These five at-home Halloween activities inspired me as I walked through the Target Halloween section. (of course, right?) Add these simple items to your next pickup for many ways to play with your toddler and preschooler this holiday season.
RELATED: Want more ideas than these five? Here are 31 Halloween activities for kids.
The at-home Halloween inspiration recap
As I dropped my five-year-old off at preschool, I took a left rather than a right and found myself in the Target parking lot. Funny how that happens.
And since I just happened to be here, I thought I would look around the Halloween aisles to see if they have our favorite mini erasers in stock. Spoiler alert, they are there, and they are calling our names.
And just as any trip to Target would go, I came home with several more items for new and fun fall ideas.
I won’t leave you out of the fun! Here are the items I found and the activities that go along with them. Add to your next Target pickup for some change of seasons enjoyment.
Activities on Demand
Want great ideas without the ads? Download these 20 hands-on learning games for kids.
When is the best time to do Halloween Activities?
I like to think about the times in my day that could use a little love. For us, mornings with a baby, toddler, and preschooler needed a little inspiration for play.
This is why we created Breakfast Invitations to start the day with play. They are simple learning games for kids to play at breakfast, leading to independent play. Read, What is a Breakfast Invitation to learn more.
The best times for at-home Halloween activities here are:
- Morning – as a morning activity
- After nap – walking up with a snacktivity
- After preschool – sensory bins work well for this time
- Dinner prep – cook dinner as your child plays
Related: We created a daily routine with three young children.
At-home Halloween activity supply list
I chose these Halloween supplies because they have many uses. We can purchase them once and use them for the next few years.
Plus, they are at Target, and you know you will be there anyway. (wink, wink) Add to your next pickup.
- Bag of Halloween stickers
- Dot stickers – (Amazon, not Target link)
- Halloween mini erasers
- Mini pumpkins – I got white, and I also got orange
- Trick or treat buckets – I got white, and I also got orange
- Skeleton heads (yes, I know this sounds awkward)
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Five Halloween at-home Activities for Kids
Sticker Shirts
Let’s start with perhaps the most effortless at-home Halloween activity. Prep time is less than three minutes, and the skill level works well for toddlers and preschoolers.
But don’t let this simple idea fool you! Stickers are a great way to strengthen fine motor skills and work on future pencil grip.
Halloween sticker shirts are a superb activity to start with if you need a quick and entertaining idea.
Pumpkin Balance Relay Race
(coming soon) I love the fall weather. Yes, even here in the southeast, we get a little glimpse of cooler weather. We may not be in flannel or oversized sweaters, but we begin to enjoy some outdoor activities with the kids is a welcome breeze.
This pumpkin race relay is a fun way to practice balance, similar to this pumpkin balance activity. Here, we used tennis rackets to balance the mini pumpkins from one end to another, trying to see who could fill the bucket first.
If you have one child, try playing using a timer. Predict how many pumpkins can make it to the other side without falling in three minutes. Many children enjoy being timed!
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Related: Here is why balance is essential for reading development.
Fine Motor Pumpkin Patch
When you add these Halloween mini erasers into your life, you also add many ideas to follow. You can freeze the skeletons, pumpkins, and bats and save them too!
I created a simple pumpkin patch for this morning’s at-home Halloween activity. My preschooler’s job was to grab the pumpkins out of the field and collect them in the bucket. If your child prefers to use their hands, that is okay too! Both ways help strengthen the small hand muscles.
How can you use these pumpkin erasers again?
Make a Halloween eraser graph or freeze them for your next ice sensory bin.
Related: Looking for more fall activities than Halloween? Here are 50 fall activities for toddlers and preschoolers.
Fill the Skeleton Heads Sensory Bin
Coming up with a name for this at-home Halloween idea threw me a little loop.
Call it what you will, but sensory play after preschool gets a solid go at my house. It is the perfect wind-down transition from school to playtime.
I used four bags of dried black beans and will leave this in my office for the next few weeks for the boys to bop in and out as they visit.
Related: Here are 40 must-try sensory bins for kids.
Spider Dots
Okay, I went a little off-roading with this at-home Halloween activity because, technically speaking, the dot stickers aren’t always at Target. Instead, I added the Amazon link.
But no fall roundup would be complete without this winning idea. (This Halloween activity put Days with Grey on the map years ago, and its legacy will continue!)
Draw a simple web with colored dots on your spider web. Invite your children to add the spiders. Adding eight eyes to each sticker is another welcomed bonus!
Ready? Which of the five at-home Halloween activities will you try first?
Additional Halloween activities
Okay, it wasn’t easy to highlight only five ideas here.
This post wouldn’t be complete without adding these other seasonal favorite activities:
- Messy Halloween sensory play with plastic eyes
- Peanut-Free Halloween Party
- Room on the Broom activity
- Spooky Halloween Track
Hard to choose from these 50 Halloween activities for preschoolers, but my favorite is creating these pumpkin faces from the book, It’s Pumpkin Day Mouse by Laura Numeroff.
Our favorite Halloween book is Room on the Broom. We created two Halloween activities featuring this book. They are Room on the Broom Paint by Number, which is an easy way to retell the story.
Read Halloween books and pay close attention to what interests and scares your child. Think about Halloween from their lens and help them navigate trick-or-treating by practicing ahead of time. Many children feel overwhelmed by Halloween or do not want to leave the house. Encourage your child to do what feels comfortable.
