Looking for things to do this Halloween that go beyond handing out candy on October 31? This is a 100 item list built for the whole season, grouped into ten categories so you can pick by mood, budget and who you are with. Work through it as a bucket list, or pull one idea a day from October 1 and let it carry you to Halloween night.
How to Use This Halloween Bucket List
Nobody finishes all 100. Pick fifteen to twenty that fit your October, write them on a whiteboard or into a shared note, and cross them off as you go. Weekends carry the big outings like pumpkin patches and haunted attractions. Weeknights carry the small ones like a movie or a batch of cookies. If you want a structure for it, build a Halloween countdown calendar and slot one item behind each day.
Classic Halloween Traditions
- Carve a jack o lantern and roast the seeds
- Paint pumpkins with the kids who are too young for knives
- Decorate the front porch on October 1
- Put up a Halloween tree with orange lights
- Go trick or treating around the neighborhood
- Plan and sew a costume instead of buying one
- Hand out full size bars once, just to see the reaction
- Set up a candy bowl with a motion sensor jump scare
- Take a family costume photo on the porch
- Watch the sunset on Halloween night from the front step
Pumpkin Patches, Corn Mazes and Hayrides
- Visit a working pumpkin patch and pick your own
- Get lost in a corn maze at least once
- Take a daytime hayride with little kids
- Take a nighttime haunted hayride without them
- Drink cider at an apple orchard
- Buy cider donuts straight from the fryer
- Weigh in at a giant pumpkin contest
- Pick apples and bake a pie the same day
- Feed goats at a farm petting zoo
- Find a sunflower field still standing in October
Haunted Attractions and Scary Experiences
If this is your first year doing the scary circuit, read our guide on what to expect at a haunted house before you buy tickets.
- Walk through a professional haunted house
- Book a ghost tour in a historic downtown
- Try a Halloween themed escape room
- Take a lantern lit cemetery walk
- Visit a supposedly haunted hotel or inn
- Do a paranormal investigation night
- Ride a haunted trail or scream park
- Watch a live actor haunt with no touching allowed
- Go to a zombie run or a haunted 5K
- Visit a horror movie filming location near you
Halloween Movies, TV and Reading
- Run a full weekend horror movie marathon
- Watch Hocus Pocus with the family
- Watch The Nightmare Before Christmas on a school night
- Screen a silent horror film with the lights off
- Do a Rocky Horror shadow cast showing
- Read a Shirley Jackson novel in one sitting
- Listen to a horror podcast on a night drive
- Read spooky stories aloud by flashlight
- Watch a classic Universal monster film
- Rank every Halloween movie you watch this year
Halloween Food and Drink
- Make caramel apples from scratch
- Roast pumpkin seeds with smoked paprika
- Bake a loaf of Halloween pumpkin bread
- Build a Halloween charcuterie board
- Make popcorn balls for a crowd
- Hold a blind candy taste test
- Mix a batch of spooky mocktails
- Try every pumpkin spice item at one cafe
- Bake and decorate ghost cupcakes
- Make hot cider on the stove and leave it simmering
DIY Crafts and Decorating Projects
- Build a front door wreath from black feathers
- Make boo bags for three neighbors
- Cut paper bats and climb them up a wall
- Carve pumpkin luminaries for the walkway
- Make a no sew costume in under an hour
- Build a graveyard scene on the lawn
- Paint a window with washable ghost faces
- Make a spider web from cotton and string
- Dye old sheets into porch ghosts
- Draw a Halloween mural in sidewalk chalk
Halloween Party and Group Ideas
- Throw a costume party with real prize categories
- Host a murder mystery dinner
- Run a Halloween trivia night
- Hold a pumpkin carving competition
- Organise a neighborhood costume bar crawl
- Set up a backyard movie screen
- Host a board game night in costume
- Run a Halloween party at the office
- Do a group costume with five friends
- Throw a post Halloween leftover candy swap
Family and Kid Friendly Activities
- Go to a trunk or treat at a school or church
- Visit a Boo at the Zoo event
- Join a costume parade downtown
- Set up a Halloween sensory bin for toddlers
- Paint a pumpkin instead of carving it
- Put a teal pumpkin out for allergy safe treats
- Dress the dog up and walk the block
- Do a Halloween scavenger hunt in the yard
- Bake cookies and decorate them as monsters
- Build a blanket fort and tell tame ghost stories
Cozy and Solo Halloween Ideas
Not every October night needs a crowd. Some of the best ones do not.
