🎃 The Ultimate Family Halloween Checklist:

Candy, Costumes… and a Little Shadow Magic

Pumpkins glow, capes rustle, tiny feet race down the hall.
Halloween isn’t just one night of sugar, it’s a whole day of wonder you can shape together.

Here’s your family-friendly Halloween checklist: simple, imaginative ideas for candy, gifts, costumes, food, and one unforgettable screen-free tradition right in your living room.

🍬 Treats that feel thoughtful (not just sugar)

Fill your bowl with variety so every child feels surprised:

• Classic chocolates and chewy candies

• Glow sticks, glow-in-the-dark rings, or bracelets

• Temporary tattoos and Halloween stickers

• Mini notebooks, pencils, or erasers with spooky designs

• Allergy-friendly snacks (dried fruit, popcorn bags, pretzels) in a teal-marked bowl

• Small LEGO packs or building kits (great for older kids)

Pro tip: Create a “swap station” at home. After trick-or-treating, kids can trade for their favorites. It stretches the joy, encourages sharing, and reduces late-night sugar crashes.

🦇 Little gifts for little ghouls

Halloween doesn’t have to be only about candy. Keep a drawer of small treasures for party favors, classroom exchanges, or trick-or-treat alternatives:

• Spooky bookmarks, enamel pins, or charm bracelets

• “Story tokens” — paper coins kids redeem for reading a silly poem or a shadow scene

• Black paper + silver or white markers/crayons for DIY shadow puppet drawings

• Glow-in-the-dark stickers for bedroom walls

• Mini puzzles or Rubik’s cubes in Halloween colors

• Small bubble bottles shaped like pumpkins or bats

🎃 Costumes: quick, comfy, and unforgettable

Running out of time? These three costumes come together in minutes and still feel special:

• Cozy Bat: hoodie + paper ears + pinned felt wings

• Pumpkin Pal: orange tee + green scarf + freckles with face paint

• Shadow Storyteller: dark clothes + flashlight + silhouettes folder (perfect for SHAPLABOO!)

• Ghost-on-the-Go: white sheet with cut-out eyes (classic, but add a hat or glasses for humor)

• Scarecrow: plaid shirt, straw hat, a little hay or raffia tucked in pockets

• Wizard in a Flash: dark robe, paper hat, and a cardboard wand wrapped in foil

If you want to go all out, add one signature detail: a dramatic cape, oversized hat, or glowing accessory while keeping the rest simple and comfortable.

🏠 Decorations that set the scene

A Halloween house doesn’t need to be scary — just magical. Try:

• Paper bats taped to the wall in a “flying swarm” pattern

• Mason jars with LED candles wrapped in black lace or gauze

• A “pumpkin family” of different sizes with painted faces

• Shadow silhouettes on the windows (witches, cats, pumpkins) backlit by lamps

• String lights in warm orange or purple for cozy glow

• “Spider webs” stretched across mirrors or bookshelves

• DIY garland from black and orange paper shapes

• A blanket fort that doubles as a “shadow stage”

🧃 A Halloween menu kids will actually eat

Keep the food fun, festive, and easy to serve:

• Pumpkin Grilled Cheese: jack-o’-lantern cut-outs in bread

• Mummy Dogs: hot dogs in puff pastry with mustard eyes

• Monster Mouths: apples + peanut butter + marshmallow teeth

• Witch’s Brew: sparkling water + apple juice + grape “eyeballs”

• Ghost Bananas: half bananas with chocolate chip eyes

• Spider Cupcakes: chocolate cupcakes with pretzel “legs”

• Jack-o’-lantern quesadillas: cut face shapes in tortillas before toasting

Serve picnic-style on a low table so children can grab snacks between games or performances.

📖 The 20-minute living-room showstopper

Shadow Theater with A Tale for Halloween

When the sugar high meets bedtime fatigue, it’s the perfect moment to dim the lights and turn your wall into a stage.

With SHAPLABOO’s A Tale for Halloween, silhouettes leap from the book into a cozy, spooky-sweet performance, no screens required.

How to play:

1. Dim and aim: flashlight slightly above the book for crisp shadows

2. Cast and voices: hand out silhouettes (witch, cat, pumpkin) — let kids choose voices

3. Make it yours: pause after each scene and ask, “What happens next?”

4. Try color: with a StoryLighter, switch to red or green for dramatic effect

5. End softly: close with the audio track to help everyone wind down

It’s lively enough for laughter and gentle enough to settle kids toward sleep.
Bonus: the set includes an audio performance for extra atmosphere.

A simple Halloween timeline (steal this idea)

• 3:30 PM — After-school snack and quick costume check

• 4:00 PM — Craft a last-minute prop, like a paper bat mask or glow-stick bracelet

• 5:30 PM — Dinner: Jack-o’-lantern quesadillas and pumpkin-shaped grilled cheese

• 6:15 PM — Trick-or-treat neighborhood loop (times vary by community, some start closer to 6:30–7:00)

• 7:30 PM — Swap station and hot cocoa

• 7:45 PM — Shadow Theater: A Tale for Halloween (10–20 minutes)

• 8:10 PM — Pajamas, brushing teeth, one whispered “again”… then lights out

Safety and sanity tips

• Add reflective tape to costumes for safe walks

• Bring flashlights or glow sticks for dark streets

• Label treat bags and do a quick allergen check

• Keep a “quiet corner” with pillows for shy or tired kids

• Choose comfortable shoes for trick-or-treating

✨ Want the full Halloween kit?

We’ve created a free Halloween Night Kit:

• Printable checklist

• Snack recipe cards

• A preview scene from A Tale for Halloween

Subscribe to receive the kit directly by email. Just enough to stage your first shadow story tonight.

Why this Halloween will last

Candy disappears. Costumes get packed away.
But the story you perform together? That has become a tradition.

Explore more adventures:

• A Tale for Halloween

• The Jungle Book

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Happy haunting and sweet dreams,
The SHAPLABOO Team