The Ultimate Halloween Checklist
Halloween is a holiday full of candy, costumes, and fall activities. The leaves are turning, the air is crisp, and Pumpkin Spices flavoring fills the grocery store’s shelves.
However, what makes the season special is the many activities that the whole family can enjoy. So if you are looking for Spooktacular fun for the entire family this Halloween, one filled with lasting memories for years to come, then you are in luck.
We have the Ultimate Halloween Checklist below or you can print your own checklist and hang it on the fridge today!
Watch a Halloween Theme Movie
What is Halloween without a ‘scary’ movie? Nothing. If you are like me, scary movies are something that you prefer not to watch. After all, who wants to put murder in your children’s minds? This is a checklist for families!
So we have gathered a list of all the appropriate Halloween Theme Movies (for all ages) that you can watch for 30 days of October with your children. Just click here to download a printable version of the list.
A preview of this spectacular checklist includes some Halloween Classics such as Hocus Pocus, Hotel Transylvania, and the Halloweentown Sequel.
Halloween Movies are a great way to spend time with your children. The best part is you can have different theme movie nights.
For example, you can set up a tent in the living room to make it a fun indoor-themed camping experience. Letting the kids watch movies from their tents giving the feeling that they are camping out but indoors!
Another idea is to have a dessert bar theme night with small dishes filled with candy, popcorn, and chips. They can snack on their favorite foods while watching spooktacularly scary movies. Like the desert bar, you can also do an Ice Cream Sunday bar where they can top their Ice Cream Cones with some of their favorite treats.
Make Dinner with Pumpkin Ingredients
Make Halloween Shaped Cookies
Since Halloween is a holiday around dressing up as someone or something else and eating sugar, what better way to celebrate than by making Halloween Shaped Cookies?
The best part about this is that you can put as much or little effort into baking Halloween cookies. So if you love to cook, you can bake your favorite batch of cookies from scratch. If you are on the other side where you are not a fan of baking, you can get the store-bought cookies and pop them in the oven.
However, making the cookies from scratch will allow you to shape them quickly into the different Halloween molds needed to decorate them.
The best part of making cookies (in my opinion) is decorating them. Use the icing and toppings to decorate your cooking with whatever the imagination holds. Watching the kids drizzle icing to make their unique creations is truly a blast.
Throw or Go to Halloween Party
Having a Halloween Party is a great way to get into the Halloween mood. If you already love Halloween, it gives you the perfect excuse to decorate your home for a special occasion with simple Halloween decorations or turn it into a full-blown haunted house. Having a haunted house is a fun way to try to scare your family, friends, and the children who walk through the ‘boo-tactic’ haunted house.
In addition to decorations, having a Halloween party is a fun way to make Halloween-themed foods. These include Mummy-themed Jalapeno Poppers, Pumpkin Deviled Eggs, Witches Broomsticks, and Witches Brew Halloween Punch.
If you are hosting the party for children, you can set up different stations for activities such as decorating cookies, painting a pumpkin, and letting them pig out on candy!
Grab a Pumpkin Spiced Latte
Nothing screams fall more than the release of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Nothing like sipping on a hot Pumpkin Spice Latte while bundled up on the couch enjoying the moment.
If you are a Pumpkin Spice lover, this should be on your Halloween Checklist of things to experience this Halloween Season!
Escape from a Corn Maze
Escaping from a corn maze is a Halloween must. It is such a fun experience to visit a corn maze just to get lost and find your way back out. Something about wandering for hours through the patches of corn, coming across multiple dead ends to finally find your way to the end, is so much fun.
Every corn maze is different, with some covering many miles, different shape mazes, and some with thinner paths making it harder for you to see through the corn. Some mazes are easier to find your way out of, while others take a significant amount of time.
Some mazes will require you to carry a flag, so if you can’t find your way out, give up, or have an emergency, you can lift your stick in the air, and a staff member will come out to get you.
Usually, flags are optional in the more giant and intense corn mazes—those designed to take an hour or more to find your way out.
If you want to switch up the Corn Maze experience, check out the different corn mazes in your area. You may have to drive a bit further, but you may find one with a haunted corn maze. Another common theme is visiting a corn maze at night, allowing you to get lost with only the moonlight as your light. Finding your way out in the dark can be challenging, but it adds to the excitement.
Go to a Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin Patches are another staple of the Halloween season. Pumpkin Patches are a fun way to wander through an open field, looking for the perfect pumpkin to take home and decorate/carve for Halloween.
If you are lucky, you will experience a hayride that will take you to the pumpkin patch to pick your perfect pumpkin. It will also allow you to avoid carrying your oversized pumpkin back to the weighing station.
Some of the Pumpkin Patch locations will enable you to buy smaller pumpkins and put them into a canyon to launch across the field. These have been extremely popular with children.
Some of the Pumpkin Patch locations I have visited allow you to buy smaller pumpkins and put it into a canyon to launch across the field. These have been extremely popular with the children.
Carve or Paint a Pumpkin
Ahh…carving a pumpkin. There is something about the process of choosing the Pumpkin Carving Kit, picking the design, and taping it to the pumpkin while carving away at your masterpiece.
Then, as you finish carving, remove the paper and run outside to put your carved pumpkin on the porch. The moment of truth comes as you light the candle inside the pumpkin to see if your pumpkin looks like the design you carved out.
If your children are too young to handle carving tools, painting a pumpkin is a great way to start the tradition. It’s also great to see what creative design they paint on the pumpkin.
If you are worried about the kids making a mess with paint, pumpkin decorating kits may be the way to go. These kits include pre-cut self-adhesive pieces that allow them to decorate the pumpkin to their imagination without the mess of paints.
