31 Spooky Ideas for Your Halloween Bucket List
Get inspired and complete your Halloween bucket list this year. It’s finally 31 Days of Halloween.
This post will give you ideas to add to your Halloween bucket list and give you tips to help you actually complete aforementioned list.
Halloween Bucket List
1.) Horror Music
Play spooky music to get in the mood.
Put on the soundtrack of your favorite scary movies, vintage monster movie themes, spooky pop hits, or haunting classical pieces.
Play softly in the background or turn up the volume and make it a party.
Bonus points if you have a record player!
2.) Halloween Wardrobe
Bonus points if you have a record player!
They’re many options.
Design and make your own costume.
Mix and match pieces from several costumes to create your own unique costume. Be a rapper and a slasher.
Buy one from the store.
There is no wrong answer.
3.) Halloween Decor
Decorating begins the second the first leaf falls.
Get inspired.
From cozy pumpkins and flickering candlelight to elegant gothic accent pieces and vintage cottagecore finds.
Make your home feel festive all 31 days of October.
Scare trick ‘ treaters on Halloween with spooky animated motion activated characters, sound and fog machines, and so much more.
4.) Costumes
Costumes.
Creep.
Candy.
Become someone else for a day.
Go traditional.
Dracula
Wolfman
Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s Wife
Mix and match previously used costumes and props.
Create clever DIY outfits.
There’s no wrong answer.
Put a spin on classic monsters.
Add a twist to your classic beloved storybook characters and enchanting fantasy looks.
I’m thinking…
A werewolf with a red cloak and basket.
A vampire with a snowy white complexion, red lips, and sharp fangs.
Half mermaid, half siren.
A witch with a fairy godmother.
Get inspired.
Make every day of October feel like dress-up day if you want to.
Leads right into…
5.) Costume Fashion Show
Host a costume fashion show.
Roll out the blood red carpet.
(orange works too!)
Strike a pose on the black catwalk.
Do a lil’ twist; do a lil’ turn.
Gather your guests to be judges.
Every great Halloween costume deserves its moment in the spotlight.
Crown your favorites.
Let the craftsmanship behind every look shine.
Celebrate everyone’s creativity and imagination.
Give us your witch walk!
Work that broomstick!
Give us your best evil laugh!
Show off those fangs!
Hand out awards for Scariest Costume, Most Creative Design and more!
6.) Costume Photoshoot
You walked the black catwalk.
You crowned the winners.
But now it’s time for the photoshoot.
Give me spooky.
Now give me silly.
The camera loves you!
You can always set up other photography sessions with professionals.
Try different backdrops and props.
It’s always funny when a child is wearing an adult sized mask.
7.) Halloween Care Packages
Save the tricks on this one.
Send a little magic and make someone’s Halloween season a little sweeter.
Pack a basket full of seasonal goodies, sweet treats, cozy comforts, and hidden treasures.
It goes without saying.
We gotta pack some Halloween candy and sweet treats like Reese’s pumpkins.
Holiday Reese’s (you know, the pumpkins, trees, eggs, and hearts) actually taste better than the regular kind in my opinion. They have more peanut butter.
Pack candy corn, gummy worms, caramel popcorn.
Spread the joy of homebaked cookies.
It’s officially pumpkin spice coffee season, so make sure to include pumpkin spice coffee!
I do prefer cinnamon sugar coffee.
Apple cider and tea packets, hot chocolate bombs, and jumbo marshmallows fit the theme too since not everyone likes pumpkin.
Every grown up loves a pair of thick cozy socks.
Pair with a warm throw blanket.
Large mugs for the ultimate hot cocoa drinks, topped with marshmallows, whipped cream, and a cherry.
Try making mug brownies.
The cinnamon roll flavor with icing is my favorite.
Candle or wax cubes
Jelly wax is the best in my opinion.
Hand warmers
Matching gloves and beanie hat in fall colors.
Maybe a pair of leg warmers to pair with boots.
Cocoa butter hand cream
Vaseline cocoa butter lip balm
It works the best because the cocoa butter is a humectant and provides moisture while vaseline is an occulive and seals in the moisture.
Halloween playlist QR code
Throw in a horror Mad Libs activity book, Halloween crossword/puzzles, and a deck of “Would You Rather?” Halloween cards.
Hide little treasures like potion bottles and mini cauldrons filled with stickers, temporary tattoos, enamel pins and keychains.
Include herb and tea samplers as well as seasonal incense, moon/sun/star decorations, and crystal-themed accessories.
Dried flowers and witchy art prints make the perfect bookmarks for a spellbook-style journal.
