Halloween
Pumpkins, ghosts, costumes, and spooky fun for an unforgettable October 31st.
As the days grow shorter and the first pumpkins appear on doorsteps, many kids know: Halloween is just around the corner. Whether it's a spooky costume, a carved pumpkin with a silly face, or the evening stroll from door to door, this one night of the year is filled with excitement and a bit of thrill. Here you'll find everything that makes October 31st a special day.
A successful Halloween doesn't need much. A painted or carved pumpkin, a homemade ghost in the window, and a simple costume made from what you already have at home are enough to create the right atmosphere. The spookiness can definitely stay kid-friendly; a friendly ghost can be just as scary as a bloodthirsty monster, just without the sleepless nights.
We've put together some fun craft ideas for pumpkins, ghosts, and spiders, along with costumes, spooky snacks, and indoor games. With just a click, you can find the complete instructions for each idea, plus a few tips to keep everything running smoothly.
Crafting Ghosts, Bats, and Spiders
This decoration turns any home into a little haunted house without the need for an expensive Halloween shop. Most ideas can be completed in half an hour and are also suitable for younger kids.
Ghost in a Jar
Stuff a piece of white tissue paper into an empty jar and draw a face on the outside—spooky, cheeky, or funny, depending on your mood. A LED tealight inside makes the face glow eerily in the dark, and since the whole crafting takes hardly ten minutes, you'll quickly have several little ghosts ready for your windowsill.
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Make a Bat Lantern
A brightly painted sheet of paper is made transparent with a bit of oil, rolled into a tube, and enhanced with wings, a head, and ears made from cardstock. Since bats hang upside down, the ears are intentionally placed downward. Attached to a light stick, the lantern is ready for the next lantern parade.
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Make a Crawling Spider from Cable Ties
Through eight holes in a cardboard circle, short black cable ties are inserted and tightened, while two googly eyes give the finished spider its face. When placed on a smooth surface and gently blown with a straw, it actually moves a little forward, offering a small glimpse of how air can set light objects in motion.
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Spooky Spider Web
Between the tips of a forked branch found in the woods, white wool is stretched back and forth until a dense web is created. Five twisted black pipe cleaners become the spider in the center, while collected autumn leaves or chestnuts add extra decoration to the web.
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Make a Paper Spider Web
Take a sheet of paper and fold it into a triangle twice. Make small curved cuts along the edges, and when you gently unfold it, you'll see if it has turned into a lovely spiderweb pattern. Once it's ready, you can easily hang the web in the window, and adding a chestnut in the middle makes it even more decorative.
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Making a Witch's Broom from Coffee Filters
A suitable branch becomes the handle of a little witch's broom, with bristles made from two coffee filters that are cut at the edges, rolled up, and glued at the bottom. In just a few minutes, you can turn a found object and a couple of coffee filters into a real little broom for decoration or imaginative play in the garden.
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Crafting Tree Spirits
A simple salt dough made from flour, salt, water, and a bit of oil is pressed onto the bark of a tree and shaped into a little face using leaves, twigs, and other natural materials, creating a tree spirit that was once seen as the protector of the forest. After playing, the dough is taken back to ensure that no salt ends up in the forest soil.
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Ghostly Paper Bag Lanterns
White paper bags are given rounded corners, a wavy bottom edge, and a painted face that can be smiling, cheeky, or sleepy before a string of lights is threaded through. When placed by a window or on a shelf, these glowing paper ghosts turn every dark autumn evening into a cozy scene.
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Halloween Window Art
Mix some dish soap with craft glue and trace a Halloween template inside a clear sleeve. Use orange for pumpkins or black for spiders, and add some glitter and googly eyes for that final touch. After letting it dry for a day, you can peel off the designs and stick them directly on the window, where they will sparkle in the light.
View instructions →Carving and painting pumpkins
The pumpkin with a face is the ultimate symbol of Halloween. Whether carved, painted, or shaped with cookie cutters, there's something for everyone, no matter the age or taste.
Carving a Pumpkin
With the help of an adult, the pumpkin is opened at the top, the insides are scooped out, and a face is drawn with a water-soluble marker—funny or spooky, it’s up to each child to decide. Carefully cut along the drawing, and once filled with an LED tea light, your own artwork will glow in the dark. It’s one of the classic Halloween ideas out there.
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Paint a Pumpkin
If you don't want to carve, grab some acrylic markers: with a steady hand, you can create your own pumpkin face, round eyes, or a crooked grin, all without a knife. Once it's set up next to the front door, the painted pumpkin will greet all your Halloween guests.
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Halloween Pumpkin with Cookie Cutters
Instead of using a knife, the pumpkin is designed here with favorite cookie cutters, gently tapped into the shell with a hammer and then removed. Stars, hearts, or cats create a lovely pattern that shines beautifully when a tealight is placed inside.
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Visit the Pumpkin Farm
A trip to the pumpkin farm quickly turns into a little competition: finding the biggest pumpkin, the one with the funniest face, and guessing its weight together. In the end, everyone gets to choose a pumpkin to take home, and many farms offer pumpkin soup or pumpkin bread to try.
