The Ultimate Halloween Activity Jar: 31 Days Of Spooky, Screen-Free Fun For Kids - Holiday DIY, Fun Activities & Gift Ideas For Every Occasion!

Are you tired of the endless “I’m bored!” chorus that seems to echo through the house leading up to Halloween? I know I was! It’s so easy to fall back on screens, but this year, let’s ditch the digital battles and get ready for a month of magical, memory-making fun. This guide will help you create a super simple Halloween Activity Jar, which is my secret weapon for a spooktacular October. Forget complicated, messy crafts that require a ton of prep work. We’re going to fill your jar with 31 days of engaging, screen-free experiences and games that focus on family connection and pure excitement, keeping your little monsters happily entertained all month long.

Project At-a-Glance 📊

Total Time: 20 minutes to create the jar, plus daily 15-60 minute activities
Estimated Cost: $5 – $15 (using items you likely already have)
Skill Level: Beginner
Perfect For: Creating daily family traditions, reducing screen time, and building excitement for Halloween all month.

First, Let’s Make Your Halloween Activity Jar 🎃

This simple and fun DIY project is the heart of your month-long adventure. The goal here is to create a festive, exciting container for all of your activity ideas. It sets the stage for the daily fun to come!

Materials You’ll Need ✂️

A large jar, canister, or small bucket (an old pickle jar or coffee can works great!)
Paper (construction paper in orange, black, or white is perfect)
Scissors
Pens or Markers
Optional: Stickers, googly eyes, ribbon, or other fun Halloween decorations

Step-by-Step Instructions 📜

Decorate Your Jar: This is the best part, so let the kids help! You can wrap it in orange paper to look like a pumpkin, add a bunch of googly eyes and cotton balls to make a silly ghost, or just go wild with spooky stickers. The more your kids help create it, the more invested and excited they’ll be to use it every day.
Create the Activity Slips: Take your construction paper and cut it into small, uniform strips. I find that a size around 1″ x 4″ is perfect—easy to write on and easy to fold.
Write Your Activities: Now for the magic! Write one activity idea from our big list below on each slip of paper. Try to use a fun, bold marker to make them easy to read.
Fold and Fill: Fold each little slip in half and pop it into your newly decorated jar. Give it a good shake to mix them all up!
The Daily Ritual: This is what it’s all about. Each day, maybe after school or before dinner, have a child pull one slip from the jar to reveal that day’s spooky fun! The anticipation is half the fun.

31 Screen-Free Halloween Activity Ideas for Your Jar 👻

This list is your pillar of non-craft activities! I’ve specifically designed these ideas to focus on play, exploration, and simple fun that keeps kids engaged without a major mess or a ton of parental setup. Let’s dive in.

1. Go on a Spooky Neighborhood Walk 🚶‍♀️

After dinner, grab your flashlights and take a walk around the neighborhood just to look at all the Halloween decorations. We love doing this! We talk about which ones are the spookiest, which are funny, and which ones are our absolute favorites.

Focus: Exploration & Observation
Why It’s Great: This is a simple, zero-cost activity that gets everyone outside and moving. It’s all about the shared experience of discovery, not creating a finished product.

2. Have a Halloween-Themed Bake-Off 🍪

You don’t have to be a professional baker for this one! Make simple sugar cookies and use orange and black icing, or make “mummy” brownies by drizzling melted white chocolate or icing over the top in stripes.

Focus: Sensory Play & Simple Cooking

Pro-Tip: Remember to focus on the fun of decorating, not on perfection. This activity is about making sweet memories (and a yummy treat), not a Pinterest-perfect result.

3. Create Spooky Story Starters ✍️

Write a few spooky opening lines on slips of paper (like, “The old house at the end of the street creaked open its door…” or “Under my bed, I heard a tiny scratching sound…”). Pull one out and have everyone in the family add the next sentence to build a collaborative, silly, or spooky tale.

Focus: Imagination & Communication
Why It’s Great: This is a fantastic non-craft activity that builds creativity and listening skills. Best of all, it requires zero supplies!

