This year I need a little more Halloween fun than usual. I started converting some of our Christmas traditions into Halloween ones. Unfortunately, my husband won’t let me put up our “Halloween Tree,” He says that’s not a thing, but I have some new seasonal traditions for our family. Here are Ideas for Halloween this year.
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Decorate with Dollar Tree
Typically, I put a pumpkin on the porch and call it good. Christmas is where the real decorating happens. This year I let my 12-year-old son decorate our yard for Halloween. He had tons of ideas for Halloween fun! We took a trip to Dollar Tree and let him pick out some decorations. It cost under $10, and he did a fantastic job.
Spider webs, a gravestone, lights, eyeballs, and some spooky ghouls are all it took to make our house look festive. Surprisingly, my son even got creative with some of his own stuff. While it was not decorated how I would have done it, he was so proud of his work and had a blast. I wish I would have let him do it years ago.
Create a Ghost
To create this ghost, you will need a basketball, tomato cage, white duck tape, a twin fitted sheet, and black card stock for this ghost. It was invented by a 12-year-old, and I think it is pretty darn brilliant! He will demonstrate it to you in the photos.
Begin with an upside-down tomato cage and duct tape a basketball to it. Then take a white fitted sheet and lie it over the top. Finally, cut two eyes out of card stock and tape them on with duct tape.
I think this is my favorite decoration of the year. He suggests that you use rocks to help hold the sheet down. Unfortunately, our tomato cage has been through a lot over the years, so it needs extra support.
Spooky Food Ideas For Halloween
Decorate Sugar Cookies
We typically decorate sugar cookies as a Christmas tradition. Even so, we turned them into Halloween cookies this year…. because we are THAT CRAZY! And, I’ll give you a pro tip, candy eyeballs are the key! You can read about it here.
Spider Blossom Cookies
I transformed one of my favorite Christmas cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, into silly Halloween spiders. You can read about how I did it here. It was a great activity with the family… and delicious as well. This year, we needed a bit of nostalgia, and these cookies sure did the trick! They were just different enough to transform an old idea into a fun new Halloween tradition.
A Simple Idea for Halloween- Apple Monster Mouths
Apples and peanut butter are a staple in our house. We eat them every day. Transforming them into a spooky snack was a no-brainer! Honeycrisp apples are preferred for this Halloween snack because they are the best apple ever to have been called an apple. I love them so much that I planted a tree. This year was the first year we were able to eat off the land… It was so worth the wait! You can use any kind of apple that you have on hand.
Cut an apple into fourths for this snack, then cut off the core.
Then, cut a slice out of the back to be filled with either peanut butter, Nutella, or caramel.
Using a pastry bag makes filling them less messy. Cut off the tip of a disposable one and put the filling in it. You can also use a ziplock bag and cut off a corner. I have a ton of pastry bags, and love them! Put the pastry bag into a glass and fold the bag over the cup’s top to fill it quickly. It keeps it from smearing all over the top of the bag. Then squirt it into the mouth of the apple. Easy peasy!
I broke the tip off several candy corns and stuck them in the Nutella to look like teeth. The 3 different flavors, along with the texture of the candy corn, were delicious and a great idea for making Halloween more fun.
A Non-Spooky Idea for Halloween- Candy Corn Beverage
(It might not be spooky, but you have to admit, it is a pretty rad idea for Halloween fun)
First, pour orange juice into a glass. Next, pour in a bit of grenadine. Allow it to fall to the bottom, and do not stir. Top with whipped cream and sprinkles. My kids were very impressed with my creation, which was the simplest thing to make. It takes absolutely no work or skill. That is my kind of treat and an easy idea for Halloween!
I believe the “adult version” of this is a Tequila Sunrise with some whipped cream. Not sure how the whipped cream would taste with the tequila, but hey… if it looks festive, I might just try it.
Easy Jack-o-lantern build your own pizzas
These easy pizzas are a weeknight staple in our house because they are simple and quick when I don’t have time to cook. We made them more festive by cutting a bit off the top to shape them like pumpkins and decorating them with toppings. This is a perfect pre-trick-or-Treat meal. If you prefer to make your dough, this easy pizza dough recipe from JoyFoodSunshine is my favorite recipe.
