When the calendar turns October 1st, I unpack our many bins of Halloween decorations into our dinning room. They await the kids return home from school so we can start decorating! As the kids have gotten older, I do let them take more leadership on where they want things to go. They love having more say in how it all goes up. At the end of every Halloween season, I find some good deals on clearance items, so it is alway fun to find those new items in the bins for their first Halloween with us!
Tradition #1 – Decorate/ Dressing Up
We also decorate the mantel and up the stairs. The main decorating is always the front door, walkway and trees full of ghosts! We added orange lights a few years back to go over our bushes. My favorite is our black cats in our windows! We also love to dress up as a family!
Tradition #2 – Go to a Pumpkin Patch
This picture is here to show you that I do not always make it to a pumpkin patch. haha Some years we barely make it and go to the Home Depot parking lot. The kids still had the same amount of fun picking out pumpkins with a smaller crowd! 😉 On good years, we have started going to a corn maze that has turned out to be a family favorite!
Tradition #3 – Carve Pumpkins
No matter what we always make time to carve the pumpkins! Sometimes they are the day before but that still counts! Mom and dad also partake in this tradition! When the kids were young, I had them draw on their pumpkin and I cut it out. Now they are older and can carve it themselves with just a little guidance. It is fun to see how creative they can be.
Tradition #4 – Day before the Spider Webs go up!
Spiderwebs are my favorite but they can also make me very frustrated at the same time. haha You have to have time and be patient to get them to stretch out just right. We do a TON the day before, so we do not have bad weather mess them up. The kids now help me and enjoy working as a team to stretch them. The webs come down the next morning after Halloween. If you leave them too long, they are harder to get off.
Tradition #5 – Stuff the Scarecrow (Est. 2009)
This is a tradition that actually started when I was a kid growing up in Texas. My dad would have all my friends come over and we would stuff it together. It took me awhile to start this tradition with the kids but now that they are older they look forward to our scarecrow guard at the front door. We just have to keep an eye on his head because it rolls off sometimes. 😉 I got the plaid shirt, hat and jeans at a local thrift store for $5 bucks!!
Tradition #6 – Spooky Halloween Food (Est. 2010)
I love making food that goes with the holiday! I try to make every meal for Halloween themed orange or spooky! Check out my Spooky Halloween Food blog post to see the other recipes I make to really bring out the Halloween spirit! Some of these foods are great for bringing to parties too!
Tradition #7 – Halloween Party with Friends
This is a tradition that only happened 3 times but I would love to keep it alive while the kids are still young. I wanted to share a few games I created because they were a big hit and might give you some inspiration to make your own for your party this year. 🙂
1) Pin the Tail on the Cat. I drew the cat and tails out then laminated them.
2) Feed the Monsters toss game. My husband cut out holes in a board, then I painted it gray and drew the monster heads. Laminating these is a must to keep for years to come!
3) Halloween scavenger hunt. I created this with what I had in my house that was Halloween.
4) Halloween Boo Bingo! I used a blank template and then added stickers and stamps to fill it in to make multiple different sheets. We then used little bugs for our markers to track our BOO! Simple but the kids loved it!
Tradition #8 – You’ve Been BOO-ed
This is one we do not always get to doing because we forget or run out of time, but when we do get around to it, it is always a lot of fun to execute! 🙂 Check out what we put in our SPOOKY bags HERE. 🙂
Tradition #9 – Bonfire Trick or Treat Hangout (Est. 2015)
We got this idea when we moved into a new neighborhood in 2014. As we walked around all the neighbors were out around bonfires with tables of candy. It was a great way to socialize as your handed out your candy to the kids. We started our own bonfire hangout the following year and have brought the tradition with us to our new neighborhood!
Tradition #10 Backyard Halloween Games (NEW 2019)
No pictures yet because this is in the works! My oldest daughter, age 12, decided to join forces with her two best friends to create a backyard event full of games, treats and prizes for the neighborhood kids! In Virginia, once a child turns 12 they cannot trick or treat anymore. My daughter wanted to create something to still partake in the Halloween fun with the younger kids. As the idea has grown, they are now asking for a $1 donation that will go towards a local animal rescue (no kill shelter). Each girl put $10.00 of their own money to purchase the games and prizes. It is a great community service project for them to raise awareness for this local animal shelter and also provide a fun event for the neighborhood kids! I cannot wait to share pictures on how it went and continue this tradition for years to come!
BONUS – Same Halloween Outfit for all 3 Kids! (Est. 2014)
I am so happy I kept the cow costume, because now I have a picture of all my kids wearing it for their second Halloween around age 1. Priceless!
Share below any ideas you use or build off of! Have a safe and spooky Halloween!!
To stressing less and playing more,
Melissa 🙂
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