10 Ways to Make Your House a Hit for Halloween
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Fun Halloween Activities for Trick-or-Treaters
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If you love Halloween and want to make your home a destination for trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood, think beyond full-size candy bars. Activities, decorations, and special treats can make the holiday even more fun for the whole neighborhood. You can use the following Halloween trick-or-treat ideas for your home or for your neighborhood’s block party to create a truly special experience for every ghoul, goblin, witch, princess, and superhero who comes to your door.
Halloween Temporary Tattoo Station
Kids love temporary tattoos, and creating a Halloween temporary tattoo station in your front yard can be a great way to give them some extra fun while they search for sweet treats. For this activity, simply set up a card table and add a festive Halloween tablecloth. Next, put out a bowl of temporary tattoos and a tub of baby wipes. The wipes are great for tattoo application, with each child getting a fresh, clean wipe to use when they put their tattoos on. Be sure to have a small trash bin next to the table for the used wipes and paper backings for the tattoos. You may also want to make sure a family member is available to help kids who need it, though parents of trick-or-treaters will likely be the ones assisting small children.
Photo Booth Fun for Trick-or-Treaters
Use your garage door as a backdrop for a Halloween photo booth. You can purchase a large Halloween-themed backdrop like those you would use at a party to hang on the door. Add balloons to make the scene even more festive or simply add a Halloween inflatable to complete the look. Large hay bales can be used for seating so kids can pose with each other or with their whole families. If you don’t have a garage door, consider a balloon arch and a few Halloween yard decorations to create a photo booth in front of your home.
Trick-or-Treat Graveyard
This idea comes from the first Halloween of the pandemic, but people in my neighborhood still do it because it delights trick-or-treaters. Tape treats or treat bags to bamboo cocktail skewers or kebab skewers (depending on the size of your treats) and stake them into the ground throughout your yard. Add cute Halloween-themed tombstones in the yard too for a spooky scene. You can even take the décor a step further with solar Halloween lights to illuminate the yard. This also makes treats easier to find at dusk and after dark. If you don’t want to use kebab skewers, you can always use suckers, which can stake into the ground on their own. You can even decorate the suckers with coffee filters to create ghost lollipops for even more fun.
Halloween Bucket Game
Instead of just handing out treats, make trick-or-treating an adventure with the Halloween bucket game. All you’ll need are fun Halloween buckets, some ping-pong balls, and treats to correspond with each bucket. The smallest treats should be in the first bucket, and the treats should gradually go up in size until the last one. Give each trick-or-treater a ping-pong ball to toss with the goal of getting whichever treat is in the bucket their ball lands in. You can give them multiple tries if they aren’t able to get the ball in any bucket, but of course, give out a treat no matter what. You can also challenge kids to make a ball into each bucket to “earn” all the different types of treats you have available.
Halloween Balloon Artist
If you have some extra money in your Halloween budget, hiring a Halloween balloon artist can be a great way to entertain trick-or-treaters. The balloons can be given out in addition to candy or as a replacement for it. Work with a local balloon artist to come up with 2 or three designs for kids to pick from, as this will keep things moving and prevent a lot of unusual requests. Balloon artists are also great for Halloween block parties as an additional activity. Of course, if you’re crafty and have the extra time, you can create the balloon designs yourself. There are lots of balloon animal kits available that come with instructions, making it easy to create simple designs your trick-or-treaters will love.
Halloween Gourd Decorating Station
Having kids decorate a whole pumpkin in your yard might be too big of a project to undertake, but you can set up a gourd decorating station for a bit of Halloween fun. Mini gourds from the grocery store or your local farm stand come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from those that look like mini pumpkins to some that have a much spookier look. You can have paints on hand for this project, but pumpkin decorating stickers are much easier to set up and don’t leave a mess. Simply place the stickers and the gourds on a card table with a sign and invite visitors to create their own Halloween decoration.
Halloween Scavenger Hunt
You can turn trick-or-treating into an adventure by creating a Halloween scavenger hunt in your yard. Print out scavenger hunt lists with 3-5 easy clues that point toward decorations in your yard. Once kids find all the items on the list, they can bring them back to you for a special treat. If you don’t want to create your own scavenger hunt lists, you can purchase scavenger hunt kits, which take the guesswork out of setting up this activity. For prizes, you can have separate treat bags for scavenger hunting and a bowl of candy for kids who prefer not to participate. If you have neighbors who want in on the fun, you can work together to create a scavenger hunt that covers all your yards for even more fun.
Parent Refreshment Station
This idea isn’t so much for the kids, but it is a great way to give parents a little treat too. Your parent refreshment station can really be anything you want, from carafes of hot cocoa and coffee to bottles of water and bags of chips. You can even set up some chairs so parents can have a moment to rest while kids are participating in any of the above activities you have planned. This is a great way to meet more people from the neighborhood and even build friendships, particularly if you’re new to the area. Set up a table with treats or roll out a tiered kitchen cart with refreshments of all sorts that cater more toward grownup tastes.
Halloween Mini Golf
Halloween mini golf games do double duty on October 31. The game set itself also serves to decorate your lawn, so you don’t have to worry about extra yard décor. Kids can have some fun trying to get a hole in one while parents have some extra time to grab a snack at your parent refreshment station. Extra special treats can be set aside for kids who get a whole-in-one, but everyone should get some candy no matter if they play or not. Halloween mini golf sets are also reusable, so you can set up this activity every year.
Glow Stick Giveaway
A glow stick giveaway isn’t an activity, but it is a way to give kids some extra fun while also helping them stay safe while they trick or treat. Glow sticks help little ones stay visible after dark, which is important considering so many Halloween costumes come in dark colors. Put out a bucket or basket of glow sticks on your porch so trick-or-treaters can grab one for their evening adventures. Simple glow sticks, which can be made into bracelets, are surprisingly affordable to buy in bulk. You can get a 144-count pack for around $20 or less. Other styles of glow sticks are also widely available. If you’re making treat bags for kids, consider placing small glow sticks in each bag in addition to their candies and other goodies.
There are lots of ways to make your house the hit of the neighborhood for Halloween, whether you’re creating unique treat bags or setting up activities for kids. Talk to your neighbors to see if you can create a block full of fun for trick-or-treaters. With a handful of fun events, kids can have the best time and parents can feel comfortable taking their little ones throughout the neighborhood on Halloween.
