fall ideas

Fun Anti-Halloween Ideas for the Kids

Halloween is a fun time for many kids, but not every child is able to enjoy it in the traditional sense. Whether it’s religious beliefs that cause you to to be anti-Halloween and stray away from the occasion, or the scary image it represents, or maybe that you feel your kids are too young to go trick-or-treating. Either way, you don’t have to celebrate Halloween to have a good time with your kids!

The primary complaint about Halloween might be “but everyone else is doing it!” Show them that is not true by doing other fun things with them that many others kids are doing, too.

This doesn’t mean just sitting home while many other kids go out to get candy. There’s actually quite a few anti-halloween ideas for kids that will enable them to still enjoy themselves and not feel left out! It’s up to you to form new annual Halloween traditions to enjoy with your family outside of the usual dressing up and trick-or-treating.

How to Celebrate Without Celebrating

Here’s some anti-Halloween ideas for kids to enjoy:

Fall Festival: Enjoy a day or night of corn mazes, hay rides, campfires, and many festivities related to fall. Many festivals have petting zoos and huge pumpkin patches that you won’t want to miss!

Monsters Inc Movie/Game Night: You don’t need Halloween to enjoy Monsters Inc! Make it a movie theme night by watching the movie, of course, dressing up like your favorite characters, and playing themed games! Play 2319: You must clear the room of the socks all over the place without touching them with your hands, which means you can use kitchen utensils. They must be placed in a bin outside of the room ASAP!

Apple Picking: Spend the day at an apple orchard picking baskets of apples, then enjoy some homemade apple pie and cider!

Caramel Apples: Now that you’ve come home with a bunch of apples, why not make some scrumptious caramel apples! The perfect treat to celebrate fall, caramel apples are delicious and you can add nuts or anything you like! Chocolate chip bits and mini M&Ms are good examples!

Trunk-or-Treat: Many churches offer alternative Halloween ideas for kids, including trunk-or-treat which is where you trick-or-treat on church grounds from the trunks of cars. This is often followed by a church service and a festival put on by the good people of the church looking for alternative ideas just like you!

Church Lock-in: Your church might host a lock-in for the kids in the congregation on Halloween,

Hand out Candy with a Message: Spread the word of God while promoting the safety of trick-or-treaters on the streets. Hand out candy attached with messages like “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock…” Revelations 3:20, along with glow sticks bracelets or necklaces to trick-or-treaters and church pamphlets to parents or older kids.

Camping: If you don’t want to be bugged with people ringing your doorbell, get away for the day and night and go camping with the kids! Make s’mores, tell scary stories, and sing songs around the campfire!

Indoor Camping: If you don’t want to participate in festivities like trick-or-treating or handing out candy, it’s a good idea to keep your front lights off for the night to let others know not to stop at your door. Some people take it a step further by keeping the lights off throughout the entire house. Why not make your black-out more fun by setting up a tent or making a fort right there in the living room! Don’t forget the s’mores and hot chocolate!

Sleepover: Do your kids have friends who will also be skipping typical Halloween traditions? Why not invite them over for some a good ‘ol fashioned sleepover! Movies, games, and of course, lots of candy, will keep the kids entertained all night long!

Family Field Day: Planning a family field day is a great way to enjoy some time together in the great outdoors. Take your brood out back for some hula-hooping contests, three-legged races, and relay races.

Pumpkin Bake off: Spend the day baking treats! From pumpkin pies to cookies from scratch, you should have a lot of delicious goodies to eat while enjoying Monsters Inc later! Use this also to make gift baskets for any birthdays that may be coming up, or for your neighbors for no reason at all!

Pumpkin Seeds: Making a pumpkin pie? Well, don’t forget to bake the seeds! Pumpkin seeds are a healthy, tasty fall treat!

For anti-Halloween ideas for kids, you should be focused on finding ways to celebrate Autumn rather than finding ways to be anti-Halloween. It’s more positive to look at it this way and you are bound to come up with more fun ideas! Happy fall!

Spooky Family Halloween Party Ideas

Halloween is not only about trick or treating door-to-door; it’s a time to throw some of the best parties and family reunions imaginable!

If having a spooktacular party on Halloween makes your skin crawl, that’s the excitement talking!

Invitations

Unless this is a party just for children, do not settle for the cheesy invitations in stores that are covered with cute and cuddly creatures; shop online for the invitation that will have the family RSVPing faster than you can say Frankenstein!

There’s many websites out there, but my favorite to shop from is Etsy because you are typically supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs. These Halloween invitations on Etsy are the perfect mix of spooky and “you better be there or else…” The best part is that these and many others come in the form of a digital file, so you essentially pay one set price and can print as many as you want or need.

