How to have a (not so) scary Halloween at home with kids

+ Halloween Movies for All Ages

I love Halloween. For kids, it’s an opportunity to stay up past their regular bedtime and eat tons of treats. For adults, it’s a chance to confront our worst fears by dressing up and getting sheet-faced. Every year on Babes About Town, my Halloween in London guide gets bigger and bigger. But 2020 is a special case. Is it safe to go trick or treating? Do you want to open your doors to germ-ridden strangers? Anyway, who needs costumes when we’ve spent half the year in masks?

If you’re still keen to go out, you’ll find ideas for Halloween with kids around town in my Half Term guide. But if you’re staying in, here are wicked ways to celebrate Halloween at home with kids.

How to have a (not so) scary Halloween at home with kids

Make a monster mash, severed fingers and other revolting recipes

Hide pickled onion ‘eyeballs’ in a pot of giant (monster) mash. Or get your hands on these BAHD boys, bloody fingers (hotdogs and ketchup) from Big Apple Hot Dogs shop. 

Drink a (virgin) Bloody Mary and other creepy cocktails

Put a menacing twist on your martini with some Halloween cocktails or mocktails for the younger ones. Find more kid-friendly Halloween recipes on BBC Good Food.

DIY some horrifying crafts and decorations

It’s time to get (witch)crafty. My friend Nomita at Your DIY Family always has such cute Halloween decorations and craft ideas.

Pimp your pumpkins

I’m loving the latest pumpkin trends, like this clever Zoom pumpkin (could we get any more 2020?). Why not haunt Pinterest for more inspiration?

Perfect your Dia de Los Muertos face painting

The Day of the Dead comes just days after Halloween (November 2) and there’s no better excuse to paint your face. Head straight to YouTube for tips and tutorials. Or pick up a Day of the Dead face mask on Etsy.

Dress up for a frightening photo session

Just because you’re not going out doesn’t mean you can’t get in costume. Put on your baddest threads and pose with the crew, Addams Family style.

Watch a (fairly) scary movie

Our big plan this year is to watch something a little bit creepy. Check out my Halloween movie suggestions below for kids of all ages.

Or a Halloween themed TV show

If you can’t stomach an entire movie, tune in for Halloween episodes of shows like Blackish or The Middle. Maybe a whole series like Trollhunters or The Worst Witch or (for older kids) Stranger Things. For Snapchat users, Netflix is doing an interactive Halloween event called #NetflixHauntsYourHouse.

Listen to ghost stories

Plug in on Audible, listen to a podcast or read your own aloud by torchlight.

Create your own Halloween playlist

Add dance floor classics like Thriller or Ghostbusters and have a monster boogie with your critters. 

Put a Halloween spin on party games 

How about an Unlucky Dip, Pass the Bloody Parcel or Pin the Leg on the Zombie? 

Play a deadly board game

It could be a good night for Cluedo, Murder Mystery or an Escape Room board game. For little ones, try Hungry Hippos.

Have a Macabre Midnight Feast

Wake the kids up for midnight munchies… or better yet, stay up alone scoffing all their trick or treat sweeties.

Happy Halloween!

Movies to Watch with Your Kids on Halloween

Halloween Movie Picks for Younger Kids

Harry Potter (7+)

Hotel Transylvania (7+)

Casper (7+)

Monsters Inc (5+)

Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (5+)

The Secret of Nimh (4+)

Kirikou and the Sorceress (3+)

Room on the Broom (3+)

Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie (3+)

The Witches (9+)

Kiki’s Delivery Service (5+)

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (7+)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (7+)

Halloween Movie Picks for Tweens

Coco (9+)

Frankenweenie (9+)

Coraline (9+)

Labyrinth (8+)

The Addams Family (9+)

The Dark Crystal (9+)

Beetlejuice (10+)

Practical Magic (8+)

Hocus Pocus (10+)

Paranorman (9+)

Ghostbusters (10+)

Monster House (10+)

Goosebumps (9+)

The Spiderwick Chronicles (10+)

Vampires vs the Bronx (10+, pictured above)

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (11+)

The House with a Clock in its Walls (11+)

Halloween Movie Picks for Teens

Edward Scissorhands (12+)

Little Shop of Horrors (12+)

The Goonies (12+)

Watcher in the Woods (13+)

Gremlins (13+)

Twilight (13+)

Jurassic Park (13+)

Young Frankenstein (13+)

Attack the Block (13+)

Get Out (15+)

The Lost Boys (15+)

The Craft (15+)

Vampire in Brooklyn (15+)

The Sixth Sense (15+)

Scream (15+)

I Know What You Did Last Summer (15+)

A Quiet Place (15+)