4. Build a Ghost Fort 🏰

Grab all the white sheets, blankets, and pillows you can find to build a ghostly fort in the living room, an activity that encourages valuable imaginative play. Once it’s built, everyone can huddle inside with flashlights and read some of your favorite Halloween-themed books.

Focus: Imaginative Play & Cozy Connection

Pro-Tip: Let the kids lead the engineering! It doesn’t have to be a perfect structure; the real goal is collaborative play and making a cozy space together.

5. Host a Halloween Music Dance Party 🎶

This is one of our go-to energy burners. Create a playlist with classics like “Monster Mash,” “Ghostbusters,” and the theme from The Addams Family. Turn down the lights, maybe use a flashlight as a spotlight, and have a spooky dance-off.

Focus: High-Energy Fun
Why It’s Great: It’s a perfect way to get the wiggles out with absolutely no prep required. Just press play!

6. Flashlight Ghost Hunt 🔦

Hide a bunch of cotton ball “ghosts” all around a darkened room. Then, give everyone a flashlight and see who can find the most! It’s simple, exciting, and feels like a real adventure.

Focus: Active Play & Problem Solving
Why It’s Great: It turns a simple room into a mysterious cave to be explored.

7. “Witch’s Brew” Sensory Bin 🧪

Fill a large bin or bowl with water, a few drops of green food coloring, plastic spiders, and maybe some googly eyes. Give the kids ladles, spoons, and cups to mix their “potions.” This simple setup is a great way to support childhood development through sensory play.

Focus: Sensory Exploration

Pro-Tip: Put an old towel down underneath the bin for easy cleanup from any magical spills.

8. Make Spooky Shadow Puppets 👐

A classic for a reason! Use a flashlight against a blank wall and show your kids how to make spooky hand shadow puppets. Can you make a wolf, a bat, or a creepy crawly spider?

Focus: Creativity & Storytelling
Why It’s Great: It’s pure, old-fashioned fun that sparks the imagination with just a light source and your hands.

9. Monster-Face Mirror Game 🤪

Stand in front of a mirror with your kids and take turns making the silliest or scariest monster faces you can think of. It always ends in a fit of giggles.

Focus: Silly Fun & Emotional Expression
Why It’s Great: It’s a two-minute activity that brings instant joy and connection.

10. Pumpkin Guts Exploration 🧡

When it’s time to carve the pumpkin, make exploring the “guts” its own separate activity. Let the kids squish, scoop, and separate the seeds. It’s a fantastic sensory experience they’ll remember.

Focus: Sensory Play & Curiosity

Pro-Tip: You can save the seeds to be washed, dried, and roasted for a tasty snack later!

11. Tell Ghost Stories Around a “Campfire” 🔥

You don’t need a real fire for this! Turn off the lights, gather in a circle on the floor, and use an electric candle or a flashlight pointed upwards for a spooky campfire effect. Take turns telling not-so-scary ghost stories.

Focus: Storytelling & Building Atmosphere
Why It’s Great: It creates a special, cozy moment for sharing stories and listening to each other.

12. Halloween Movie Night 🎬

Pick a family-friendly Halloween movie like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown or Hocus Pocus. Make some popcorn, get cozy under a blanket, and enjoy the show together.

Focus: Relaxation & Shared Experience
Why It’s Great: It’s a low-key, comforting way to celebrate the season.

13. Mummy Wrap Race 🏁

This is hilarious! Give each team a roll of toilet paper and see who can wrap a willing family member up like a mummy the fastest. Just be sure to leave space for breathing!

Focus: Teamwork & Gross Motor Skills
Why It’s Great: It’s a high-energy game that is guaranteed to have everyone laughing.

14. Eat Dinner in the Dark 🕯️

For one night, eat dinner entirely by candlelight. It changes the whole dynamic of the meal and makes everything feel more mysterious and special.

Focus: Atmosphere & Sensory Change

Pro-Tip: Stick to easy-to-eat foods to minimize spills in the low light!

15. “Pin the Bowtie on Mr. Bones” 💀

Draw a simple, large skeleton on a piece of poster board and cut out a little bowtie from black paper. It’s a fun Halloween twist on the classic party game.