When I’m in a rush, which is pretty much all the time, I use this Greek Pita Flat Bread as our crust. The kids love it; it is the perfect size for mini pizzas. You can also purchase individual Boboli Crusts, but we prefer the flatbread.
Begin by cutting triangles out of the top to shape it like a pumpkin. When we added the pizza sauce (from a jar), it looked like a human heart… very Halloweeny.
Top the pumpkin crust with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, peppers, onion, olives, and pineapple (yes, I know there is some debate about putting pineapple on pizza, but I’m not going to argue. In this scenario, I say… You do you!) We sprinkled a cheddar cheese blend on top to give it a more orange look for the pumpkin. Call me a purist, but I prefer the taste of straight-up mozzarella.
If you use the flatbread, cook them at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is a little crispy. When using the Boboli or the homemade dough, follow the cooking time for each one according to the recipe or box. I like to serve pizzas with a green salad from a bag. Yep… “working mom” life is much different. I’m all about convenience these days.
Dress up as a Family
We have dressed up as a family for the past ten years. I used to hate Halloween, but then we moved to Utah. Halloween is as big as Christmas in these parts, and we learned that it is a great time to have fun in our community. Read about what we have done in the past and how we created the costumes by clicking <<here>>.
A Non-Food Idea for Halloween- Photo Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is another idea for Halloween! This year, we are getting together with a group of friends to compete in a photo scavenger hunt. Everyone will start and end at the same location. We hand out this list right at the start, and everyone will have one hour to find as many of the things on the list and send us a picture of each one. Be sure to have a prize for the winner. (Our prizes are usually made out of a plunger) The family with the most pictures wins. You can download a copy of the list <<here. >>
These are my ideas for Halloween fun this year. I hope you find them to be helpful. Leave me a comment and share your Halloween traditions. I’m always looking for new ideas!
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25 Comments
These are all so great! I usually hang out with my nephew on Halloween and this year its definitely different 🙁 I’ll suggest these fun ideas to his mom! Great post xo
Thanks, Lynn. I know… there are so many things that are different this year. Most of my life revolves around food these days. lol. Have a lovely Halloween.
Such creative ideas! Eli did a great job decorating!
Great ideas for the whole family to do, great post, thank you.
Thanks, Giangi!
This is a great list with super fun treats for Halloween. I’m thinking of trying the jack-o-lantern pizza so my toddlers can participate!
Yes! The pizzas are perfect for toddlers! Let me know how it goes 🙂
These are super fun ideas! That ghost in the front yard is spooky adorable and such a good idea!
Thanks, Sarah! I think it is the cutest!
Love this post, especially honeycrisp apples and the scavenger hunt! I used to be able to find these GIANT honey crisp apples at Lee’s and they were aaaamazing! I’m sure these apples would be delightful covered in a nut butter too!!
Loren ate all the peanut butter the other day, and my almond butter was too runny… I HAD to use Nutella. Holy smokes, it was delicious! Much sweeter than I’m used to, but so good!
I loved those ideas, thank you so much for this.
Love all of these ideas! thanks!
You’re all so creative! The ghost was my favorite! XO
Such a creative idea with the ghost! Good work to your son! And I love the pizza idea! Will have to try that for dinner tomorrow night! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Katherine. The pizza is our favorite.
These are great ideas for Halloween. Thank you for sharing these ideas!
All of the baking options look amazing but I love the apple mouths, so cute! It’s great that you were able to find so many fun ways to celebrate x
Sophie
I absolutely LOVE that ghost, your son did an amazing job! And the apple mouths look yummy too, apple and peanut butter is a match made in heaven 🙂
Thanks, Lisa. Apples and peanut butter are a staple in our house. When we run out… we don’t know what to snack on :).
Fantastic- and not just to do with kids. Halloween for adults too!
Love these fun ideas for Halloween. I will add them to my ideas for this year,
These ideas are so much fun! I love the cookie that is all eyes!
Eyeballs are my secret to making every food more fun! lol
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