40 Awesome Halloween Bucket List Ideas to Do With Your Kids

Halloween is finally here! Check out this Halloween Bucket List for kids to see how you can make the most of this season as a family!

Halloween is such a fun time of year. There are so many great ways to connect with your kids, and this Halloween Bucket List is full of great activities for kids of all ages.

At Jen Bradley|MOMs we’re all about celebrating every season of the year in simple ways that can have a big impact and help you make awesome memories with your kids.

The importance of family time

Spending time together as a family is linked to at least 10 major benefits for your kids, including:

increased confidence
better conflict resolution skills
increased happiness
lower chances of negative behaviors, such as drug abuse and violence
improved academic performance
stronger family bonds

So keep on reading to get your hands on our Halloween Bucket List. You’ll find tons of ideas to help you spend some great family time together this Halloween!

{{Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that I may make a small commission if you click through or purchase at no cost to you. For more information, click here.}}

40 Great Ideas for Your Halloween Bucket List

Keep reading to check out our 40 great ideas on our Halloween Bucket List for Kids!

1.Carve pumpkins

Of course, this traditional Halloween activity will be at the top of the list.

After all, what is Halloween without pulling all the goo and guts out of a pumpkin as your kids squeal in the background?!

2. Celebrate October National Days

There are some really fun October National Days to get your family feeling the Halloween spirit!

October 1 – Naitonal Pumpkin Spice Day
October 5- National Pumpkin Seed Day
October 28 – National Frankenstein Friday
October 29 – National Trick-or-Treat Day
October 30 – National Candy Corn Day

3. Read Halloween picture books

Our favorite Halloween picture book of all time is Room on the Broom.

Be sure to use a cackly witch voice when you read it!

4. Make homemade caramel apple dip

Yum! This recipe right here from Lil Luna takes 10 minutes and is super easy!

5. Visit a haunted house

The fright level of the haunted house and the maturity of your kids are definitely worth thinking about before going to a haunted house as a family. But if that is your jam, now is the time to go!

6. Make popcorn balls

This easy recipe from I Heart Eating has a cute Halloween version in the “Tips” section!

7. Paint pumpkins

Maybe carving pumpkins isn’t really your thing. That’s perfectly fine!

There are tons of great ideas for painting them instead!

8. Make homemade pumpkin muffins

Adding chocolate chips to these incredible pumpkin muffins from 100 Days of Real Food is a must!

9. Host a costume party

Invite your neighbors and friends over for a pre-Halloween costume party.

10. Have a Halloween movie night

Are you a Bewitched, Addams Family, or Charmed type of family?

11. Chili cook-off

Let your kids help you whip up your favorite chili recipe together and enter it in a chili cook-off.

Or make two different types of chili and have your family vote on their favorite in an at-home chili cook-off showdown!

12. Dress up your pet

If you have a family pet, spend some time as a family coming up with a great pet costume!

13. Roast pumpkin seeds

Whether you scoop them out of the pumpkin yourself is entirely up to you!

14. Eat candy apples

Visit your local bakery or confectionary and enjoy some lovely candy apples together!

15. Bob for apples

To keep germ-sharing at a minimum, switch up this old-fashioned game by giving everyone their own container filled with water and a few apples.

Then race to see who can get all of their apples out of their bin the fastest!

16. Go on a hayride

Hayrides are a great way to get out and enjoy a crisp October evening.

(If it’s a haunted hayride, make sure you know if the fright level is appropriate for your kids!)

17. Drink apple cider

Warm up some apple cider and curl up on the outdoor furniture for a cozy evening as a family.

18. Visit a corn maze

Check your local farms to see if any of them have a corn maze.

This is a great way to spend a fun Saturday afternoon in October!

19. Try a new soup recipe

Are you a creamy soup or brothy soup person? Either way, try to add a new soup recipe to your repertoire this fall!

20. Tell Halloween jokes

We’ve got a great list of 99 Halloween riddles and jokes right here that’ll make your kids LOL!

Try sharing a few around the dinner table or on your next car ride.

21. Go apple picking

The quintessential fall activity. Head to the nearest orchard and let your kids pick apples to their heart’s content!

22. Have a Halloween game night

Play games like One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Cauldron Quest, and Hocus Pocus.

23. Have a firepit/bonfire night

Light up the fire pit and roast some yummy s’mores with your kids.

Then sit around the firepit together and tell funny or spooky stories – it’s up to you!

24. Halloween scavenger hunts

Use our cute, free set of printable Halloween scavenger hunts to spend a fun afternoon with your kids and their friends!

25. Attend a trunk or treat

Similar to trick-or-treat, trunk-or-treat is a chance for your kids to walk around a parking lot, collecting candy from parked cars. It’s an especially great activity for younger kids!

