Halloween doesn’t have to mean going to a party or having big plans to feel special. Some of the best Halloween nights are the ones spent at home, with something cozy to eat, a favorite spooky movie playing, and all the candles lit.
Whether you’re staying in by choice, handing out candy between movies, or just looking for a few ways to make October 31 feel a little more festive, there are so many fun things you can do without leaving the house. From baking Halloween treats and telling ghost stories to backyard bonfires and nostalgic movie marathons, these things to do on Halloween at home are perfect for making the most of the spookiest night of the year.
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Halloween Food & Drinks
1. Make a Spooky Cocktail or Mocktail
Mix up something festive to sip throughout the night, whether it’s a spooky cocktail or a fun alcohol-free version. You can keep it simple with apple cider and seasonal flavors, or go all out with fun garnishes, themed glasses, and a little dry ice drama.
2. Put Together a Halloween Snack Board
Fill a board with all of your favorite Halloween treats for an easy dinner or movie-night snack. Add popcorn, cheeses, crackers, fruit, candy, cookies, and anything else you love, then sneak in a few spooky details to make it feel extra festive.
3. Make Homemade Caramel Apples
Caramel apples are one of those treats that instantly feel like fall. Make a batch at home and set out toppings like chopped nuts, crushed cookies, mini chocolate chips, or sprinkles so everyone can decorate their own.
4. Bake Halloween Cookies
Put on a Halloween playlist and spend the evening baking something sweet. Classic sugar cookies are perfect for decorating with pumpkins, ghosts, and bats, but even your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe feels festive with a few Halloween-colored candies mixed in.
5. Have a Halloween-Themed Dinner
Turn an ordinary dinner at home into a little Halloween celebration. Make something cozy for the main course, add a spooky appetizer or dessert, set the table with candles, and use the Halloween dishes and decorations you’ve been waiting all year to pull out.
6. Have Dinner by Candlelight
Turn off the overhead lights, light a few candles, and make dinner feel a little moodier than usual. You don’t even need to cook anything special—the candlelight, a good playlist, and your Halloween decor can completely change the atmosphere.
7. Make a Cozy Fall Soup + Watch a Scary Movie
Make a big pot of your favorite fall soup, grab some crusty bread, and settle in for a scary movie afterward. It’s an especially good Halloween plan when the weather is chilly and you’d much rather spend the night bundled up at home.
8. Roast the Pumpkin Seeds
If pumpkin carving is already part of your Halloween tradition, don’t throw away the seeds! Clean them, toss them with a little oil and your favorite seasonings, and roast them until crispy for an easy snack to munch on later in the evening.
9. Make Halloween S’mores
Give classic s’mores a Halloween twist with seasonal marshmallows, festive chocolates, or whatever spooky treats you find at the store. Make them over a fire outside or use the oven if you’re keeping your Halloween night cozy indoors.
10. Finally Make That Halloween Recipe You Saved
You know that Halloween recipe that’s been sitting on your Pinterest board for the past three years? This is its moment. Pick one you’ve always wanted to try and make Halloween night the excuse to finally make it.
Cozy Indoor Activities
11. Do a Spooky Puzzle
Pick out a Halloween puzzle, clear a spot on the coffee table, and spend the evening slowly putting it together. Add a Halloween movie or playlist in the background, light a candle, and bring out some snacks for an easy cozy night at home.
12. Play Cards by Candlelight
A deck of cards, a few candles, and your favorite Halloween snacks are really all you need for this one. Turn down the lights and play a few rounds of your favorite card game for a simple activity that feels surprisingly perfect for Halloween night.
13. Read a Spooky Book
Halloween is the perfect excuse to curl up with something a little spooky. Pick a mystery, thriller, gothic novel, or cozy witchy read, make yourself a warm drink, and spend a few hours reading somewhere comfortable.
14. Do a Halloween Crossword or Word Search
Print out a Halloween crossword or word search for a low-key activity you can do while handing out candy or watching something in the background. You could even make it a little competition if you’re spending Halloween with someone else.
15. Read Classic Ghost Stories
Dim the lights and revisit an old-fashioned ghost story for the night. There’s something especially Halloween-y about reading a creepy classic by candlelight, particularly if you want something spooky without committing to an entire novel.
16. Listen to a Spooky Audiobook
Put on a spooky audiobook while you bake, work on a puzzle, craft, or simply curl up under a blanket. It’s also a fun way to make all the little things you’re already doing around the house feel a bit more Halloween-y.
17. Tell Ghost Stories
Turn down the lights, gather around the fireplace or a few candles, and take turns telling your best ghost stories. They can be genuinely creepy, completely made up, or those local legends everyone swears happened to a friend of a friend.
18. Have a Nostalgic Halloween TV Marathon
Instead of a scary movie marathon, spend the night rewatching Halloween episodes from your favorite comfort shows. Pick a few from shows you grew up watching, pile up the blankets, and make a night out of revisiting your favorites.