Focus: Classic Game Play
Why It’s Great: Kids already know the rules, making it an easy and familiar game to jump into.

16. Ghostly Bowling 🎳

Decorate empty water bottles or toilet paper rolls to look like ghosts with a marker. Then, use a small pumpkin or gourd as a bowling ball to try and knock them down.

Focus: Coordination & Active Fun
Why It’s Great: It’s a great way to reuse materials you already have for a fun indoor or outdoor game.

17. Read a New Halloween Book 📚

Make a special trip to the local library with the sole purpose of picking out a new, spooky (or silly) Halloween picture book to read together.

Focus: Literacy & Quiet Time
Why It’s Great: It builds a love of reading and can become a calm-down activity before bed.

18. Make “Ghost” Lollipops 🍭

This is one of the simplest “making” activities. Just drape a single tissue over a round lollipop, tie it at the base with a small ribbon or string, and use a marker to draw on a little ghost face.

Focus: Fine Motor Skills & Simple Creating

Pro-Tip: These make great little treats to share with friends or classmates!

19. Spooky Scavenger Hunt 🔎

Hide Halloween-themed items (like a small pumpkin, a plastic spider, or an orange crayon) around the house. You can also just hide pictures of them! Give the kids clues to find each one.

Focus: Problem Solving & Following Directions
Why It’s Great: It gets kids moving and thinking, and the thrill of the hunt is always a hit.

20. Make Apple Cider or Hot Chocolate ☕

Simmer some apple cider on the stove with a cinnamon stick, or whip up a batch of rich hot chocolate. The cozy smell will fill the house and make everything feel festive.

Focus: Cozy Connection & Sensory Experience
Why It’s Great: It’s a simple, comforting ritual that feels like a special treat.

21. Conduct a “Candy Taste Test” 🍬

Get a small, early bag of Halloween candy. Set it up like a formal taste test, with little scorecards where kids can rate each candy on a scale of 1-5 for “yumminess.”

Focus: Silly Fun & Making Choices
Why It’s Great: It turns eating a piece of candy into a fun, structured game.

22. Design a Haunted House on Paper 🏠

Instead of the stress of building a big structure, just grab a big piece of paper and some markers. Work together to draw your ultimate haunted house, complete with trap doors, ghosts in the attic, and a potion lab in the basement.

Focus: Imagination & Collaboration
Why It’s Great: It’s a purely creative exercise with no mess and no limits.

23. Bob for Apples 🍎

It’s a classic for a reason! Fill a large basin with water and some apples and see who can grab one using only their mouth. It’s messy, splashy, and so much fun.

Focus: Classic Game & Sensory Fun

Pro-Tip: For younger kids, you can tie the apples to a string and have them try to take a bite that way—it’s a little easier!

24. Learn the “Thriller” Dance 🕺

Find a kid-friendly tutorial on YouTube and learn a few of the iconic zombie moves from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Don’t worry about getting it perfect—just have fun with the monster poses!

Focus: High-Energy Fun & Learning a Skill
Why It’s Great: It’s a silly way to get moving and learn something new together.

25. “Feed the Monster” Game 👹

Decorate a large cardboard box to look like a monster with a giant open mouth. Then, have the kids take turns tossing beanbags or rolled-up socks to try and “feed” it.

Focus: Gross Motor Skills & Target Practice
Why It’s Great: A super easy game to set up that provides endless entertainment.

26. Make Ghostly S’mores 🔥

Put a Halloween spin on this classic treat. You can use ghost-shaped Peeps instead of regular marshmallows, or just use a food-safe marker to draw little ghost faces on your marshmallows before you roast them.

Focus: Simple Cooking & A Yummy Treat
Why It’s Great: It makes a familiar treat feel new and exciting for the holiday.

27. Write a Spooky Poem Together 📝

This is easier than it sounds! Try a simple acrostic poem. Write the word “SPOOKY” vertically down a piece of paper and work together to come up with a spooky word or phrase for each letter.

Focus: Literacy & Teamwork
Why It’s Great: It’s a great collaborative writing exercise that takes the pressure off.