26. Go trick-or-treating in your neighborhood

Pull on those costumes, grab a candy bag or a pillowcase, and walk around your neighborhood with your kids and a flashlight.

It’s a good idea to check your community website or message board to find out the official trick-or-treating day and hours where you live.

27. Start the Neighborhood Boo

The Neighborhood Boo is a simple and easy way to spread some friendly cheer throughout your community.

28. Halloween Minute to Win It Games

If you’re hosting ANY type of Halloween event, you’ll definitely want to check out our best ideas for Halloween Minute to Win It games right here!

They’re great for the whole family!

29. Decorate your yard/front porch

Maybe you enjoy the spooky giant spiders and open coffins, or maybe you’re more of a friendly ghost type of family.

Either way, let your kids help decorate for Halloween!

30. Plan matching family Halloween costumes

Maybe your family loves Harry Potter, Marvel characters, or The Wizard of Oz. If so, come up with costumes to represent each person’s favorite character.

Or choose a broad theme, such as zoo animals, food, or the 1980s!

31. Count your Halloween candy

After all the Halloween candy has been received, let your kids dump their haul on the kitchen table for inspection and counting!

32. Visit a pumpkin patch

Even if you’ve already been to the pumpkin patch this year, head on back to see if there are new Halloween decorations or activities!

Grab your camera and get ready to capture some adorable photos of your kids, too!

33. Make a Halloween playlist

“Thriller,” “Monster Mash,” and “I Want Candy” are basically prerequisites.

34. Invite the Switch Witch

The Switch Witch is a lot like the Tooth Fairy, as she brings a gift in exchange for Halloween candy.

We love her at our house!

35. DIY Halloween decor

Maybe you enjoy the spooky giant spiders and open coffins, or maybe you’re more of a friendly ghost type of family.

Either way, let your kids help decorate for Halloween!

36. Halloween puzzle

This bright and fun 550-piece Halloween puzzle would be great for the whole family!

37. Make a Halloween cookie house

Yep, Halloween cookie houses are now a thing.

Check out this cute Halloween cookie house kit right here!

38. Decorate Halloween sugar cookies

If you’re not already sugared out or Halloween cookie houses aren’t your thing, why not spend a Sunday afternoon decorating Halloween sugar cookies with your kids?

This adorable DIY Martial Arts Mummy cookie set is not only hilarious, but it’s also super affordable too.

39. Play Halloween Pictionary or charades

How well do you think your family members could draw a mummy, a haunted house, or a skeleton?

Give them a test by playing a few rounds of Halloween Pictionary.

For extra fun, blindfold the artist!

40. Attend a Halloween festival or city-wide event

Find out if your town or city is hosting a Halloween-themed 5K Fun Run, a fall festival, or anything along those lines. Even if it’s a small event, take your kids and give some support to your community!

Your local Chamber of Commerce website is a great place to look.

Free Printable Halloween Bucket List for Kids

With 40 awesome ideas on the list, you can easily choose the Halloween activities that are the best fit for your kids’ ages and interests!

To download and print your copy of our Halloween Bucket List, simply click on this link right here or on the image below!

You’ll find two different versions available to you. One is brightly colored and festive and the other is grayscale if you need a more printer-friendly copy.

What is a Bucket List?

First, the term “Bucket List” refers to making a list of things that someone has not done but wants to do during their lifetime.

Thanks to the 2007 movie called Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, the term “bucket list” has become more popular in recent years.

This Halloween Bucket List for Kids here on Jen Bradley|MOMs are a bit more light-hearted than a typical adult’s lifetime Bucket List.

Instead, you’ll find tons of great ideas for family Halloween activities that can help your kids feel excited about the season ahead.

Why Kids Love Bucket Lists

Kids love bucket lists for several reasons:

They have something to look forward to as the seasons begin to change
Kids look forward to the personal interaction with you
Having a list can help kids understand and learn the traditions of the season
They help kids understand the importance of planning
They create lots of fun family memories!

Final thoughts about this Halloween Bucket List for kids

As with all things here at Jen Bradley|MOMs, we are here to help you find meaningful ways to connect with your kids WITHOUT adding a ton of extra work to your already-super-busy life!

We hope you and your kids will enjoy these ideas on the Halloween Bucket List for Kids. If you haven’t had a chance to download it yet, you can do so by joining our Free Printable Library using this link right here.

Which Halloween Bucket List activities are you excited to do with your kids this Halloween?

New in the FREE Printables Library

Are you hosting a Christmas event this year?

You NEED this awesome 45+ page Ultimate Christmas Printable Pack for kids! Grab this pack full of fun, printable Christmas games for kids of all ages, and you’ll save yourself TONS of valuable time!