10 Fun Stay At Home Halloween Activities For Families

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. You can imagine my disappointment when I figured out that this year traditional Halloween activities would be cancelled. Not letting the “panorama” get me down I came up with fun at home Halloween activities for my family.

I had planned on this being L’s first year to go trick or treating since he’s finally talking and ready to do this. However, 2020 had different plans and in an effort to make the most of the situation we are in I’m making some changes.

To be honest, I’m actually extremely excited to do Halloween at home this year. I feel like at home Halloween could start new traditions that are actually better for my family.

First, I won’t be teaching my son that it’s ok to take candy from strangers this one day of the year. Second, once the pandemic is over and life can continue as normal we can create a haunted house the whole block can enjoy.

Maybe, with a bit more time, we can get back to actually knowing who our neighbors are and building relationships with them.

Stay At Home Halloween Activities

Here are just a few of the ideas I thought of when thinking about how to celebrate Halloween at home this year. Hopefully, some of these will work out wonderfully with your family to create at least great memories for your kids.

Plan An Ultra Exclusive Halloween Party

You can decorate your living room for a party with your family. Put up spooky decorations, plan activities, and plan out a party your family can enjoy together.

Put up spider webs in the corners of the room. Add a black curtain to your doorways by cutting open black garbage bags and cutting them into fringe. Use white garbage bags to create spooky ghosts. This window cling set is a great, inexpensive way, to add a bit of fun to your Halloween decor too.

Then once your room is decorated have fun eating party foods, listening to Halloween party music, and watching classic movies. This will probably be one of our favorite at home Halloween activities.

Make Homemade Halloween Treats

Sure candy is delicious but making your own sugar high inducing treats is a fun family experiment. Make candy apples, popcorn balls, rice crispy treats, and puppy chow. Get creative with food coloring or spooky shapes too.

Homemade treats are better than candy you can buy at the store and it fills a full day with activities that have a lasting memory. This is one tradition I am looking forward to starting with my family.

Share Scary Stories

Tell scary stories in your backyard while gathered around this campfire pit. Sharing scary made up stories, urban legends, and fairy tales is one of the greatest at home Halloween activities and the whole family will likely enjoy it.

Obviously, keep the stories age appropriate in order to avoid children climbing into your bed because they’re scared or having nightmares. Or tell them slightly scary ones to get those extra cuddles.

Watch Halloween Themed Movies

My next is a popular choice for at home Halloween activities. Have a movie night with popcorn, blankets, and loads of cuddles.

For younger kids I recommend watching the Monsters Inc movies. For older kids Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Addams Family are great choices. Once you get into the teenage years you can add other classics like Little Shop of Horrors, Beetlejuice, and Practical Magic.

Of course if your teens really like the slasher flicks there are tons of those to choose from. We aren’t big on the slasher flicks or horror movies so I don’t typically include them in our Halloween film rotation.

Have A Costume Runway Fashion Show

Using items you already own, create costumes together and put on a runway show right in your living room. This is a favorite of the at home Halloween activities because everyone in the family can get super creative with things you already own.

Have people guess who you are and if they get it right they get a piece of candy or a treat. There will be lots of laughing and excitement in a game like this that will give your family memories that last.

Girl about 6-7 wearing a pink princess costume for Halloween

Create Some Halloween Crafts

If you have younger kids crafts are always a hit. You can create monster masks, pipe cleaner spider webs, construction paper bats, and toilet roll spooky characters.

I typically use craft time in the days leading up to Halloween to get the kiddo excited for the holiday. It just makes all the other at home Halloween activities that much more fun because we get him hyped for the big holiday.

Crafts are a great way to spend your time on this holiday that’s fun and keeps you and your family safely indoors.

Create A Halloween Candy Scavenger Hunt

An indoor scavenger hunt is a fun way to do trick or treating at home. Hide candy all over the house with note cards and send your kids on a scavenger hunt through the house to find the candy.

I like the idea of hiding small amounts of candy with each envelope that sends them off to the next hiding spot and at the end having a big bowl filled with candy or the full size candy bars. The biggest pros to this over trick or treating are, you don’t have to check the candy to make sure it’s safe and there is no involvement from strangers.

This one is my favorite change up in at home Halloween activities because I can still teach my kid not to take candy from strangers but let him still get all the same treats his friends will get. If you can get together with neighbors and friends to do this type of activity, I recommend it.

Play An Escape Room Game

Escape room games are extremely popular and this is a fun way to challenge your family. Set up an escape room scenario in an extra room in your home, the garage, or basement. Set clues that your kids or family need to figure out in order to leave the room.

For a super fun time set up a camera to record and catch hilarity that you can watch again and again in the years to follow. This is one of the best at home Halloween activities too because if you just need a bit of quiet time the rest of the family will be in the escape room trying to figure out how to get out of there.

Turn Your Basement, Garage, Or Whole House Into A Haunted House

Set up a haunted house maze in your house and let the kids go through it. Dress up as scary zombies or vampires and give your kids a good scare. Obviously, keep your kids age and how they feel about scary things in mind so as not to scar them for life.

For instance, if your kid is afraid of clowns don’t put clowns in the haunted house.

Do just the basement or garage, or if you really want to go all out, turn the whole house into a creepy haunt. It’s a great activity, the kids will help set it up, and the whole family will have fun with it. Plus, you can do it again the next year and invite your friends and neighbors to join in on the fun.

Go Camping In Your Backyard

Finally, there is nothing like telling spooky stories and eating s’mores around a campfire. Put that fire pit to use and set up a tent for family camping in a backyard. It’s a memory making idea that your kids and family will love.

Camping in the backyard provides all the fun of camping with the ability to use indoor plumbing. You eat campfire foods, star gaze, and tell spooky stories late into the night before you all fall asleep. If the weather permits it this is a favorite of the different at home Halloween activities.

Have A Safe And Happy Halloween

Halloween is a fun holiday and we don’t have to let a bummer year ruin this for us too. So this year take some extra time and create a fun Halloween experience that keeps you and your family safely away from strangers.

Enjoy candy, movies, and games. Plan a whole haunted house or camping trip in the backyard. You’ll have fun on Halloween this year, I promise.

Which at home Halloween activities are you planning on enjoying? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your favorite Halloween boards.

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