The leaves are changing, pumpkins are for sale and scary movie marathons are popping up on your Netflix account — spooky season is here. If you love Halloween and wish that it lasted longer than one night a year, you’ve come to the right place.
From traditional games and themed parties to festive crafts and fun, we’ve got you covered with 31 days of Halloween activities. These activities are perfect for all age groups, easy to do on a budget and sure to be a fun time.
Many of us would love to celebrate Halloween all month long, but it’s easy to get stuck thinking of a new activity for each day. Thankfully, we’ve created a printable calendar with cute and simple activities to help you get started on your 31 days of spooktacular fun for all ages. Mark off each day of October as you complete each Halloween activity.
Enjoying this classic fall treat is the perfect way to celebrate your first week of Halloween festivities. Cover your favorite type of apple in gooey caramel and add your favorite toppings for a fun family activity.
Why not take a spooky spin on one of your favorite winter activities by creating a gingerbread haunted house? Put together your gingerbread home with orange icing and add your favorite candies, cookie ghosts and sugar skulls to design the home of your nightmares.
Dressing up in costumes is a favorite Halloween tradition, but it can be hard to choose with so many options. Whether you decide to dress up as an emoji, your favorite celebrity or a scary vampire this year, it’s best to pick out your costume early to prepare for any Halloween parties before the big day.
Spread cheer around your neighborhood by sending a “Boo” to some of your favorite people. We’ve included printable instructions and announcements to make your surprise bag even cuter. To Boo your neighbor, all you have to do is leave an anonymous bag of goodies on their doorstep with instructions to do the same for another neighbor. Lastly, they’ll hang a picture in their window to show they participated in the fun.
The popular homemade slime craze has been a favorite among kids for quite some time, so why not give it some Halloween flare? Combine 8-ounces of Elmer’s glue, food coloring, 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of contact lens solution to create this spooky concoction. Add glitter and googly eyes to make an extra creative creation.
There’s no better way to get in the Halloween spirit than to grab your popcorn and have a movie marathon featuring your favorite scary and festive films. Depending on your fear threshold and audience, choose from classic horror movies like “The Shining” and “The Exorcist” to kid-friendly options like “Halloweentown” and “Hocus Pocus.”
Visiting a pumpkin patch is the perfect way to have some family fun and capture a great photo opportunity. Choose a pumpkin patch with extra activities like hayrides or bounce houses.
Cut out white cardstock in the shape of ghosts and let your little ones draw faces on each of the spirits. Tape each ghost to the back of the string and hang it in your apartment for the perfect party idea or holiday decor.
Purchase plain sugar cookies in the shape of your favorite traditional Halloween icons. Make them extra festive by using frosting and candy to turn your cookies into ghosts, cats, cobwebs, witches and more.
Make your next Halloween party a graveyard smash with spooky table settings and decor. We recommend using traditional orange and black place settings, an elegant dark and eerie theme or having scary haunted accents to impress your guests.
Your kids will love getting a themed lunchbox note with some of their favorite Halloween characters each day at school. They’ll be able to look forward to seeing a fun surprise every day at lunch with a custom note just for them. Alternate between lunchbox notes featuring flying bats, happy ghosts, walking mummies or a grinning pumpkins.
Pumpkin bread trumps the new banana bread craze once our calendars hit October. Combine all of your favorite fall flavors by making pumpkin bread with added nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and hazelnut to get into the fall spirit.
Creating Halloween masks is an activity that the whole family will love. Have your kiddos draw their favorite Halloween character, cut them out and add sting to the back so you can try on each other’s creations.
Whether you’re hosting a monster mash or a cute wine night, everyone knows that the key to a good party is the food. Take your finger food to the next level by making themed snacks like graveyard nachos, mummy meatballs, pumpkin hummus and cheddar witch fingers.
Give this traditional game a frightening spin by painting faux cobwebs onto your cornhole boards and using toy spiders instead of bean bags. Your little ghouls and goblins will love this new version of a favorite outdoor activity.
Bring in the ghostly vibes by filling your apartment with fun, seasonal decorations. Make your home a frightful experience with scary skeletons and witches or create a silly atmosphere with happy ghosts and smiling pumpkins.
It’s time to eat, drink and be scary! Halloween is the perfect excuse for people to host a themed party, which means your social calendar is probably pretty booked during this time of year. With this in mind, we created printable Halloween gift tags that are perfect to tie around any wine bottle you’re gifting to your host.
Let your kids choose which candy they want to display on the wreath and have the adults use a hot glue gun to make their masterpieces come to life. Add an adorable bow and any other fun decorations to elevate your decoration even more.
Pass some toilet paper rolls around to all of the kiddos in your house and let them take turns wrapping each other up. Let them walk around the house making their best mummy impression.
Visiting a corn maze is one of the longest-standing Halloween traditions. If you’re more adventurous and want to test your fear limits, check to see if a corn maze near you offers a haunted version.
Why should the kids get to have all the fun with Halloween activities? Get your favorite witches together for a wine night complete with bottle labels that are perfect for a Halloween celebration.
Nothing brings back childhood Halloween memories quite like carving a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern. Use your best pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, pull out the gooey insides and carve out your best design to uncover your creepy creation.
Invite the neighborhood kids and parents to participate in a fun scavenger hunt that everyone will enjoy. Hide clues around your apartment complex, and the first team to finish all the challenges will win a prize.
Buy an assortment of candy for trick-or-treaters to pick from on Halloween night. It’s always a good idea to buy more than you need so you’re not running to the grocery store in the middle of the festivities.
Halloween bingo is the perfect game for a classroom party or a family evening together. Use a themed bingo card with Halloween items in each box, and use candy corn to cover each box as it’s called out.
Ghosts and vampires and witches — oh my! There’s no better way to celebrate the season of frights than with a night filled with scary stories by a campfire. Some tips for telling a great ghost story include setting the atmosphere, making the story sound realistic and ending with a frightening climax.
Going to a haunted house is a must during the month of October for all thrill-seekers and lovers of horror films. There are many themes to choose from, so check your local haunted houses to find the one that’s right for you.
This is a fun twist on the classic game, pin the tail on the donkey. Print out a picture of a giant spider web and tiny spiders, add double-sided tape to the back of the spiders, hang the web on the wall and see who can get the spider closest to the center of the web while blindfolded.
Now that you’ve almost completed your 31 days of Halloween challenge, it’s time to invite your friends and family over to show off your spooky crafts and decor. We created these silly photo booth props, so your guests will think you’re the ghostess with the mostess when you present them with these photo booth props.
You’ve picked out your costumes, bought your candy supply and made it to your final day of the 31 days of Halloween activities. It’s finally time to trick or treat and enjoy indulging in sweets and treats until next year.
Finding a community where you can enjoy these Halloween activities with your neighbors will make the season all the more special. Find your dream apartment today with Apartment Guide.
Alex Heinz is a writer with experience in a variety of industries from tech to lifestyle. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, TechCo and PopSugar. She's lived in a handful of large cities including New York and San Diego, giving her first-hand knowledge of the ins and outs of renting. In her spare time, you can find her exploring new hikes with her dog.