28. Halloween-Themed Charades or Pictionary 🎭

Write down a bunch of Halloween words and ideas (like pumpkin, witch, zombie, bat, trick-or-treating) on slips of paper. Take turns acting them out or drawing them for everyone to guess.

Focus: Communication & Creative Thinking
Why It’s Great: A go-to game that can be adapted for any theme and any age.

29. Practice Your Trick-or-Treating 🚪

For little ones who are new to trick-or-treating, this is a great way to ease their nerves. Let them practice knocking on interior doors, saying “Trick or Treat!” politely, and accepting a small treat.

Focus: Social Skills & Preparation
Why It’s Great: It builds confidence for the big night in a safe, fun environment.

30. Make Monster Smoothies 🥤

Blend spinach, bananas, pineapple, and a little milk or yogurt for a delicious and healthy “monster green” smoothie. The kids will love the fun color!

Focus: Healthy Eating & Sensory Fun
Why It’s Great: It’s a fun way to sneak in some greens and get kids involved in making their own snack.

31. Lay Out Your Costumes ✨

This is the perfect activity for Halloween Eve! The anticipation is at its peak. Together, lay out every piece of your costumes, from the masks down to the shoes, so everything is ready for the big day.

Focus: Building Anticipation & Organization
Why It’s Great: It’s a simple but incredibly exciting ritual that signals Halloween is finally here!

Making Your Halloween Activity Jar a Success ✅

A great idea is only as good as its execution! Here are a few of my best tips to ensure this becomes a beloved family tradition and not just another chore on your to-do list.

Focus on the Experience, Not the Outcome: This is my number one rule. If the slip says “baking,” the goal is laughing and getting your hands messy, not creating a bakery-worthy cake. If you’re on a walk, the goal is conversation, not reaching a specific destination. This mindset removes all the pressure and guarantees every single activity is a success.
Embrace Flexibility: Life happens! If you pull the “Spooky Walk” slip during a downpour, don’t be afraid to swap it out for an indoor activity like “Build a Ghost Fort.” Let your kids have a say in the switch. This flexibility is what keeps the jar fun and low-stress for everyone.
Prep for the ‘Big’ Ones: Every few days, you can peek at the next few slips in the jar. If you see an activity coming up that requires a specific item (like apples for bobbing), you can easily grab it on your next grocery run. A tiny bit of prep prevents a last-minute scramble.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 🤔

Q1: What if my kids don’t want to do the activity we pulled? 🤷

A: It happens! I like to offer a choice with a limit. You can say something like, “Okay, we can put this one back in the jar and pull one more, but that’s the one we have to do!” This gives them a sense of control over the situation while still keeping the tradition going.

Q2: My kids have a big age gap. How can I adapt these activities? 👨‍👧‍👦

A: The key is to give everyone a role that fits their ability. For the “Bake-Off,” a toddler can do the stirring and sprinkling while an older child can measure the ingredients. For the story-telling activity, an older child can be the official scribe and write it down as the younger one narrates their silly ideas. It’s all about teamwork!

Q3: How can I keep this from becoming just a list of crafts I have to supervise? 🎨

A: That’s exactly what this list is designed to avoid! You’ll notice the vast majority of these ideas are games, experiences, or imaginative play scenarios. They are about doing things together. The few “making” activities I’ve included are incredibly simple (like decorating cookies or making lollipop ghosts) and focus on the fun process, not a complicated end product that you have to manage.

Q4: Do I have to do an activity every single day? 🗓️

A: Absolutely not! Please don’t let this feel like pressure. The goal is connection, not achieving a perfect 31-day streak. Use the jar on the days you need it most—those rainy afternoons, weekend lulls, or on a Tuesday when you just want a fun, easy way to connect with your kids after a long day.

Congratulations! You’ve made more than just a decorated jar—you’ve created a tool for a month of lasting family memories. By choosing shared experiences over complex crafts or screen time, you’re ready for 31 days of laughter, connection, and spooky fun. I can’t wait for you to see your kids’ faces light up each day as they pull out their next Halloween adventure.

We’d love to see your activity jars and hear which ideas are your family’s favorites! Share a photo on social media and tag us, or drop a comment below and tell us all about your spooky fun!