How To Have A Spooktacular Halloween! 10 Fangtastic Kids Activities

Photo by Bee Felten-Leidel on Unsplash

When Is Halloween?

Halloween is celebrated every year on 31st October.

Why Do We Celebrate Halloween?

The origins of Halloween go back to Samhain (pronounced sow-in), an ancient Celtic festival. Samhain was when the Celtic people believed the ghosts of the dead returned to the Earth.

The word "Halloween" comes from All Hallows Eve and translates as "hallowed evening". It wasn 't until the early 20th century that Halloween parties for kids and adults became a popular celebration and continue to be (especially in America) to this day.

Wicked Halloween Activities

1. DIY Kids Halloween Costumes

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Whilst store-bought Halloween costumes can be a good option, nothing beats cracking out the scissors, tape, glue and sewing kit to conjure up something totally boo-rilliant! Some easy DIY kids Halloween costume ideas include...

• Knight - just grab some tin foil, a grey sweatsuit and cardboard for a shield and sword
• Jellyfish - get a clear umbrella and attach some bubblewrap and ribbon for the tentacles
• Mermaid - stick cupcake liners and ribbon onto light coloured bin bag to transform your child into a mermaid
• Skeleton - use a white paint stick to draw bones onto a black sweatsuit
• Mummies - unravel a few toilet rolls and voila, you have paper mummies!

2. Make Spooktacular Halloween Decorations

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Be the Hallow-queen or King of the party with your decorations!

Big Spider Balloons

To make the spider's body, blow up a big black balloon and a smaller black balloon for the head. Next, tie the two balloons together to create the spider.

For the legs, wrap eight pieces of unfurled wire hanger or 12-gauge craft wire with black faux fur. Use hot-glue to secure. Twist ends of the four lengths together so you create leg bundles. Repeat with the remaining four lengths.

To put the spider together, wrap a black pipe cleaner around the leg bundle twisted ends. Then, wrap pipe cleaner around the spider's neck (where the balloons are tied together). Use fishing wire to hang!

Ghouls Night

Make a bunch of cute ghosts by using glue dots to stick paper eyes and mouths onto white tissue paper bells. Drape cheesecloth over them for the final spooky effect!

Bat Branches

Use twigs and sticks from the garden to stick black paper bats on! A pretty wicked table centrepiece!

3. Create Your Own Magic Wand

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You'll be witch and famous after you've made your own Magic Wand! Magical little hands can whizz up three styles of magic wand, with purple, green or gold designs to choose from. Decorate your wand with spiders, sparkling jewels and more! Now, to cast some spells!

4. Apple Bobbing Skele-fun

Apple bobbing, or bobbing for apples, is a traditional game where apples are popped into a bucket or tub of water. The first person to successfully bob an apple (pick it up with their mouth without using their hands) wins!

5. Ghost Train

Mini train drivers can add a bit of Hallow-scream to their wooden train set with our Skull Cave. Lift the skulls on either end to let the ghost train chug through. With two tunnel entrances and exits, where will the train go next?

6. Trick or Treat Yo' Self

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If you head out into your local neighbourhood for some trick or treating fun, Don't forget to take your silicone cauldron to collect all the sweets! Why not use a black whiteboard pen to draw on a pumpkin face and some spooky designs?

7. Get Your Own Witches Cat

A good witch or wizard has a cat! Cats are seen to be a good luck charm, particularly black ones. Get your own magical feline friend who's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand or your pocket.

8. Go For A Broom Ride

Photo by Leo Rivas on Unsplash

Fly across the Autumn skies on a magical, mystical broom ride. If you Don't have a traditional witchy broom on hand, our Long Handled Broom is a good alternative! You can even stick some cotton wool and pretend spiders onto it for a more spooky effect!

9. Fantasy Play Time

Enjoy spellbinding adventures with your dollhouse or wooden castle with our Fantasy Dolls family! Includes a witch, wizard, pixie and a fairy. The fantastical figures are bendable and can be flexed into any position - such as sitting down, standing or even dancing! Cast spells, fly on a broom and indulge in the magic!

10. Mystical Magnets

Dress up your Mag-Play character in a variety of mystical outfits! Mix and match a wizard, elf, knight, jester or King. A fun way to encourage story-telling and develop kids creativity and imagination.

Kids Halloween Costumes

Give 'em pumpkin to talk about this Halloween! If you've got some spooktacular costumes, we'd love to see them! Tag us @bigjigstoys.