View instructions →Costumes and Trick or Treat
You don't need to buy a costume to make an impression. With just a few simple steps, you can turn things you already have at home into a real Halloween outfit, ready for trick-or-treating.
Ghost Costume from a Blanket
Take a white blanket or an old bed sheet and cut a round hole in the closed corner for the head. Keep trimming until it fits comfortably and allows for some movement. Stick on eyes and a mouth made of black foam rubber to give the ghost its own face, whether it's friendly, cheeky, or spooky, all without an expensive store-bought costume.
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Sew a Pumpkin Cloak
An orange fabric square is folded, cut into a cape with a neck opening, and finished with ribbons, preferably with the help of an adult. A stitched pumpkin face made of felt completes the homemade cape, all without a ready-made pattern.
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Trick or Treat
Dressed in costumes and armed with their trick-or-treat bags, the group goes door to door on Halloween, shouting 'Trick or treat!' Firm rules like staying together and crossing the street carefully ensure that the fun stays safe. At home, they proudly display and trade their collected goodies.
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Lollipop Spider for Trick or Treat
Four halved pipe cleaners are wrapped around the stick of a lollipop, and the eight ends become spider legs. Two googly eyes complete the transformation. In just a few minutes, you can create several little spiders, a lovely idea for giving away something homemade during a doorbell visit.
View instructions →Spooky Snacks for Snacking
A little spookiness can be fun on the plate too. These snacks are quick to make, look really impressive, and definitely don’t taste like you’re missing out.
Puff Pastry Mummies
Thinly rolled puff pastry strips are loosely wrapped around small sausages until they look like little mummies, then they go into the oven to bake until golden. A dab of mayonnaise or ketchup keeps the sugar eyes in place; wrapping them takes a bit of finesse, but that's exactly what makes it so much fun.
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Puff Pastry Pumpkin Faces
Using rolled-out puff pastry, cut out circles. On one half, carve funny or spooky pumpkin faces with a child-safe knife. Place it on a second half spread with pesto and bake in the oven. The face will show through the opening, combining crafting and baking in one step.
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Mandarin Pumpkin Faces
With a waterproof marker, you can draw funny or spooky faces on round mandarins, turning them into tiny pumpkin heads. A little competition for the best face makes the decorating even more exciting, and in the end, everyone gets to enjoy them together, all without any sugar or baking.
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Spider Web Snack
Arrange pretzel sticks in a star shape, then drizzle melted chocolate in fine lines between them to create a real spider web pattern. Once the chocolate has set, you can lift the whole web and enjoy it piece by piece, a snack that looks surprisingly realistic.
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Ghosts from Bananas
A halved banana gets two chocolate drops for eyes and one for a mouth, turning it into a little ghost in just minutes, without any baking or cooking. From a single banana, you can create two spooky-sweet snacks, making it an easy hands-on project even for younger kids.
View instructions →Indoor Games and Spooky Stories
When it gets dark and cold outside, the fun moves indoors. These games and stories will give you chills and laughter at the same time, making them perfect for a Halloween party or a cozy evening at home.
Mummy Game with Toilet Paper
In small teams, a volunteer hero gets wrapped up in toilet paper as quickly as possible, while keeping their eyes and nose free. The first team to create a convincing mummy wins the round, and the frantic, collaborative wrapping under time pressure is sure to bring lots of laughs.
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Witch Broom Race
With a stick as a witch's broom between your legs, you can navigate a homemade obstacle course made of chairs or tires, competing in teams against each other. A witch's hat or some makeup turns it into a little costume party, but the most important rule is: don't fly too wildly.
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Spooky Circle - Stories in the Dark
Sitting in a circle with the lights off, everyone takes turns telling a spooky story. If you like, you can hold a flashlight under your face for extra effect. If it gets too intense for someone, it's totally fine to turn the lights back on at any time. This keeps the game light-hearted.
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Halloween Riddle
A mysterious box in the middle of the room invites you to a little role-playing story. First, wipe away the cobwebs, then dance like a zombie. Step by step, the box opens a little more. In the end, a friendly ghost awaits as a surprise, creating a small Halloween theater to play together.
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Shadow Guessing
In a dimly lit room, one player holds a Halloween object between a flashlight and the wall, while the others have to guess what it is based on the shadow. The closer or further the object is held to the lamp, the more its shape changes. Whoever guesses correctly gets to cast a shadow next.
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Tea Bag Ghost Experiment
Take an empty tea bag and draw a ghostly face on it. Then, stand it upright in a fireproof bowl and have an adult light the top. The rising hot air will carry the burning ghost upwards for a brief moment before it disappears, a little magic trick that can be easily explained by physics. Always do this together with an adult and never alone.
View instructions →Noch mehr Inspiration?
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And if you're still in the mood for more spooky fun, autumn activities, or other crafting ideas after Halloween, feel free to explore our categories or check out the free Grubenfuchs app. We wish you and your little ghosts a spooky Halloween.