Ten Inexpensive Halloween Ideas for Families

Submitted by Sarah Morris, on behalf of Primrose- a mom favorite when it comes to preschools.

Halloween treats children to an annual candy rush. Dressed in costume, children walk through their neighborhood collecting candy and admiring costumes of other trick or treat revelers. For many families, Halloween costs place a burden on the family budget. Purchasing candy to hand out and new costumes to dress in produces a fun but expensive evening. 

In addition to the expense of Halloween, this annual holiday can become routine with the same treats and costume designs year after year. This year, create an unusual experience for your family. Step away from the traditional Halloween celebration and save money while making memories to last all year.

Sew homemade costumes. Rather than purchase new costumes for your growing children, arrange a costume exchange with neighborhood families to recycle outgrown costumes. Look through the closet and find items to alter into homemade costumes. Denim jeans with a red shirt give your child a cowboy costume. Wear a white jacket and a stethoscope from the toy box to dress as a nurse. Borrow clothes and accessories from mom and dad’s closet for other costume ideas. Your family’s craft box holds feathers, google eyes, and pipe cleaners to decorate hats or bed sheet costumes. Color and decorate boxes with holes for arms, head, and body. With creativity, inexpensive and unique costumes add style to the Halloween celebration.

Prepare homemade treats. Bake cookies, granola bars, chocolate covered pretzel rods, or brownies. You include chocolate, everyone’s favorite candy flavor, while saving money on pre-packaged candy. Every family member participates in baking, bagging, and passing the treats out on Halloween night. Be sure to avoid peanuts due to allergies, and exercise safe food handling techniques by washing hands and packing the treats in new bags. 

Host a neighborhood block party. Invite your neighbors for a potluck and games. Everyone dresses in costume and brings a hot and cold dish to share. Prepare fruit punch with eyeball gum floating in the bowl. Make spider snacks with marshmallows and pretzel sticks. Bake an orange Halloween cake and serve caramel or pumpkin ice cream. Hold three legged races or bob for apples. Carve pumpkins or build scarecrows. Build community and celebrate Halloween in a safe, supervised environment. 

Start new traditions. Other holidays throughout the year include annual activities. Surprise your children with a non-traditional Halloween activity. Decorate and hide hard-boiled eggs. Plant chocolate coins all over the yard or throughout the house. Assemble a gingerbread house. Make a piñata. Incorporate seasonal activities to fight boredom and add excitement to this fall holiday. 

Learn a few tricks. Your children can entertain each other and the neighbors with a few easy magic tricks or sports stunts. Borrow a magic book from the library to learn card tricks or magic stunts. Learn jump rope or basketball dribbling tricks. Practice gymnastic, dance, or cheering stunt routines. Learn origami. Dazzle your friends and neighbors with true Halloween tricks.

Give treats. When you walk through the neighborhood as a family, no one stays at your house to hand out treats to Halloween guests. Bring the treats with you to hand deliver as you visit neighbors and pass costumed celebrants. Send extra candy to soldiers serving overseas or to a local shelter. This gesture encourages conversations, allows you to meet your neighbors, and teaches your children to share. 

Perform in a play. Write a unique play based on your costumes or reenact a favorite fairy tale. Each person in your family performs a trick, stunt, or speaking part. Build props or use items from your home. Invite neighbors, friends, and family members to watch your family theater or join is a trees or animals. Create a unique name for your theater troupe, and schedule encore performances throughout the year. 

Participate in a pet parade. Invite the neighborhood children to dress their pets in a costume and participate in a parade through your development. Ask guest judges to award prizes in several categories including most original costume, look-alike pet and owner, and most colorful costume. March your parade to a local nursing home and treat the residents and staff to an enjoyable visit. 

Scavenger hunts add adventure to the trick or treat experience. Supply disposable cameras and a list of 10 items to photograph such as a yellow pumpkin, a black cat, or a red door. Children can perform this hunt during the days leading up to Halloween as practice for trick or treat night. Suggestions for a Halloween night scavenger hunt include a yellow candy wrapper, a penny, and a piece of gum. 

Carve pumpkins. For a few dollars, you can purchase small pumpkins or gourds. Children draw a face on the pumpkin, and adults cut out the design. Instead of carving, use items from your craft box to dress up the pumpkin. Create a mask or silly face. Design a hat and color a body. Decorate your home’s steps or walkway with your colorful creations.

Treat the neighbors to a clean yard. Rake leaves and pick up sticks from the neighbor’s yard. Choose a neighbor that would appreciate the intrusion and the help. Disguise yourselves if possible or rake while they are away from home. Children learn the importance of community service and random acts of kindness while exercising together as a family. 

Dressing up in costume and walking through the neighborhood every Halloween provides your children with a fun, annual trick or treat tradition. Add new twists to make this year’s celebration more memorable and more affordable. Celebrate Halloween on a budget with family friendly activities, costumes, and treats. Make memories and build relationships in your family and community all season.