The leaves are changing color. The breeze has gone pleasant. The wardrobes are getting a revamp to boots and flannels and trousers. The themes in schools have got a fall based changeover. The stores are freshly stacked with tempting collection of festival goods. Nonetheless to mention, fall is here.

Fall brings with it the vibes of celebrations. Halloween being the first and kids’ most favourite.

My son too just loves Halloween. And why not! There is so much to do and there are corn mazes, pumpkin patches, hay farms and haunted houses. And, that cute short fall; giving a much needed breather from the jam-packed school schedules. To make it a little more exciting, we added Halloween advent Calendar to our list this year.

So what is this Halloween Advent Calendar?

The Halloween Advent Calendar or the Halloween Countdown Calendar is a Halloween theme based calendar consisting of compartments which contain little treats or fun activities for each day. This calendar intends to treat kiddos for the entire month and not just one day. After all, there can be nothing better than getting a pre-Halloween surprise each and every day.

You can buy these calendars from stores or also do it by yourself. Not much hype needed, the idea is to keep it enjoyable for the little ones. There is a range of treating ideas that can be included in this Advent Calendar.

Gift ideas:

Halloween candies treat cups
Pirate patch
Halloween books
Witch socks
Halloween donuts bouquet
Monster pencils
Chocolate skull lollipops

Vampire soaps
Halloween jewelry or makeup
Skeleton bookmark

Fun activity ideas:

Do a Halloween craft: It’s time to give a monsterly or a witchish or a ghostly touch to your craft. Some ideas include:
Make a witch slime
Make Halloween paper lanterns
Carve or paint a pumpkin
Make spider craft
Make paper plate mummy
Make toilet paper roll monster
Paste straw skeletons on paper

Make apple cider vinegar: Since apples are back in season and it’s time guests coming over, make a batch yourself. A freshly made apple cider is like a divine treat you give to yourself as well as your guest.

Bake pumpkin pie: Halloween means pumpkins in abundance. So why not use those pumpkins in making pies. What an interesting way to get some fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and potassium! (Use uncarved or undecorated ones though!)

Make your own Halloween Costume: Store bought costumes are common and expensive as well. You can design your own costume. They are super fun and cheaper as well. It can be anything from doing a simple no-sew cape to a costume of your favorite story book character.

Do a Halloween theme based raised salt painting: It’s one simple and enjoyable thing that kids love to do. Simply ask them to do their drawing and squeeze glue over the drawing. Next, sprinkle with salt until glue is covered. Now dip the paint brush into water color and gently touch the salt lines. Let it dry!

Halloween do-a-dot printable: Super easy and fun!

Bake a batch of monster cookies: Easy to bake and super fun to eat!

Do wicked Halloween decorations: Have a happy Halloween decoration shopping or a fun making experience!

Do a ghoulish stick puppet shows: Add an interesting touch to story reading by just doing a puppet show using ice cream sticks.

Visit a pumpkin patch or a local farm: Join Halloween themed festivities near you and make memories of lifetime.

Play Halloween charades or Halloween scavenger hunt: Play the Halloween charade game as Pictionary or let kiddos compete for scavenger hunt of hidden Halloween theme icons.

How to keep the calendar interesting?

Keep your calendar ready and get your kids doing all their chores and tasks before opening the calendar for each day. You can always plan the gift or activity idea according to the time you have for a particular day. If gifts don’t fit in the calendar pocket, put a clue therein and do a little treasure hunt. Have your own versions of calendar, in form of a tree or a pinata or anything that clicks.

Have a frighteningly fun Halloween!