Last-Minute Family Fun for Halloween

Candy, costumes, jack-o-lanterns, haunted houses — it’s no wonder so many kids list Halloween as their favorite holiday. An occasion all ages can enjoy, Halloween gives families an incentive to get creative, cut loose, and have some fun. What’s your family doing this Halloween?

Whether you’ve had your costumes and festivities planned out for months or only just realized the day is fast approaching, your family can have a blast this Halloween with these fun, last-minute ideas from Musselman’s Apple Sauce. As part of our Celebrate Family Sweepstakes, we wish you and yours a Happy Halloween!

Spookify Your Yard

We can’t tell you how to spookify your yard, exactly, because that would take away the fun. But for fun as a family, instead of heading to the store to buy last-minute props — fake cobwebs, rubber bats, strobe lights — put on your thinking caps, and make something spectacular (or at least a little spooky) with what you have on hand. A few items to consider: tin cans, flashlights, music, a broomstick, cotton balls, and old pots and pans.

Family Ghost Story

Turn your lights down low and cozy up with a blanket and cup of hot cocoa to create your own family ghost story. One person starts off with the first few lines, someone else adds to it, and your family keeps going until everyone has had a few turns — and your story comes to an end. For instance, one person starts with: “No one ever visited the house at the end of the street.” Another adds: “In fact, the only light anyone ever saw came from the attic window.” Someone else continues: “And it was only visible on Halloween night.” Then another person says: “Until one Halloween, just as trick-or-treaters headed out to knock on doors, it wasn’t the attic light that turned on — it was the front porch light.”

Make one family member the scribe, and keep a book of your stories year after year.

Play Ghost in the Graveyard

Remember this classic game from your own childhood? Let us refresh your memory. After the sun sets, one family member plays the role of ghost and hides in the yard. All others stand on base, counting out loud to midnight (“one o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock,” and so on). When you reach “twelve o’clock,” shout: “Midnight. Hope I don’t see a ghost tonight!” Then make your way, ever so stealthily, around the house and back to base. If the ghost spots and tags you, then you become a ghost — and can now tag people, too. Once everyone is either tagged or back on base, the round ends. And the first one tagged becomes the next ghost.

DIY Costume

No costume? No worries. You can pull something together in a jiffy. Transform yourself — or your kids — into a superhero with some aluminum foil (for the power wristbands and belt), a blanket or scarf (for the cape), a paper plate and string (for the mask), and a piece of cardboard (for the shield). Then go to town with markers, crayons, and paint to brand your superhero. And have one super Halloween.

For other family fun ventures this fall, find ideas on our Musselman’s Celebrate Family Sweepstakes site. And enter the sweepstakes weekly for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Amazon. (For every entry we receive, we’ll donate $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Tell your friends!)