Write handwritten notes in personalized tarot-inspired cards.
Throw in a coupon or gift card for a scary movie night.
8.) Haunted Houses
Enter if you dare.
If you’re searching for SAFE thrills, chills, and heart-pounding fun, haunted houses are perfect.
Explore a haunted mansion filled with jump scares.They’re haunted asylums, forests, and more!
Or maybe you’re like me.Haunted houses just don’t do it.
I prefer atmospheric experiences.
Brave a haunted hayride.
Wander through a spooky corn maze.Venture down a haunted trail.
Embrace the spooky spirit of the season within your boundaries.
9.) Bonfire
To go along with the more chill vibe…
Build a fire with your friends and family.
Some haunted houses have bigger bonfires for those that don’t want to go in…like me…but still wanna have a good time.
It doesn’t have to be large.
Backyard gatherings.
Campsite celebrations.
Large enough to get cold, then too hot, then too cold again.
Wrap yourself in a cozy blanket.
Roast marshmallows.
Sip on a warm drink.
The flickering flames set the scene for ghost stories and laughter.
The fall leaves crunch under your boots.
The fire is glowing.
Smoke curls in the air.
The wood crackles.
Embers dance under the stars.
It’s a clear night.
Maybe you’ll get lucky and make a wish on a shooting star.
Sing songs and listen to spooky music on the speakers.
S’mores
Roast marshmallows and eat with a piece of chocolate and graham cracker.
I prefer cinnamon to honey.
Scary stories
Share your scariest story, fact or fiction.
10.) Murder Mystery Night
Was it the butler?
Maybe it was the widow standing to gain a massive fortune from life insurance?
Or was it the waiter?
Craft some shady and suspicious characters.
Assign roles and a game master.
Plant some clues for guests to find.
Solve the murder mystery.
11.) Scavenger Hunt at Night
12.) Pumpkin Patches
Find the perfect imperfect pumpkins to carve, paint, and put on the stoop.
Hayrides
Unlike haunted hayrides, Autumn hayrides are calm, relaxed, and not likely to spike your blood pressure. These are the kind I enjoy.
13.) Pumpkin Carving & Painting
Take your pumpkins home from the pumpkin patch.
Wash them with soap and hot water.
It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Hollow out the pumpkin first.
Roast the pumpkin seeds while you carve and/or paint your new friends for the season.
Scary faces.
Funny faces.
Paint flowers.
14.) Horror Books
The human imagination is able to produce some of our worst nightmares.
Horror works better when the reader or listener don’t know everything about the villian.
Take Michael Myers for example.
I grew up watching Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees versus Disney fairytales.
I personally enjoy the entire series for various reasons.
But the concensus among fans is that ‘The Shape’ is much scarier if we don’t know his origins.
It doesn’t matter what it is.
(POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT)
Druid curse
Traumatic family upbringing
Genetics
It’s much more chilling to imagine he just snapped one day, for no reason at all.
Horror is subjective and that’s okay.
Reading a horror novel (or listening to an audiobook) is almost the same.
We don’t need to see what’s going on with our eyes, but we fill in the blanks using whatever details are provided.
Our vivid imaginations run wild and free, often times scarier than anything seen in a movie.
Horror Book club
Build a Halloween book club with your friends, even just for the month of October.
You may even wanna do it year round.
Sometimes it’s nice to hear other perspectives.
15.) Potion Cocktail Night
Mocktails work too!
I prefer them to cocktails.
Please drink responsibly.
Stay the night.
Get an Uber or Lyft.
Do NOT drive drunk.
16.) Treat or Treat?
Check into Terra Waldorf or Hyatt Maldives for Treehouse dining and cinema.
17.) Haunted Gingerbread House
Who says you can only decorate gingerbread houses for Christmas?
0ut a spooky twist on a holiday favorite.
Decorate a haunted gingerbread house.
Premade sets are available but you can always make them from scratch.
They’re no rules.
Make an elaborate haunted mansion or a simple but spooky witch’s cottage.
Add a graveyard.
Crushed oreo for the soil.
Put the cookies in a plastic bag and crush them into a fine powder. Bury gummy worms into the ‘ground’.
Break off sections of cookies and cream chocolate bars to make the worn out gravestones.
Perfection is NOT the goal.
Please don’t worry about the cracks or making the rectangular shape straight.
The pieces shouldn’t be uniform.
It’s an old weathered graveyard after all.
Cotton candy webbing to make everything look abandoned.
Use black icing to add small personal messages like ‘boo!’ or ‘die!’
Add any message you like!
