October half term in the UK has a habit of being wet. If the trip to the pumpkin patch is a washout, here are indoor Halloween ideas that keep children busy without anyone getting bored by lunchtime.
For Little Ones (4 To 7)
Paper Plate Pumpkins
Paint paper plates orange, then cut out eyes, noses and mouths from black paper. Stick them on and hang them in the window. Simple, messy and done in half an hour.
Monster Footprint Hunt
Cut big green footprints out of card and lay a trail round the house that ends at a small treat. Little ones love following them, and you can hide the trail again for a second go.
A Free Farmyard Escape Room
Old McDonald’s Farm is a free online escape room for ages 4 and up. You are locked in the barn at sunset and need to count the moos, wash the pig and get the whole farm singing. It takes about ten minutes and there is nothing scary in it.
For Middle Years (7 To 11)
Spooky Treasure Hunt
Write clues as rhymes and hide them around the house, each one leading to the next. Finish with a bowl of sweets in the airing cupboard or under a bed.
Halloween Biscuits
Plain biscuits, writing icing and a few sweets make spiders, ghosts and pumpkins. The less neat they are, the better they look.
Riddle Challenge
Print out a set of spooky riddles and see how many they can solve in fifteen minutes. We have a list of spooky riddles for kids with answers ready to go.
For Older Kids (11 To 14)
A Creepy Escape Room
The Skeleton’s Curse is free and suits 12 and up. You wake up in Lord Vane’s crypt with one candle left and ten minutes to get out. It is creepy rather than frightening, and children love trying to beat their parents’ time.
Make A Short Horror Film
Give them a phone, a torch and an afternoon. Rules: under three minutes, no real blood, and they have to show it after tea.
Pumpkin Carving Competition
Supervise the knives, then let them design their own. Vote on the best one at the end of the day.
For The Whole Family
When everyone is together in the evening, put a free escape room on the TV and play as one team. One person drives, everyone else helps. It is one of the few things a six year old and a fourteen year old will happily do together.
See every game that suits younger players on our online escape rooms for kids page.
