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Calling all ghouls and goblins, it's Halloween season at the library! Children of all ages will enjoy these fang-tastic books, activities, crafts, and snacks. Incorporate one or two into a not-so-scary storytime or try an all-ages event with stations sprinkled throughout the library for families to enjoy at their own pace. These ideas have been used with group sizes 20 to 150 and much of the supplies may already be in your craft closet.
promotional blurb
"Join us for a family-friendly evening of fun! Come dressed in costume and move throughout the library at your own pace to enjoy spooktacular crafts, activities, and more. For all ages."
BOOKS
Read aloud from one of these creeptacular books and set up a display of ghoulish titles and monster classics for patrons to check out.
Activities
Dance party
It's not a Monster Mash without music and dancing. Fire up the KIDZ BOP Halloween Party playlist, teach the group a few monster moves, and set them free to mash.
Trick-or-Treating
Encourage attendees to visit each of your service or staff desks to receive stickers, pencils, temporary tattoos, or candy.
Halloween Bowling
Buy the Candy Corn Bowling Set from Oriental Trading or create this Paper Cups Ghost Bowling Set using white paper cups, a black Sharpie, and a ping pong ball.
Monster Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are a librarian's best friend because you can make one for EVERY theme imaginable. Print out images of monsters, tape them in fun locations around the library, and provide each attendee with a sheet showing the images they must find.
Free clipart sources, like Freepik are a great way to make your scavenger hunts. Just be sure to include an attribution somewhere on the sheet if the source requires it. For example, if using Freepik you may need to include "Images designed by Freepik" somewhere on the printed product.
Sensory Mystery Box Challenge
Decorate empty Kleenex boxes, pop ooey gooey objects inside, and challenge kiddos to reach in and guess what they're touching! Wrap the boxes in black paper or get fancy like these Halloween Mysery Boxes from Almost Supermom. Gross items to put in the boxes include:
Cooked spaghetti = brains
Carrot sticks = witch fingers
Corn kernels = monster teeth
Peel grapes = eyeballs
Dried apricots = monster ears
Bananas sliced lengthwise = witch tongues
Yarn = monster hair
Photobooth
Cover a wall in black paper or purchase a backdrop. Set out fun props, such as mini pumpkins, or print these adorable free Halloween Photo Props from Canon Creative Park and tape them to straws or paint sticks. You can also get fancy and purchase this photo backdrop stand and utilize it at other programs throughout the year.
Haunted Library Room
Commandeer a study room and challenge teen volunteers to turn it into a not-so-scary (or scary!) haunted room using props and decor. Do you have a bat, spider, or black cat puppet in your storytime stash? Balloons or streams you can hang from the ceiling? Have teen volunteers man the door and space during the event to summon attendees in and out of the room and assuage parents of the scariness level.
Costume Parade
Set a time during the event to invite attendees to follow you around the building to wave and show off their costumes. Parents will love taking photos and staff at other desks will enjoy the entertainment. For more excitement, try a costume contest, too!
Costume Contest
There are countless ways to conduct a costume contest - in-person voting, posting photos on social media for online voting, etc. - but I prefer the following in-person method for group sizes of 100 or less.
Supplies Needed
Sticky nametags to write contestant numbers on or print numbers out ahead of time
Sign-in sheet for contestants to fill in their name & costume name next to their number (so you have a record of who goes with each number)
Contest ballots & pencils for attendees to vote for their favorites in the categories of your choice (printable example here & shown above)
A ballot box/bucket for attendees to cast their votes
Staff or teen volunteers to tally the votes
Prizes for the winners ($5+ gift cards, bag of candy, prize pack of books, etc.)
How It Works
Near the entrance to the event have a registration station manned by staff/teen volunteers to ask attendees if they'd like to participate in the costume contest. If so, provide the contestant with a number and ask them to fill in their name/costume name on a sign-in sheet.
Set out a ballot box, ballots, and pencils for attendees to complete.
Make an announcement 30 minutes into the event that voting for the contest will close in 15 minutes. (Adjust times based on your preference/event length.)
Have volunteers go through the bucket to tally the winners! (In a private space away from attendees.)
Announce the winners before the end of the event!
Crafts
DIY Glow Bracelets
Pony bead crafts are always a hit! Packs of regular and glow-in-the-dark pony beads can be purchased from Amazon or Michaels as well as elastic cord. See assembly instructions from Michaels here.
Color a Bookmark
Set out blank cardstock bookmarks with a basket of markers or print spooky outlines (like these). Searching online for "halloween bookmarks to color" will bring up a plethora of free downloadable options, too.
Mask making
Print mask templates on cardstock for attendees to color, cut, and assemble with string. A hole punch will be needed, too. Search online for "free printable halloween masks" for templates or purchase cute ones like these through Etsy. You could also get crafty with a black Sharpie and draw your templates. Then scan and print copies on cardstock or use the copy machine.
Bats Chalk Art
Create a spooky bat silhouette with black construction paper, a bat template, and colorful chalk. Examples found at the Friends Art Lab! and Projects with Kids.
Color Scratch Ornaments
These Color Scratch Halloween ornaments from Oriental Trading are my go-to for big events because they require little set-up and clean-up. You can purchase a large quantity fairly cheaply and in shapes for any holiday under the sun. A great craft for outreach events, too!
Snacks
Offering refreshments is a great community service if you have the budget. Try:
Small bottles of water (aka magic potion)
Green Hawaiian Punch or green juice boxes (aka slime)
Clementines: Make them into a craft by putting out black markers to make jack-o'-lantern faces!
Mini bags of goldfish crackers or pretzels
Fruit snacks
Candy!
bring it all together
Handing patrons an activity list when they arrive is a great way to break the ice and let them know what to expect. The following activity sheets were created in Publisher and printed as half sheets (2 per page). Bonus points if you include an event survey on the back for patrons to drop in a bucket on their way out. Patrons who completed at least 6 of the activities on the sheet could visit the library's youth desk to receive a temporary tattoo or sticker.