- Light every candle in the house and read
- Take a fall hike while the leaves are turning
- Journal by candlelight on Halloween night
- Learn a tarot spread
- Make a fall playlist and do nothing else
- Take a long drive to see rural decorations
- Bake alone with the radio on
- Visit a bookshop and buy something spooky
- Sit outside with cider and a blanket
- Watch a horror film you have been avoiding
Halloween Travel and US Destinations
- Spend a weekend in Salem, Massachusetts
- Walk the Old Dutch Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow, New York
- Take a cemetery tour in New Orleans
- Do a ghost walk in Savannah, Georgia
- Visit a Disney park during its Halloween season
- Brave Halloween Horror Nights at Universal
- Go to Knott Scary Farm in California
- Drive a state scenic byway at peak foliage
- Visit a historic haunted lighthouse
- Find a small town Halloween parade and stay for all of it
Things to Do This Halloween by Group
For Adults
Murder mystery dinner, haunted hotel stay, ghost tour, costume bar crawl, horror marathon, cemetery walk. The scary end of the list is built for you.
For Kids and Toddlers
Trunk or treat, Boo at the Zoo, pumpkin painting, costume parade, sensory bin, cookie decorating. Our roundup of not scary Halloween events for toddlers covers this in depth.
For Teenagers
Escape room, zombie run, haunted trail, group costume, backyard movie screen, candy swap. Teens want the scary stuff with friends and no parents.
For Couples
Apple orchard day trip, fall hike, haunted hayride, scary movie night, a weekend in Salem.
On a Budget
Sidewalk chalk mural, paper bat wall, porch ghosts from old sheets, home movie marathon, roasted pumpkin seeds, a walk to see the neighborhood decorations. Half this list costs nothing.
How to Plan Your Halloween Month
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| October 1 to 7 | Decorate, start the countdown, first pumpkin patch trip |
| October 8 to 14 | Costumes decided, first movie nights, apple orchard |
| October 15 to 21 | Haunted attractions, corn maze, party invitations out |
| October 22 to 28 | Parties, trunk or treat, baking, group costume test run |
| October 29 to 31 | Carving, final decorations, trick or treating |
Book haunted houses and big events early. According to the National Retail Federation Halloween data, most American households start planning in early October, and the popular attractions sell out well before the last weekend.
Things to Do This Halloween FAQs
What are the best things to do this Halloween?
Carve a pumpkin, visit a pumpkin patch, walk a corn maze, do one haunted attraction, run a movie marathon and go trick or treating. Those six cover the season for most families.
What can adults do on Halloween instead of trick or treating?
Costume parties, ghost tours, murder mystery dinners, haunted houses, bar crawls and horror marathons. Adults also make the best candy handout hosts.
What are fun things to do on Halloween at home?
Movie marathon, baking, a blanket fort with ghost stories, board games in costume, decorating the porch and a candy taste test.
What should I do on Halloween if I have no plans?
Take the cozy route. Candles, a good horror film, cider, a walk to see the neighborhood decorations. A quiet Halloween is still a Halloween.
What are good Halloween activities for toddlers?
Pumpkin painting, trunk or treat, Boo at the Zoo, sensory bins, costume parades and daytime hayrides. Keep it bright and short.
What can teenagers do on Halloween night?
Escape rooms, haunted trails, zombie runs, group costumes and backyard movie screens with friends.
When should I start my Halloween bucket list?
Late September. Book haunted houses and ticketed events first, then fill the weeknights with the free ideas.
What are the best US cities for Halloween?
Salem, Sleepy Hollow, New Orleans and Savannah lead the list, with Orlando and Los Angeles taking the theme park crowd.
Pick Ten and Start Tonight
The point of a list this long is not to finish it. It is to stop October from disappearing into work and school runs. Choose ten things to do this Halloween, put them on the calendar, and the season will feel three times longer than last year. For dated events near you, browse our best Halloween events in the USA guide.