Decorations

As far as decorations go, this might be one of the most important types of parties to decorate for because the atmosphere can make or break any Halloween party! You want to really do it up, and it doesn’t have to hit the pocket too hard, either! Try these family Halloween party ideas to get the right effects:

Fog Machine: Fog machines are relatively inexpensive, but you get what you pay for. Your best bet is to rent one from an equipment rental place for cheap, or borrow one from a friend who might have one!
Dead man hanging: If you have access to a dummy or know how to make a durable dude using a mask and clothes, hang a guy from a noose in the corner. If you don’t have a way to accomplish this, hit Dollar Tree and pick up one of those hands attached to a sleeve and hang it out of the bathtub, spattering fake blood all over to make it look like a crime scene.
Zombie dolls: Big “my size” dolls are the best, but any dolls will do because dolls are just kinda creepy anyway, right? Well, for this project you will paint them to look like they are dead, or even zombies, dirty up their clothes, black out or white out their eyes, mess up their hair, make them look like they’ve gone through a really tough time. It’s up to you to decide where they will go.

Food

If you are looking for a few ghoulish goodies for your party, don’t lose focus of the notion that good food is important for every party. Here’s a few family Halloween party ideas that might as well walk off the plate:

Real finger food: Check out this pin on Pinterest, how clever to make hot dogs look just like fingers! I do believe they would be better suited in a bun at full length, but don’t forget to make them look like fingers!
Plate of worms: Not real worms, but jello worms! Follow this easy tutorial to make jello worms using bendy straws. Spike the jello with liquor to make it a fun adult snack, and don’t forget to place them on a plate full of crumbled oreo for dirt!
Hand in punch bowl: You must have some kind of punch for your party, so whatever you choose, don’t forget the hand! Fill a latex glove with water, not too full, just so the glove is filled without getting stretched. Tie it off and freeze it. Once frozen, remove the hand from the glove and plop it into the punch right before the party, it looks awesome throughout the night as it begins to melt!

Games

Adult Halloween parties don’t typically contain many games, but we’re talking about family parties, and games can make for a scary good time! Try these fun family Halloween party ideas!

Costume contest: You’re bound to see a bunch of good costumes, so be sure to have a costume contest! Make this announcement on the invitation so everyone wears their Halloween best!
Glow games: Kids love stuff that glows, so planning some fun and easy games and crafts using glow sticks, glow paints, and any other glow-in-the dark details!
Under wraps: Have a mummy-wrapping contest! You can use rolls of fabric, or toilet paper if you are on a tighter budget.

Favors

Usually party favors for a good Halloween party or reunion is a bunch of candy! It is Halloween, after all! Rather than using goodie bags, put the candy in something everyone can get some use out of such as mason jars. For the kids, give them something that will increase their visibility while trick-or-treating, such as finger lights or glow sticks!

15 Festive Fall Family Reunion Ideas

If you are not from the north (I.e. anywhere else but Florida) or have never traveled north during the fall, then chances are, you don’t know what a “real” fall is really all about! It’s never too late to explore this opportunity though, and what better way to do it than to have all of your family with you?

Classic Fall Family Activities

With this type of family reunion, we will leave the decorations up to you and just give you tips on things you can do for fun and some delicious eats! After all, fall basically decorates itself.

Corn mazes: Find a good one and get lost in it! Most farms up north who have fall festivities almost always have a good corn maze!
Hay rides: Whether you do a child-friendly hayride or take a haunted hayride, you’re in for a good time! Don’t forget your blue jeans and flannel shirts!
Haunted houses: When October rolls around, you can always bet that there will be a good haunted house somewhere! I’d check that house behind that black, wrought iron fence…
Trick-or-treating: If you’re planning your family reunion during Halloween, then there is no way you can let the kids miss trick-or-treating! Dress up and have fun with them!
Apple picking: Not only can you pick your own apples to fill that pie, but everyone can bring some fresh apples down with them and taste the major difference between that and the ones you find in the produce section.
Cider donuts: I’m talkin’ warm, melt-in-your-mouth, real cider donuts. You just have to.
Apple cider: Don’t forget that cup of warm apple cider to wash down those cider donuts. Is it fall yet?
Apple anything: Well, you’ll need a few recipes for apples, so here’s some ideas: Apple fritters, turnovers, baked apples, applesauce, apple juice, and of course, apple pie!
Pumpkin carving: Don’t forget to stop by a real pumpkin patch and pick your own pumpkins, then have a pumpkin carving contest! Don’t forget to bake those seeds!
Pumpkin anything: You know, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie….
Scarecrow-making contest: Use materials to make a real scarecrow, or make one come to life by dressing up family members instead! Then, go find some crows to put them to the test!
Hot air balloon ride: Okay, not exactly just a fall activity, but there is no better time to go up in the air and see so many colors from above! It’s a breathtaking experience.
Take a hike: Find a few good nature trails and go on a hike. Mountains are a great place to do this in the fall, and you’ll definitely need a camera.
Fun with leaves: During fall, what happens? Leaves fall! Don’t let them go to waste; it’s free entertainment for the kids. Rake them into huge piles and let them go at it.
Thanksgiving potluck: When you think of fall, your stomach probably growls knowing Thanksgiving is in the mix somewhere. Have a thanksgiving potluck and give thanks to family!

Doesn’t this make you want to have a fall family reunion? This might be just what your family needs for the reunion, to breathe the cool air and all of the beautiful scenes of fall.