In my household, October is a celebration of all things spooky-sweet with frightfully fun traditions that last all month long. Halloween is less than a week away, but it’s not too late to embrace traditions of your own — and you don’t need advanced Pinterest skills or candy to do so (save that for the 31st). These fun Halloween traditions will get your family in the spirit faster than you can say boo!

Halloween Pajamas

Matching Halloween sleepwear is one of our favorite traditions and an easy way to signal the start of spooky season. For the past few years, I’ve purchased fun Halloween pajamas for my kids and their cousins (tip for next year: you can start looking for Halloween pj’s as early as Labor Day). They are usually glow-in-the-dark, adding to the ghoulish fun, and they make for some seriously adorable slumber party pics. From mummies to skeletons, Carter’s and Target have cute, kid-friendly takes on Halloween jammies, and kids tend to wear them well past October 31st (score!).

Dollar Store Décor

Little ones love to decorate, and they love having a say even more. One thing my kiddos and I do each year is visit the local dollar store for spooky-chic Halloween decorations, sans the scary price tags. These stores can be treasure troves for great Halloween decor. Every year, my son and daughter look forward to picking out their favorite glitter pumpkins, sparkly spiders, and friendly ghosts (we bypass the super scary stuff, of course). You’d be surprised at how many whimsical things we’ve found to refresh our nicer Halloween decor, like witchy vases, spiderweb runners and pumpkin wreaths, to name a few.

Simple Spooky Crafts

The best kids’ Halloween crafts are those that require few instructions and let their creativity run wild. How about decorating pumpkins in a nontraditional way? We make painted pumpkins every year at our school’s Halloween festival. Little monster artists can make no-carve pumpkins at home with whatever craft items you may have on hand: nontoxic markers, paint, glitter, glue, stickers, and of course googly eyes (craft kits are great for this too)! Speaking of crafts, you can make adorable mummies out of sippy cups, too. Wrap white ribbon in an uneven pattern all around the cup, fasten the edges with tape, and place googly eye stickers on top (see the photo above for inspiration). Scary cute — and scary easy!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Carve out some time for quintessential fall photos and boo-tiful memories at your local pumpkin patch. Between petting zoos, hayrides, corn mazes, carnival games, funnel cake, and gorgeous gourds perfect for family pics, it’s not fall without a requisite visit to the pumpkin patch.

Tricked Out Treats

Little guys and ghouls are often easy to please, and sometimes the smallest touches get them most excited for Halloween. For a spooky lunchbox surprise, take a few minutes with a Sharpie and turn mandarins into jack-o-lanterns or add ghostly eyes and mouths to string cheese wrappers. If you’re more creative, try your hand at spooky melted chocolate drizzles. Microwave chocolate chips with a tiny bit of coconut oil in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth, or use a double boiler to melt. To mummify their favorite snack bars, drizzle melted white chocolate with a fork, then top with edible googly eyes. You can also top pancakes with chocolate cobwebs, which may be easier to do with bottled sauce. They’ll love sinking their teeth into spooktacular treats!

Pre Trick or Treating Party

We’re lucky to live in a neighborhood that goes all out for Halloween, so every year, we gather at home with the same group of family and friends for trick or treating fun. We listen to kid-friendly Halloween music, do packaged Halloween crafts, eat takeout to offset the candy-fueled moments ahead, and hit the streets together at dusk. The kids look forward to this sweet tradition every year – and so do the parents!

What are some of your go-to Halloween traditions? Let us know in the comments below, and have a safe and happy Halloween!

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