Lots of families celebrate Halloween, but not all parents want their kids to go trick or treating. Whatever your reasons for deciding not to go door knocking, it doesn’t mean your child can’t have a spooktacular evening in.
A ChannelMum.com study found while 84% of UK families celebrate Halloween, 15% prefer to do it at home. Have no fear, your kids can have just as much fun inside getting creative and playing games.
Whether you’re looking to throw a ghostly party or have a chilled-out evening of crafts and comfort, we’ve sourced tips and advice from parenting experts at Mumsnet, Netmums and ChannelMum to make it a night to remember.
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Try Pumpkin Painting, Not Carving
Carving a pumpkin can be hard enough for adults, let alone when you’ve got kids involved. Avoid the hassle by trying pumpkin painting instead this is ideal if you have younger kids. “Get the glitter out and sprinkle it on the paint for some sparkly fun,” says Cathy Ranson, editor of ChannelMum.
Have Some Halloween Chill-Out Time
If you’re not running a party, have some spooky fun by theming the films your kids watch, advises Mumsnet. Films could include Casper, Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family and Room on the Broom. Or, give story time a Halloween makeover by choosing different books – Mumsnet has some great creepy book recommendations here.
Get Crafty
If you want to do something low-key, organise a crafternoon on the weekend of Halloween. Debbie Denyer, who blogs at Squidgydoodle, did pumpkin stamping with her two daughters, aged five and seven, last year. Cut the apple in half, dip in orange paint and then stamp onto plain paper. Cut foam sponge into pieces to print with eyes, mouth and noses.
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Make A Spooky Treasure Hunt
Netmums advises running a treasure hunt around the house for some sweet treats to eat after dinner. And if you want to go all out, decorate the rooms you’re hiding the treats in with some suitably scary decor. With each sweet, write a clue for kids to find the next one in another room, with a spooky twist (“I’m hiding under the stairs waiting for you, tick tock”). Can they complete the hunt in under an hour?
Play The Loo Roll Mummy Game
This is a fun game to play if you’ve got a group of you at home. Ranson advises you to get everyone in pairs and nominate one person in each pair to be the “mummy”. That person must stand still and the other person has to wrap their mummy in loo roll. The best looking mummy after five minutes wins. Take pictures for future memories, they’ll make you chuckle when you look back.
Make Tasty Treats
Fancy a baking session at home with your little ones? If they like to help out in the kitchen, prepare a feast to have for dinner. Try these chocolate witch hats, or opt for a healthier option with these boo-nanas and mini pumpkins.
Denise, who blogs at The Life Of Dee, made some amazing monster eyeballs that could be a great addition to your feast. You can find the method on how to make on her blog – “I’d say try to make a lot as they are very more-ish and a couple are just not enough!” she says.
Create A Ghostly Jelly Baby Mountain
This is an easy game to pull off and doesn’t require much organisation. Pack flour into a bowl then tip it out onto a surface to create a mini “mountain”. Put a jelly baby on the peak. Each person has to take it in turns to remove a spoonful of the flour without making the jelly baby fall. “The person that makes the jelly baby fall has to eat it without using their hands to find it,” explains Ranson. Fun, but messy.
[Read More: How To Make Milk Bottle Ghosts]
Play Sleeping Monsters
If you have little ones who get hyped up after an afternoon or evening of Halloween activities, end the night on a game of “sleeping monsters”. Yep, you guessed it, it’s a simple twist on sleeping lions. Get them to start off by showing their “monster sound”, then get going with the game. Ahhh, peace and quiet.
How have you celebrated Halloween in the past? Let us know by commenting below or emailing ukparents@huffpost.com.