where children in costume stand in their yards and costumed cars drive the neighborhood tossing out treats and trinkets.
- Neighborhood costume parade: Provide a route for kids to walk while adults watch and cheer them on.
- Boo-hunt: Neighborhood “bear hunts” are popular, so try a boo-hunt. Provide neighbors with a list of different monsters, characters or icons to put in their windows. In the week leading up to Halloween, kids can search for everything on the list and either take photos or write down addresses.
- Paranormal pics: Pitch in to hire a photographer to take Halloween pictures on family’s porches—and, of course, encourage themes and costumes. Or ask them to shoot special double-exposures so everyone looks like ghosts. (There are multiple smart phone apps to help you do this effect on your own.)
Trick-or-treating from a distance
If your neighborhood welcomes trick-or-treaters, here are some fun ways to keep your distance.
- If you want to keep your distance and still enjoy trick-or-treaters, place candy at the end of the driveway or bottom of the porch steps and sit at least six feet back. Bring the fun by wrapping your chairs in spiderwebs or lights, wearing spooky masks or waving with werewolf hands. Use novelty DANGER tape or lights to create a divider.
- Be safe but silly with a note written in sidewalk chalk or on poster board:
- DANGER! BEWARE! And stay over there!
- Trick-or-treat! Stay back 6 feet! We’ll give you something good to eat!
- We’re happy you stopped! Please take a treat. We’ll enjoy your costume as we stay back six feet!
- Spread the candy out on tables or trays so kiddos can grab a piece without touching all of them.
- Or hide the candy, Easter egg style (think difficulty level—toddler) for kids to find.
- Depending on your skill level, deliver candy using a lacrosse stick or one of those extendable reacher/grabber things.
Halloween activities for family and (close) friends

If you’re celebrating with just your family or the folks in your pod, we’ve got all sorts of ideas for that, too:
- Spooky Movie Night: Spread out on blankets in the family room or the backyard, and watch your Halloween favorites on your TV or projected on the wall. Make it an event with extra-special popcorn (these are “Christmas” popcorn recipes, but no need to wait) or Sweet and Salty Caramel Apples. Choose a movie or two from our list of Halloween movie recommendations based on kids’ ages.
- Set up a video call with faraway family and friends. Show off your costumes and decorations. Take turns telling ghost stories (make one up or search the internet for age-appropriate tales). Bonus points for turning the lights out and holding a flashlight under your face.
- Play a DIY costume game. Ask everyone to write down three to five Halloween monsters or characters on slips of paper. Take turns drawing and reading a slip, then set a timer for three minutes to run around the house finding costumes and props to bring it to life. You can play this in teams or just individuals, in person or by video phone. You can even draw names in secret and let the others guess who or what you are. Most creative and accurate getups win!
- Trick-or-treat around the house. Set up trick-or-treat “stations” in every (yes, every) room of the house—with themed treats, if you dare. For an extra challenge, make kids complete a simple task, answer a riddle or do something silly to earn their treat.
- Try one of these Halloween games or crafts.
Halloween is all about fun. And we might not celebrate this year the way we always do— but even if our candy bags aren’t as full, our hearts will be.
Shop Halloween
See allYou may also like
See more-
Summer Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth
While Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, this pivotal moment in history has been cele...
-
LGBTQ Easy DIY Pride Flag Ideas
Happy Pride Month, readers! Throughout the month of June, members of the LGBTQ community and their allies have a lot ...
-
LGBTQ Customize DIY Pride Sunglasses with Free Downloads
It’s Pride Month, and that means getting your rainbow on for parades and parties that celebrate the LGBTQ community. ...
-
LGBTQ Make DIY Pride Bracelets and Keychains to Share
Pride Month is a really excellent excuse for a crafternoon,* so we gathered a group of LGBTQ friends and allies to cr...
-
LGBTQ Celebrate Pride Month with DIY Accessories, Freebies and More
Are you already planning ways to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month in June? Same. Want to create DIY Pride accessories and ...
-
Father's Day What to Write in a Father's Day Card
Find just the right words to tell dad just how much you appreciate him even if you cannot be together this Father's Day.
-
Encouragement Encouragement Messages: What to Write in an Encouragement Card
Everyone can use a little encouragement now and then. Sadly, both inner struggles and external setbacks are an una...
-
Sympathy What to Write in a Sympathy Card
Signing a sympathy card isn’t easy. We search for words. We wonder what would be comforting to hear. We worry abou...
-
Mother's Day What to Write in a Mother's Day Card
Tell her just how much she means using this guide from Hallmark writers.
-
Thank You What to write in a thank-you card
Express your gratitude with these thank you messages and ideas from Hallmark card writers.
-
Arts, Crafts & DIY DIY Handprint Tea Towel Kit
Make a forever memory with our Bless This Mess Tea Towel Handprint kit, which features the tea towel and three colors...
-
Father's Day 40+ Father’s Day Activities That Don’t Involve BBQ
We all know how the stereotypical dad celebrates Father’s Day. But what if your dad isn’t stereotypical? What if he d...
-
Calendar Flip Yay for May! May 2022 Holidays and Celebrations
Flowers are blooming, students are graduating and moms are getting some well-deserved appreciation. What a fabulou...
-
Calendar Flip Let’s celebrate, y’all! July 2022 Holidays and Celebrations
Get ready for friends, family and fireworks—and break out the red, white and blue for Independence Day. It’s time ...
-
Calendar Flip Woo-Hoo—Summer’s Here! June 2022 Holidays and Celebrations
Summer is here in all her glory and we are ready. Warm days and cool drinks lay ahead. So it’s time to flip the ca...
-
Pets Pet Party Ideas for All the Party Animals
Pets are family. Cute, often-fuzzy, sometimes-maniacal family—and there are SO MANY reasons to celebrate them. We’ve ...
-
LGBTQ Inspiring LGBTQ Quotes for Pride Month
Pride Month is a celebration of history—our moment to honor the resistance and persistence that gave rise to pivotal ...
-
Gift Wrapping How to Wrap a Flower Bouquet
Flowers are such a sweet, simple gift. Want to make the most out of your bouquet? Watch these 4 tutorials for pretty ...
-
Christmas Mary’s Angels Keepsake Ornament Sneak Peek
Prepare to celebrate another season of heavenly peace and harmony with the adorable Aster, 35th in the Mary’s Angels ...