12 frightfully fun Halloween activities

Originally published 26 October 2018.

Wrap up warm and add some seasonal (pumpkin) spice to the Halloween season with these spooky suggestions.

Check out our list of 12 frightfully fun activity ideas for girls to try at home, with the rest of the unit, or out and about. Girls can use some of these activities to work towards interest badges.

1. Go on a bat walk

Whether you think they’re cute or creepy, October is a great time to spot bats before they go into hibernation for the winter. See if there are any bat walks happening in your area. If you're lucky, you might even spot one in your garden or outside your window!

If you're not able to get out for a bat walk, you can learn more about bats on The Bat Conservation Trust website. You could also have a go at building your own bat box – Brownies can put this towards gaining their animal helper badge.

2. Dress it up

One of the most fun ways to celebrate Halloween is to throw a classic fancy-dress party with family, friends or your unit. You don’t have to spend money to have an impressive costume – grab some old clothes, scrap fabric or cardboard boxes, and get painting, sewing, and upcycling. The more original and creative, the better!

Older girls can explore the idea of costume further with the costumes interest badge (Rangers).

3. Fun with pumpkins

Pumpkin carving is a classic Halloween activity (make sure to always have an adult supervising). Younger girls may find carving tricky, so so you could try decorating your pumpkins with paint and cut-out paper shapes instead. Try having a competition to see who can create the scariest face for their pumpkin!

Remember, the pumpkins shouldn’t be eaten after doing this activity!

4. Create crafty creatures

Get crafty this Halloween and try making your own ghastly ghouls out of household recycling. With a little bit of creativity and some googly eyes, egg boxes can become bats, milk cartons turn into ghosts, and toilet rolls can transform into mummies!

Brownies can work towards their crafts interest badge by coming up with their own crafty Halloween creations.

5. Tell tales around the campfire

From fairy tales to myths and legends, getting lost in a story is a wonderful way to spend an autumn evening. And being in the dark around a cosy campfire makes everything feel more magical. Grab your hot chocolate, wrap up warm and share some spooky stories. If you can’t make a campfire outside, you could create a cosy atmosphere indoors with lamps and torches before you settle in for a storytelling session.

Girls can earn badges by sharing their most imaginative stories, with the storyteller (Rainbows) and imagination (Brownies) interest badges.

6. Enjoy some al fresco eating

Don't let the colder weather put you off – while you’re telling scary stories, why not take dinner outdoors with you? Hot soup in flasks, jacket potatoes and hot chocolate will warm you from the inside while you enjoy the autumn air.

Rangers can take it further by making their own autumnal recipe book with the cooking interest badge, while Guides can try cooking outdoors with the backwoods cooking interest badge.

7. Mix up a witch's brew

Get into the seasonal spirit by mixing up some colourful magic potions - in other words, designing your own Halloween mocktail. Explore different combinations of juices, fruits, herbs and spices to make your own brand-new drink flavours, then share them with friends, family or your unit. You could add garnishes like gummy worms, jelly eyeballs, or spider-shaped sweets for extra Halloween flair.

For Guides, this is a fun way to earn their mixology badge.

8. Learn about the history of Halloween

Why do we go trick-or treating and carve pumpkins at this time of year? Halloween as we know it today can be traced back to the ancient festival of Samhain. Girls may be interested to learn about why we celebrate Halloween, and where the familiar traditions come from. 

9. No tricks, just treats

When we think of Halloween, we think of yummy sweet treats. Girls can get creative in the kitchen by baking and decorating creepy cookies – think ghosts, bats, and witch hats - or make cake pops in the form of mini-pumpkins or eyeballs. You can find lots of fun Halloween baking and cooking ideas on the BBC GoodFood website.

Creating delicious Halloween treats is a great way for girls to earn interest badges like tasty treats (Rainbows), baking (Brownies), and confectionery (Guides).

10. Face painting fun

A scary painted face can provide the perfect finishing touch for your Halloween costume. Let your imagination run wild with face paints as you have loads of fun turning yourself and others into a monster, smiling skull, or anything else you can dream up!

11. Try a scavenger hunt in the dark

Embrace the darker days and longer evenings by setting up a scavenger hunt to find different things around the house or unit meeting place. One Rainbows leader tried giving girls torches to light their way. They had fun searching their venue for owls, bats and cats with glow in the dark eyes. Make sure you check for trip hazards before you start!

12. Play Halloween games

Try some of these frightfully fun ideas for your Halloween party or unit meeting. By organising their own games get-together, Brownies can earn their games master interest badge.

• Pumpkin bowling – use mini pumpkins as bowling balls and toilet rolls decorated like ghosts as the pins.
• Musical monster statues – make a Halloween playlist and have everyone in the group dance like a zombie, ghost or vampire. When the music stops, everyone has to freeze in their scariest poses!
• Mummy wrap race – collect as many scarves as you can find, then get into teams and wrap up 1 member of the group like a mummy. The fastest team wins!
• Halloween charades – act out Halloween characters or phrases, without saying a word. Get the group to guess the right answer.
• Mystery box – fill a box with something that’s safe to touch, but feels yucky (like grapes for eyeballs, or spaghetti for worms). Make a hole in the box for people to put their hands through, and get the group to guess what they’re touching.