Wickedly Sweet Halloween Fun
Scary decorations, stacks of pumpkins and blooming mums appear — poof! — seemingly overnight. You suddenly want ALL the candy, and a crazy craving for crisp apples hits hard. The enchanting spell of fall has been cast, and if you’re anything like us, you’re powerless to resist it. And that’s a good thing. Check out these activities, tricks and treats to enjoy as you get ready for the big night. Happy Halloween!
Decorate a Pumpkin
Our local growers have delivered piles of pumpkins in all shapes, sizes and colors just waiting to be carved or painted. Check out a few of our ideas below.
Add a Fresh Coat of Paint
One fresh idea for a no-carve design? Paint your pumpkin black or navy, then create metallic designs on top. Working outside over paper bags or old newspapers, use an old toothbrush to splatter on metallic paint. Or paint on bright stars and a moon.
Polka-Dot Pumpkin
After cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin, mark dot placement on the outside with a permanent marker. Use an electric drill to make a hole through each dot. Wash off the outside of the pumpkin, then use a pipe cleaner to remove any residue left inside the holes. Play with your dot design to get the look you want. Finish with a tea light for optimum glow.
Eerie Spider Pumpkins
Turn mini pumpkins into creepy crawly spiders by attaching eight black pipe cleaner legs and creepy eyes. Younger kids can glue on googly eyes, while older tricksters can paint or draw them.
Do a Halloween Reading
Once it’s dark outside, turn off all the lights and read a favorite chilling story or poem by flashlight. Keep it sweet for young kiddos with choices like Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson or Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. An older audience might crave a proper scare, which is what you’ll get in Siegfried Sassoon’s poem “Haunted,” in which the protagonist is hunted down by a dark presence in the midnight woods. Or check your local library for seasonal picks on display.
Drink in Warm Fall Flavors
Are you team apple cider or pumpkin spice latte? Really, there’s no need to take sides. Alternate cider one day and a latte the next. Both traditionally hot drinks are also quite refreshing over ice or frozen into ice pops on hotter, sunny days.
Have a Halloween Movie Night
Pick a family-friendly flick (Hocus Pocus, Casper, Frankenweenie, Coraline and Coco are all cult classics) and pop buttery popcorn — plus, have a piece or two of the candy that’s supposed to stay in the bag until trick-or-treating starts.
Learn about Day of the Dead
If you already celebrate Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), you know it takes place on November 1 and 2. Despite falling directly after Halloween, it’s not about witches or trick-or-treating. Rather, it focuses on taking time to remember those who have passed from this world. Masses of bright orange and yellow marigolds as well as colorfully decorated sugar skulls are typical in Mexican celebrations. Family members may even spend the night in the graveyard to be close to their loved one’s final resting place. To learn more, check out our Day of the Dead coloring page with fun facts.
Play a Mysterious Guessing Game
What’s in the bowl? You can play this two ways: cover each bowl with a towel, label with the name of a gross item and invite each kid to reach in and feel without looking. Or number each bowl and provide an answer sheet where players can match their guesses to options printed there. Download the game.
Dip Apples in Caramel Sauce
This duo is a classic fall pairing for good reason. You can pick up apples of your choice plus ready-made caramel dip in our Produce Department. Super crisp varieties like honeycrisp, granny smith, pink lady and cameo all beg for a dunk in sweet, gooey caramel.
Enjoy a Slice of Pumpkin Bread
Whether you pick some up from our Bakery, use a boxed mix or bake it from scratch using your go-to family recipe and canned pumpkin, it just doesn’t quite feel like fall until you eat that first slice. It’s spicy-sweet and delightfully moist, whether baked plain, studded with chocolate chips or topped with a crackly vanilla glaze.
Make a Haunted Smoothie Bowl
Blend our Cherry-Boo Dark Chocolate Smoothie Bowl and top it with a yogurt ghost, dragonfruit stars and chocolate chips for a Halloween-themed breakfast or snack that’s sure to be gleefully gobbled by ghouls and goblins of all ages. Use little star-shaped cookie cutters to make the fruit stars, then blend the scraps with the smoothie ingredients to minimize food waste.
Tricky Treats
Need a school-friendly Halloween treat? Or just want to impress the neighborhood kids? Transform a candy bar into a frighteningly-cute bat bar using construction paper and googly eyes. Download the template.
Write a Halloween Haiku
Anyone can write a Halloween haiku — you don’t even need to worry about making it rhyme!
What exactly makes a poem a haiku? Here are the basics:
There are three lines.
The first line is five syllables.
The second line is seven syllables.
The third line is five syllables like the first.
