Spooky season is the perfect time to indulge in some creative, messy and imaginative fun with your toddler. Whether you’re looking for frightful family days out or stuff to do together at home, have a browse through our big list of fun and cheap Halloween activities for toddlers.
Halloween doesn’t have to be too scary for your little one, either. We’ve come up with loads of ideas to introduce them to the holiday, from getting out into nature, to old traditions like dressing up and toddler-safe crafts and recipes.
There are a few Halloween party game ideas too, for getting together with other young families.
- Pumpkin Painting
If your toddler’s too young to carve a pumpkin this year, one safe way to introduce them to making jack-o’-lanterns is to paint them instead of carving.
Show your toddler how to paint a traditionally terrifying face, or let them run wild with their own splashes of paint and biodegradable glitter.
2. Boo-tiful Leaf Art
Collect as many leaves as you can on your next walk to make a family of ghosts.
Paint each leaf white and use marker pen to draw on the face. Or…trace the leaf with chalk on black construction paper and shade them in using different colors of chalk.
3. Spooky Film Night
Settle down for a cosy family evening watching spooky Halloween films.
Nothing too scary, mind! None of us want to be kept up all night by our little one’s bad dreams.
Some age-appropriate films for toddlers include Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Halloween!, and Super Monsters Save Halloween.
4. Papier-Mache Pumpkins
Prepare to get very sticky with this crafty Halloween activity for older toddlers.
You’ll need:
– one balloon
– PVA glue
– newspaper
– string
– lots of orange paint.
First blow up the balloon, then wrap string around it to mould into a pumpkin shape. Be careful not to burst it!
You’ll need to help your toddler with this next bit. Glue torn bits of newspaper all over the balloon, making sure to add a few layers for extra strength. Three layers should do it.
Wait for the glue to try, then get your toddler to paint their pumpkin.
5. Toddler-Friendly Face Painting
If you really want to challenge yourself, try face painting a wriggly toddler.
You can keep things quick and easy for yourself by drawing a small design on their cheek.
Face painting is best suited for older toddlers. Your little one’s skin is extra sensitive when they’re younger, and you don’t want to trigger any nasty rashes.
To be extra safe, do a small patch test on their wrist first.
6. Halloween Handprint Activity
What kid doesn’t love getting themselves covered in paint? This is a nice and easy Halloween activity for toddlers of all ages.
Paint your toddler’s hand in black paint, then help them make a handprint on a sheet of paper. Keep those fingers stretched out nice and straight!
Add a pair of googly eyes to finish your spooky spider. You could make it a spider’s web with some finger painting too!
7. Halloween Dance Party
Dancing is brilliant for your toddler’s development. Encouraging them to move to the music can build an early love for creative and physical activity – and it’s loads of fun for them, too.
8. Halloween Picture Books
Reading picture books with your toddler is a great activity for inspiring a love for reading, and it helps with their literacy skills too.
There are loads of Halloween picture books for you to choose from.
Some of our favourites are Gustavo, the “Shy Ghost” by Flavia Z. Drago, “Meg and Mog” by Helen Nicholl and Jan Pienkowski, and “I Love Halloween” by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd.
9. Go Pumpkin Picking
Take a day trip to your local pumpkin patch and have your toddler pick out the biggest pumpkin they can find.
You can show them how to do pumpkin carving or painting later on at home.
10. Halloween Nature Trail
Turn your next outdoor family walk into a scavenger hunt by giving your toddler a list of Halloween-themed items to find.
Crows or cats might turn out to be witches’ familiars. Maybe you’ll stumble on a sticky spider’s web. Or see if you can spot a toadstool fairy ring – but be careful not to step inside!
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