Safe and Fun Alternatives to Trick-or-Treating

Posted by Natasha on September 13th, 2019

Trick-or-treating is a Halloween tradition, but parents don’t always want to take their children trick-or-treating. Many parents are concerned about trick-or-treating safety, and others don’t want to keep young children up late or expose them to potentially frightening situations. 

These trick-or-treating alternatives are fun ways to celebrate Halloween with your family without ringing on strangers’ doorbells to demand candy!

Have a Halloween-Themed Game Night

A family game night is a fun way to spend the evening without wandering around the neighborhood in the dark. Put together Halloween and candy themed games and activities for your children to enjoy. Ask if they want to invite friends over for the fun, too! Everyone can wear a costume, if they’d like, or you can put out a box of props at the party and have an impromptu costume contest.

There are tons of family-friendly Halloween party games to play. Just search Pinterest for ideas! If you’d prefer something low-prep, grab a stack of free printable Halloween bingo cards. Use candy or small Halloween prizes instead of bingo markers for extra fun!

Watch Halloween TV Shows and Movies

Halloween movies don’t have to be scary! Watching classics, like The Great Pumpkin, with a bowl of treats is a lot of fun for younger children. Older children and tweens may enjoy movies like Hocus Pocus, Ghostbusters, The Adams Family, or Coraline.

Go to a Local Trunk-or-Treat

Another fun thing you can do if you don’t want kids going door to door is to take them to a trunk-or-treat. They get to wear costumes, just like with “real” trick-or-treating, but it removes many of the safety concerns parents have about going door to door.

Instead of going to people’s homes, trunk-or-treating is an organized event. Trunk-or-treats are frequently held by local churches, community centers, and other trustworthy organizations. Participants drive their vehicles to the designated location, opens the trunk of their car, and puts out bowls of candy. People frequently decorate their cars for Halloween, too!

Children go car to car collecting candy, just like traditional trick-or-treating. There is usually a party before or after the trunk-or-treating with family-friendly activities like face painting, bounce houses, and music. Trunk-or-treat events are a fun and safe way to spend Halloween with your family.

Create Fun Halloween Crafts

Halloween crafts are fun for younger children and crafty teens. If it’s too cold or rainy to go outside on Halloween, or if you just want to decorate with homemade items, crafts are a great choice.

These free printable pumpkin outlines are the perfect foundation for many different crafts. Print small ones on orange cardstock and cut them out as “confetti” to decorate your table or print large ones for children to decorate like a jack o’lantern. You can also use these templates as the basis for a “pin the stalk on the pumpkin” game to play at your family fun night!

Whether safety concerns or the weather keep you inside on Halloween night, these fun activities can help your children experience Halloween without the risk and scares.