Spooky Treats and Activities To Enjoy At Halloween

0 min read

30 October 2023

a carved pumpkin on in front a black wooden background

Halloween season is upon us, which means the leaves are falling, wind is blowing, pumpkins are being carved, and many parents are looking for ideas to help keep the kids entertained during the mid-term break.

We’ll try and make it a little easier by listing some ideas, no tricks just activities and treats that the whole family can enjoy.

1- Make some Toffee Apples

Your dentist may or may not approve, but the traditional Toffee Apple is an all-time Halloween favourite, which you can make from home (we’ve included a recipe for you to follow below).

Ingredients	Method
6 Red Apples	Put 6 red apples in a large bowl and cover with boiling water – this will remove any waxy residue on the skin and help the caramel to stick. Leave them to sit for 1 minute and then drain and dry with kitchen roll. A white dust may appear on the apples, but this is nothing to worry about, just make sure they are thoroughly dry.
300g golden caster sugar	Carefully push a wooden skewer into the top of each of the apples and through the core. You don’t want the skewer to come out the other end, just push enough so it is secure. Rest the apples, skewers up, on a baking tray lined with nonstick baking paper.
3 tbsp of golden syrup	Add 300g of golden caster sugar to a medium-sized pan with 3 tbsp of golden syrup and 5 tbsp of water. Swirl the water so it covers the sugar but do not stir. Heat the mixture on a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and boil the sugar syrup until it reaches 140°C on a sugar thermometer. Make sure not to stir the caramel at any time, you can just swirl it around gently in the pan.
Toppings	Once the toffee has reached 140°c, work quickly to dip each apple (using the skewer) into the caramel. Be very careful not to touch the caramel as it will be extremely hot. You may need to tip the pan while rotating the apple to get an even coating of caramel. Repeat quickly with the other apples. If the mixture becomes too stiff, return it to the heat for a minute until it has softened.
Skewers	You can now leave the apples to cool on the baking tray – skewer side pointing up – or immediately after the apples are dipped, sprinkle them with nuts, sprinkles or chopped dried fruits. Make sure to sprinkle the toppings over the apple rather than dipping the apples into the bowl
	Leave to set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and then enjoy.

2- Pumpkin Carving/Decorating

Maybe you’ve already carved a pumpkin this year, but why not add another? It’s a fun activity the whole family can get involved with. However, sometimes carving can be a little trickier and dangerous for children so maybe do some decorating instead? Get some paint, markers, stickers and any other creative supplies you can think of, that will help create some of the scariest, funniest and creative pumpkin designs possible. You can even have prizes for some of the best designs… maybe one of those Toffee Apples you made earlier?

3- Pin the Nose on the Jack-O'-Lantern

Another pumpkin related activity, putting a twist on the classic party game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”! Why not use those newly decorated pumpkins, where the objective is to pin a nose onto the Jack-O-Lantern/Pumpkin, with the closest effort being the winner. For this you can use a pin, or some double-sided sticky tape.

4- Apple Bobbing

Another classic Halloween tradition is apple bobbing. A simple but fun game, fill a bucket with water and some apples and the objective is to get as many apples out of the water as possible, using only your mouth. If you haven’t tried before, it’s a lot tougher than it sounds.

5- Make a Halloween Mocktail

After doing all those games, you’ll need a nice drink to cool down, so why not make some Halloween mocktails? A recipe and method is below.

Ingredients	Method
425g can lychees	STEP 1- Rinse the disposable gloves and fill each with water. Tie a knot in the top of each as you would a balloon or use a tight bag clip to hold the opening closed. Freeze overnight.
225g jar cocktail cherries	STEP 2- Drain the lychees and cocktail cherries, reserving the juices in a jug. Push a raisin into one end of each cherry, then push the cherries into the lychees to make ‘eyeballs’.
15 Raisins	STEP 3- Tip all of the juices, plus the reserved lychee and cherry juices, into a large bowl with the ‘eyeballs’. Carefully peel the gloves from the ice hands, add to the punch, then top up with the sparkling water.
1 litre carton blueberry, blackberry, or purple grape juice- chilled
1 litre carton cherry or cranberry juice- chilled
1litre sparkling water- chilled