Bake Pumpkin Seeds
If you are carving a pumpkin and love its seeds, remember to bake them. I couldn’t tell you how often I forgot to bake the pumpkin seeds (facepalm).
Baking Pumpkin Seeds are another reason to love Halloween. Adding different seasonings from hot sauce, caramel, or regular salt or sugar makes them taste delicious! Plus, they make the house smell so good! The best part is you can save them for later and snack on them all week long.
Go to a Haunted House/Ghost Tour
October is the perfect time to go to a Haunted House. Rather you are looking for one that will scare the pants right off you or something more appropriate for the little ones.
If there is not a haunted house in the area designated for the younger audience, you can always opt for a haunted tour. Haunted tours typically go over the history of a specific area with the belief that ghosts still haunt the place.
Tours may include the necessary tools to locate a spirit, such as an EMF sensor, ghost box, or thermal scanner, making it fun as you track down ghosts.
Have a Bonfire
Go on a Hayride
Dress Up in Costumes
One of the best parts of Halloween is experiencing the joy of your child as they get to decide what they want to be—going through the different costumes they can choose.
The best part is when they love their Halloween costume so much, you will find them periodically wearing it throughout the year.
Go Trick-or-Treating
Trick-or-Treating is what Halloween is all about. Getting dressed up as your favorite person, profession, superhero, or princess and going door to door asking the neighbors for candy! Children’s feet pitter patting across the concrete as they fill their bags as quickly as possible, trying to get the most candy imaginable.
If you don’t feel comfortable having your child go door-to-door, check your local businesses for Trunk-or-Treat. Most companies, churches, and non-profits will host Trunk-or-Treats.
Trunk-or-Treat is a newer concept that allows individuals to meet in a business parking lot during a specific time and give out candy to children. Usually, the car owners will decorate the trunk with a particular theme while children dressed in costumes walk from car to car and ask for candy.
Trunk-to-Treat is a safer way to distribute candy as the business has cameras watching the parking lot. Furthermore, the parking lot is smaller than walking an entire neighborhood, and the event is usually held during daylight hours.
Read a Thriller
Get lost in a great book! What better time to read a Thriller than for Halloween? Reading your favorite Stephen King, Richard Matheson, or Joe Hill book is the perfect way to get into Halloween Spirit.
Grab a blanket and hot tea, and get comfortable as you settle in for the night to read a terrifyingly scary book.
Go on a Hike
So hiking is more of a fall activity! Nonetheless, it is still worth adding to your checklist. This is the season when the leaves turn, the air is crisp, and temperatures drop.
Hiking during fall is truly spectacular. Take full advantage of hiking trails nearby that offer stunning views of a mile-long treeline! Listening to the crunching leaves as you make your way to the overlook to take in breathtaking beautiful views!
Make a Caramel Apple or Popcorn Ball
Making Caramel Apple or Popcorn Balls is a perfect Halloween treat to make together as a family. Getting the kids in the kitchen and having them make delicious treats is a great way to get them comfortable cooking.
Allowing the children to make their Caramel Apples is also an excellent way to explore pairing different foods and experiment with no-baking recipes. While popcorn balls allow you to experiment with different recipes and flavors, you can make your flavoring popcorn balls cheesy, caramel-flavored, or cinnamon flavor.
You can add additional toppings to the Popcorn Balls and Caramel Apples to add to the fun. Toppings include candy corn, m&m’s, pretzels, icing, and Reese’s pieces. Thus, each household member can customize the popcorn balls to their desire.
Decorate the House
Decorating the house for Halloween is a great way to get into the holiday spirit. There are several different ways to decorate your home for Halloween. There is the Chic Halloween decor look, cartoon Halloween decor, or the downright scary and gory.
Halloween is the time to bust out your creativity and decorate the home how it pleases you!
Tell Spooky Stories
Full List of the Ultimate Halloween Checklist
- Watch a Halloween Theme Movie
- Make Dinner with Pumpkin Ingredients
- Make Halloween Shaped Cookies
- Throw or Go to a Halloween Party
- Go to a Pumpkin Patch
- Grab a Pumpkin Spiced Latte
- Escape from a Corn Maze
- Carve/Paint a Pumpkin
- Bake Pumpkin Seeds
- Go to a Haunted House/Ghost Tour
- Have a Bonfire
- Go on a Hayride
- Dress up in Costumes
- Go Trick-or-Treating
- Read a Thriller
- Go on a Hike
- Make Caramel Apples and Popcorn Balls
- Decorate the House
- Tell Spooky Stores
About Author, Sara Elizabeth
Writer, Amora V Lifestyle
Co-Owner of Elizabeth Besich Boutique
Sara is a writer for Amora V Lifestyle and is Co-Owner of Elizabeth Besich. Sara previously worked as a Marketing Manager and has her Master’s from Lindenwood University.
Sara studies everything of interest, from psychology, recipes, finances, mental health, and travel, thriving to find happiness and to live a good life.
When not learning, Sara loves all things outdoors, food, and hanging around great company. Furthermore, Sara loves spending time with family, who she is blessed to have in her life.
Note from the author: Through my articles, I hope to bring you joy and peace and that you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of any organizations mentioned or affiliated with. The information provided in this blog is accurate and up-to-date to the best of the author’s knowledge, but readers are advised to do their own research and confirm any information before making travel plans or decisions. The author is not responsible for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by readers while traveling based on the information provided in this blog. Travel at your own risk and always prioritize your safety and well-being. Any reviews or comments written are the subjective opinion of an Amora V Lifestyle member and not Amora V Lifestyle. Amora V Lifestyle performs occasional checks on commentary left by users. It’s worth mentioning that we may also use comments in our articles. By posting a comment, you are giving us permission to use it in our content. Please check out Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for full disclosure.
