9 ways to make Halloween special for little ones

Sweet treats are one of the best parts of Halloween. But instead of heading to the supermarket and picking up what’s on offer, you and your tot could make some treats together. Encourage them to use their imagination to think of some fun things to bake; you could try skeleton-shaped cookies, some spooky ghost cupcakes or tasty pumpkin pies – the possibilities are endless!

Children love to get dressed up, and Halloween is the perfect occasion. Of course, you don’t have to dress up as something big and scary to get into the Halloween spirit – try a well-loved book character such as Peppa Pig or Hey Duggee with the fun, step-by-step tutorials linked here. You could then all have a Halloween parade around the living room or host a ‘best costume’ competition to amp up the excitement (though it might be wise to make everyone a winner to avoid any tears or arguments).

What could be more fun for kids than turning your own home into a haunted house? Put them in charge of making and choosing where to put all the decorations – they can have a go at making these spooky spiders. Kids will love getting involved and will squeal with delight (or should that be with fright?) when they see the finished result.

Get ready to dig out your carving tools. Little boils and ghouls will find pumpkin carving frightfully fun, and it’s an activity you can still enjoy in lockdown. If you want to be creative and avoid the standard triangle eyes and zig-zag grin, there are lots of inspirational stencils you can find online. As a safe alternative for the really little ones, have a go at painting your pumpkins instead.

Halloween is the perfect time to settle down, get cosy and read some books together, especially as it’s beginning to get darker and colder. To make it extra special, find a comfy spot or set up your own reading nook, grab some yummy treats and a warm drink, and of course, some spooktacular books. These not-too-scary tales will get children into the spirit.

This sensory game will definitely make your little monster squeal. Put different textured foods into a bowl or box, blindfold your child and then ask them to tell you what they can feel. Children will have lots of fun trying to guess, and you can reward correct answers with a sweet or two. As for the fillings in these mystery boxes, leftover pumpkin flesh, peeled grapes, dried pasta and gummy wriggly worms are just some of the gruesome things you could use.

If you don't plan on going trick-or-treating this year, why not create a thrilling treasure hunt for your little one? Draw up a map and leave clues (alongside some sweet treats) for them to find. For those with a garden, take the treasure hunt outside and conduct it by torchlight.

And last, but certainly not least, once all the Halloween activities are over for the day you can all gather together on the sofa and settle down for a film night. Some of our film recommendations that the whole family will enjoy include Casper (1995), The Little Vampire (2000), Hotel Transylvania (2012), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) and Monsters, Inc. (2001).

You can’t go wrong with some colouring and activity sheets. Aspiring little witches and wizards can try these Peppa Pig activity sheets – they can colour in Peppa’s spooky costume and then try to find their way through the sticky spider’s web. We have a whole selection of other activity sheets, too.