19. Watch Your Favorite Childhood Halloween Specials
Bring back the Halloween nights you remember as a kid with the specials and movies you used to watch every October. Add your favorite childhood Halloween candy and you basically have an entire nostalgia night planned.
20. Have a No-Phone Halloween Night
Put your phones away for a few hours and give yourself permission to fully enjoy the night. Cook something good, light the candles, play a game, read, watch a movie, or just hang out without checking notifications every five minutes.
Creative Activities
21. Paint Halloween Watercolors
Pull out your watercolors and spend the evening painting something inspired by the season. Pumpkins, little ghosts, autumn leaves, haunted houses, and cozy fall scenes are all easy places to start, and you definitely don’t need to be an artist to have fun with it.
22. Press Fall Leaves for a Craft
Collect a few colorful leaves from outside and press them between the pages of a heavy book. You can use them later for bookmarks, framed art, handmade cards, or another fall craft, and it’s a sweet way to preserve a little piece of the season.
23. Take Halloween Photos at Home
Turn Halloween night into an excuse for a little photoshoot. Throw white sheets over yourselves for classic ghost photos, take pictures in your costumes or pajamas, or head outside around sunset with pumpkins and candles for some cute seasonal photos to look back on.
24. Start a Halloween Scrapbook or Journal Page
Save a little piece of this year’s Halloween by making a scrapbook or journal page. Add photos, candy wrappers, little drawings, stickers, pressed leaves, or write down what you did that night. Keep adding to it every year and it could become a really sweet Halloween tradition.
Anthropologie
Halloween Watercolor Workbook
Amazon
Flower Press Art Kit
Cozy Night
25. Have a Halloween Pajama Night
Change into your coziest pajamas, grab all the blankets, and settle in for a night with nowhere else to be. Bonus points for Halloween pajamas, fuzzy socks, your favorite snacks, and a lineup of movies or shows you’ve been saving for the occasion.
26. Give Yourself a Halloween Self-Care Night
Turn Halloween into the coziest self-care night of the year. Put on a face mask, paint your nails, make your favorite warm drink, light a few candles, and watch something spooky while you do all the little things you never seem to have time for.
27. Take a Candlelit Bubble Bath
Run a warm bath, turn off the lights, and bring in a few candles for an extra cozy Halloween evening. Put on a spooky audiobook or Halloween playlist in the background and stay there for as long as you possibly can.
28. Light All Your Halloween Candles
If there was ever a night to light every pumpkin, cinnamon, apple, and slightly-too-specific fall candle you own, it’s Halloween. Turn off the overhead lights, light your favorites around the house, and enjoy how instantly cozy everything feels.
29. Sit Outside and Watch the Trick-or-Treaters
If your neighborhood gets trick-or-treaters, take your candy bowl outside and make an evening of it. Bring a blanket and a warm drink, put on some Halloween music, and enjoy seeing all the costumes instead of waiting inside for the doorbell to ring.
30. Buy Your Favorite Childhood Halloween Candy
Pick up the candy you were always hoping to find in your trick-or-treat bag as a kid and have a little nostalgia moment. Pair it with an old Halloween movie or childhood special and suddenly staying home feels like the best Halloween plan.
31. Make Halloween Goodie Bags
Put together little bags of candy and treats for friends, neighbors, coworkers, or trick-or-treaters. Add some ribbon, stickers, or handwritten tags to make them extra cute, then drop them off earlier in the day or hand them out that night.
Outdoor Halloween Night
32. Camp in the Backyard
Set up a tent in the backyard and turn Halloween night into a little at-home camping trip. Bring out sleeping bags, blankets, flashlights, plenty of snacks, and a few ghost stories for a Halloween adventure without actually having to go anywhere.
33. Have a Halloween Fire-Pit Night
Bundle up and spend the evening around the fire if you have a fire pit at home. Bring out blankets, put on a Halloween playlist, make something warm to drink, and stay outside talking long after the trick-or-treaters have gone home.
34. Toast Marshmallows
Grab a bag of marshmallows and spend some time around the fire roasting them until they’re perfectly golden—or completely charred, depending on which camp you belong to. 
Turn them into s’mores afterward or just eat them straight off the stick.
35. Go Stargazing After the Trick-or-Treaters Leave
Once the neighborhood gets quiet again, grab a blanket and head outside for a little stargazing. Bring a warm drink, bundle up, and enjoy the calm after all the excitement of Halloween night.
36. Make Hot Apple Cider
Warm up a pot of apple cider with cinnamon sticks and a few fall spices and let the whole house smell amazing. Pour it into your favorite mugs and take it outside by the fire, sip it while handing out candy, or curl up with it during a movie.
37. Make Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
Give regular hot chocolate a Halloween-night upgrade with a little pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Top it with whipped cream and marshmallows, then bring it along for a backyard movie, bonfire, or cozy night under the blankets.
However you decide to spend Halloween this year, I hope these ideas inspire you to make the night feel a little extra special. Pick a few favorites, stock up on your favorite treats, light the candles, and enjoy a cozy spooky night at home. Happy Halloween!