It’s officially Halloween time in Metro Detroit! In our home, this holiday has its own month. It’s our favorite time of the year around here so we like to celebrate in style with some Halloween activities and fun every day we can.
In this post, I’ve included a list of ideas for how your family can celebrate the holiday with 31 days of Halloween events, recipes, and craft ideas. I hope it helps you to have a spooky, fun holiday season.
Here are 31 days of Halloween activities and fun:
October 1 Decorate the inside of your house. It’s the perfect time to start putting up your indoor decorations. In our house, we have window decals on the front windows. Pumpkins and gourds complete our mantelpieces. I also put up these 3D bats on the walls. They are so much fun and my kids look forward to them every year! The best part is they’re reusable! Get the kids involved—they’ll love it!
October 2 Visit the Corn Maze at Maybury Farm in Northville. If you’re looking for something out of the house, this corn maze is open weekends for another season! The cost is $13 (children under two are free). Your ticket gets you a wagon ride to and from the nine-acre maze and admission to the farm!
October 3 Go on a photo walk with the whole family! My family loves walking around our neighborhood to check out some of the decorations. The best part is when my kids take photos of what they love. I gave my four-year-old daughter a Polaroid camera for her birthday and she gets a ton of use out of it with these walks! It’s so fun to see what she captures.
October 4 Get spooky with some crafts! We love craft time around here. Last year we made fake spooky candles. I found a tutorial online that will show you how to do it. They used noodles, but I used PVC pipe. Either way, they’re sure to end up crazy cute! Drip some hot glue down them and paint them black. With tea lights, they are sure to add some much needed spookiness to your home!
October 5 Find a local story time. Many bookstores or libraries do weekly story times. I’m sure October will be Halloween-themed for all of their planned readings. Be sure to check your local library or bookstore’s event schedules.
October 6 If you haven’t already, it’s time to decorate the outside!! My go-to outdoor decorations are fairly simple. They mostly include scarecrows, bales of hay, and a cute Halloween-themed wreath for my door. Of course I add our carved pumpkins too, but thanks to the ridiculous squirrel population around my home, I save that for closer to the big day.
October 7 Every year, we love to do the Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo with our friends and family. This is a great way to get together with groups of people you won’t be trick-or-treating with on Halloween. They have themed weekends, which I’m really excited for. Bring the whole family for strolling entertainment, face painting, and trick-or-treating among the animals! General admission for non-members ranges from $17-$24. The Zoo Boo is on weekends during October until October 22.
October 8 Get your favorite Halloween pajamas on because it’s time for movie night!! We have two movies we watch over and over again during the season: Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas. We also love Casper, Halloweentown (for my real OGs), The Addams Family, and The Corpse Bride. Whatever your family loves to watch, make some popcorn and put it on!
October 9 If you’re familiar with my usual blog posts then you know how much my family also loves making kid-friendly and themed charcuterie boards! Last year I made an amazing charcuterie board for Halloween (might be my favorite one I’ve ever made). Make your own at home!
October 10 Mid-October is the perfect time to go to the orchard and get some cider and fresh donuts! Our updated cider mill guide gives you the rundown on the best local spots to visit to get all of your fall favorites.
October 11 Let’s do some baking! These Halloween sugar cookies look super cute and tasty, and your kids will have a blast decorating them.
October 12 We got “Boo-ed!” for the first time last year and my children were beside themselves! How fun is it to get surprise gifts from your family and friends on your porch? Spread the love this Halloween and go Boo! someone!
October 13 If the charcuterie board wasn’t enough of a treat for you, make some Halloween cookies or cupcakes! I found some super easy recipes online. This Oreo spider cupcake looks so tasty! If you’re more of a cookie lover, check out these sprinkle-filled desserts. These are definitely on my list to make this year!
October 14 Time to take a stroll down Tillson! I have no idea how this tradition started but I’m so glad it did! We love to stroll down this street in Romeo and see all the over-the-top displays. If you’ve never been, don’t fret! We have a post that details everything you need to know about visiting Terror on Tillson.
October 15 Go and get those pumpkins before all the good ones are gone! We love supporting local and small businesses. Find your next favorite pumpkin patch with our guide.
October 16 Get into the fall spirit and encourage gratitude. With your kids, offer to help a neighbor rake the leaves, or help in their yard.
October 17 How about a spooky scavenger hunt? Start by printing this cute scavenger hunt and grabbing a clipboard to take with you. How many of these items can you find around the house, or in your neighborhood?
October 18 Make some homemade Halloween masks! I found a few tutorials online. Some you can make completely on your own like this awesome lion mask. If you’d prefer something simpler, there are many printable options that kids can easily color or decorate!
October 19 What were some of your favorite scary stories growing up? My favorites were always about the man with the hook, or the phone calls coming from inside the house. Whatever type of spooky stories your kids can handle, tell them to each other at night. Turn off the lights and add in a flashlight to make it extra spooky!
October 20 After you’re done making up stories of your own, pick out some of your favorite Halloween books to read together as a family. Our favorite seasonal books are Good Night Little Monsters, Room on the Broom, and The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky.
October 21 Many cities have trick-or-treating downtown. Check your city’s website or city hall page to find out when your kids can wear the costumes and enjoy some fresh air–and candy!
October 22 My family loves art classes at our neighborhood art place. For us in St. Clair Shores, The Art Shack is an awesome place for kid-friendly painting classes. If you’re not near St. Clair Shores, be sure to check out other events at your own local art place.
October 23 Are you part of your city’s Facebook group? My city usually posts about some fun decorations in and around our area. Something fun to do is to get in the car and drive around the neighborhoods to check out some of the best Halloween décor! We do this every year for Christmas, and last year we started driving around for Halloween, too!
October 24 Whip up a yummy Halloween recipe! There are plenty of snacks or dinners you can make for the holiday instead of constantly making treats. Check out these mummy pizzas, jack-o-lantern personal pies, or avocado zombie bars!
October 25 If you’re like our family, then you wait until closer to Halloween to carve your pumpkins. We always have a friendly contest on Facebook to see whose pumpkin “wins.” We have our family and friends vote without telling them whose pumpkin is whose. It’s always fun to see what the kids come up with!
October 26 Grab an old pillowcase and some puffy paint, or a paper grocery bag and some markers. Your kids will have a blast creating bags for trick-or-treating!
October 27 Are you feeling brave? Why not do some family face painting? Try giving the kids the brush and see what they come up with. It might not be DIA-worthy, but I can promise you they’ll have a blast. You can buy face paint at the store or make your own.
October 28 Don’t forget about the magic of your local Huron-Clinton Metroparks. Check out their Fall Fun page for all of their fall activities!
October 29 Give roasting pumpkin seeds a try . . . and cross your fingers they turn out great! Pumpkin seeds are a tasty treat and your kids will have fun throughout the whole process.
October 30 Put on some spooky music and let your kids dance out their wiggles and giggles before bed! They’re definitely going to be excited since it’s the night before Halloween!
OCTOBER 31 We made it to the big day!! Trick-or-treating hours are different in each city. Be sure to check with your city to see what the designated hours are. Most cities are around 5:00-8:00 p.m. However you choose to celebrate—have fun and be safe!