If you want, you can make a fence made of pretzels and wafer sticks.
Take pictures…and dig in!
18.) Halloween Arts n’ Crafts
Give your DIY decor a homemade touch.
Paint pumpkins, craft festive paper wreaths and handmade keepsakes. Glue googly eyes to aforementioned painted pumpkins…or anything really.
Celebrate the season with easy Halloween arts and crafts and kid-friendly projects everyone can enjoy.
It’s fun for the whole family or friend group, especially as the weather starts getting colder and nastier out.
I try not to think of winter right around the corner but I digress.
It doesn’t matter if you’re alone or with family and/or friends. There’s something to inspire makers of all ages.
You just need a dash of imagination!
19.) Halloween Games
I’m thinking Halloween themed bingo, charades, etc.
Make your own prize bins for the kiddos.
Play scary video games
(or watch someone else’s gameplay online if gaming isn’t your thing)
alone..
in the dark…
with your headphones…
on full blast.
20.) Escape Rooms
21.) Scary Movies
Movie THEATER
See a scary movie at your local movie theater.
Buy snacks.
I try waiting until atleast the previews start to dig in.
Popcorn and nachos (my fave), candy and ice cream, slushies and soda.
Stick to your budget and enjoy!
Drive-in Movie THEATER
Bonus points if you happen to live near a drive-in movie theater.
I promise, there’s nothing quite like it and we should support a dying business model.
The one I live by dates back to the fifties.In my experience, they’re cheaper.
See a double feature for more bang for the buck.
Visit the snack bar or use the restrooms during intermission.
Bring a charged portable AM/FM radio.Wi-Fi apps are now available.
Pillows and blankets because it’ll get cold without your vehicle running.
THEATER IN THE GARDEN
Plan a Halloween movie marathon with baked treats.
22.) Halloween Trivia Night
Plan a Halloween movie marathon with baked treats.
23.) Spooky Spa Night
24.) Spooky Spa Night
25.) Visit a Cemetery
26.) Ghost Tours
27.) Halloween Fairs & Fall Festivals
28.) Freebie
29.) Galloween/Soloween
Combine, mix, and match the above ideas if you find you don’t have a lot of free time or just to amplify the fun.
I’m thinking of a Halloween Bake & Craft Night.
or kick it up a notch.
Baking Night + Potion Cocktail Night + Book Club + Haunted Gingerbread House + Arts n Crafts Night + Game Night + Movie Night
Invite your girlfriends over.
Or enjoy a calm night inside to yourself.
Set the scene.
Start your fireplace. If you don’t have one, use your television like I do. You can pick one with storm sounds for more spooky ambiance.
Light some wooden wick candles. They smell good and sound like a crackling fireplace as the wooden wick burns.
Play your favorite scary movie’s soundtrack.
Bonus points if you have a record player and soundtrack record.
But any bluetooth speaker would work. This way you can still hear the crackling if you have to use the TV as a fireplace.
Whip up some potion cocktails (or mocktails) to sip on.
While the treats are baking, discuss book club.
Build a haunted gingerbread house, make some arts n’ crafts and/or play some games.
Or read a book.
When all the treats are done, watch a scary movie and enjoy.
Pumpkin Patch + Hayride + Potion Cocktail Night + Roasted Pumpkin Seeds + Pumpkin Carving and Painting + Movie Night
Visit a pumpkin patch with your family and friends to pick out some pumpkins.
Ride on a hayride if they offer them.
Whip up some potion cocktails (mocktails work better in this case with all the knives) to sip on and cut the chosen pumpkins open to gather all the seeds.
While the pumpkin seeds are roasting in the oven, carve and paint the empty pumpkins.
Put flameless tea light candles in the hollowed out pumpkins and put outside for the future trick r’ treaters to see.
When all the treats are done, watch a scary movie and enjoy.
31.) Trick r’ Treating
End Halloween season with a night of trick or treating.
Or stay home if you don’t have kids.
Pass out candy instead or put a bowl outside.
It’s my first year passing out candy.
Check out the next blog post ‘How to Plan a Spooky & Safe Night of Trick or’ Treating’ for more information.
When the kids are sleeping (if you have any)…check out the next blog post ‘The Perfect Halloween at Home with Loved Ones or Alone’ for more ideas.
The End
Alas, every spooky season must come to an end. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are right around the corner now. You may have completed the Halloween bucket list and October might be over, but the spooky can last all year. There’s no rule saying you can’t combine Halloween with any other holiday!
This post was all about the best ideas for your Halloween bucket list to help you be as prepared as possible when celebrating your spooky Halloween season.
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