We will continue to add to this list right up to and including Halloween so make sure you keep checking this article so you don’t miss out on any of the spooky fun!

Family-Friendly Halloween Events in Brisbane 2024

Our calendar is brimming with Halloween events for kids in Brisbane this year, and as Halloween falls on a Thursday in 2024, there is a lot of events being held over the entire weekend in the lead up to Halloween.  Here’s a run-down on what’s happening in Brisbane for families this Halloween.

Events Over Multiple Days

Spooky Putt Putt

When: 15 September – 31 October 2023

Where: Victoria Park

What: Creep your way around the frightfully spooky 18 holes of putt putt at Victoria Park encountering Broken Bones Boulevard, toxic waste barrels and Carn-Evil.

Spooky Putt Putt at Victoria Park event details

Halloween at TopStroke

When: 16 October – 6 November 2023

Where: TopStroke at the Oxley Golf Club

What: Head to TopStroke at the Oxley Golf Club to sink a frightfully good hole-in-one. Guests can work their way around the eerie 18-hole mini golf course enjoying the ultimate Halloween experience with family and friends. A free jumping castle and lollies will be available for the kids, while on weekends drinks and hot food will be available for purchase until 10pm. 

Halloween at TopStroke Event Details

Trick or Treat Little Stanley Street

When: 27 – 28 October 2023, 5pm – 10pm

Where: Little Stanley Street, South Brisbane

What: Little Stanley Street will become a hive of spookiness featuring Halloween themed streets, roving performers, music performances, Halloween Markets and a theatre under the stars playing Halloween themed films. 

Trick or Treat Little Stanley Street Event details

Halloween Events at Brisbane City Council Libraries

When: 25 – 31 October 2023

Where: Brisbane City Council Libraries (various locations)

What: A variety of fun, family-friendly Halloween themed events will held across many Brisbane City Council libraries in the lead up to Halloween. Whether it is joining in on a spooky storytime or having a laugh a participating in Halloween Fun and Games, there is bound to be an event at a library near you. Bookings are often required, so get in early to avoid disappointment. 

Brisbane City Council Library Event details

Terror on Topham

When: 27, 28, 29 and 31 October 2023, from 5pm

Where: Topham Street, Bald Hills

What: Get along to Terror on Topham’s to witness this thrilling Halloween themed, synchronised light spectacular. There will be lights, spooky music and food vendors (fairy floss and snow cones) on site.

Terror on Topham event details.

Lights on Parker Ave

When: 28 – 31 October 2023, 6.30 – 8.30pm

Where: 33 Parker Avenue, Northgate

What: A spectacular Halloween Lights display, synchronised to music, will light up 33 Parker Avenue again this October. There will even be photo opportunities on Saturday and Tuesday night with the Mandalorian and Ahsoka Tano.

Lights on Parker Ave event details.

 Fangtuary

When: 26 – 28 October 2023

Where: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

What: Dress up in your scariest Halloween costume and head to Currumbin Sanctuary after dark to ride the Ghost Train, enter the haunted house (if you dare), dance at the zombie disco, go trick-or-treating, see street performers and sink your fangs into delicious treats.

Fangtuary Event Details

Halloween at Sunnybank Hills

When: 28 – 29 October 2023, 10am – 2pm

Where:  Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown

What: Get ready for trick or treating, entertainment, face painting, balloon twisting, and more at this fun Halloween event at Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown. 

Halloween at Sunnybank Hills Event Details

Fearphobia Scream Park 

When: 20 – 31 October 2023, from 6.00pm

Where:  Westfield Helensvale

What: One for the big kids – Fearaphobia is Australia‘s first dedicated scream park, and all of its attractions are there just to make your nightmares come true! Featuring 100 performers, freak shows, trick or treat, themed rooms and more. 

Fearphobia Scream Park Event Details

Halloween FestEVIL

When: 27 & 28 October 2023, 5pm – 10pm and 29 October, Noon – 5pm

Where: Aussie World

What: Experience five hours of scary thrills at Aussie World as you creep through haunted mazes, enjoy unlimited rides, devour ghoulish food and drinks and be dazzled by the pyrotechnic light display (on 27^th and 28^th).

Halloween FestEVIL Event Details

Halloween Haunt Ipswich

When: 30 and 31 October 2023, 6 pm-9 pm

Where: 525 Junction Road,  Barellan Point

What:  The Halloween Haunt Ipswich is back again this year! Dress up and walk though this spooktacular yard. Will you laugh, scream or tremble with fear?

Halloween Haunt Ipswich Event details

 Happy Halloween

When: 14 and 27 October 2023, 5.30pm – 9pm

Where:  Dreamworld

What: Rides the rides at night plus trick or treating, spooky food, themed live shows, wildlife by night, costume contest and more. 

Happy Halloween Event Details 

Halloween Messy Play

When: 27 and 28 October 2023, 9.30am – 11am

Where: St Michael and All Angels’ Anglican Church. Moggill

What: Join in another fun Messy Explorer event this year in Moggill. Suitable for children aged 18 months to 5 years, this ‘messy play’ is a hands-on, interactive event designed to delight little ones. Halloween themed, open-ended, sensory activities will help little minds to grow and have fun in a safe environment, while adults can get to know other parents and carers.  Tickets required. 

Halloween Messy Play event details

 The Morgue at Rochedale

When: 27, 28, 29 and 31 October 2023, 5pm – 9pm

Where: Rochedale Tigers Clubhouse, Underwood Park (Note – new venue in 2023) 

What: This year the Morgue presents a bigger, scarier walkthrough as well as a dedicated kid’s area, scary maze, craft, food and dessert trucks, giveaways, raffles and more. This is a family friendly event with all gold coin donations going to the Black Dog Institute.

The Morgue Event Details

Spooktacular Halloween Disco

When: 27 & 28 October 2023, 5pm – 8pm 

Where: Nicholas Street Precinct, Ipswich

What: Put on your spookiest costume and dance the night away at this FREE event in Ipswich, which includes a DJ, disco and roving entertainment. 

Spooktacular Halloween Disco details

Spooky Nights 

When: 13, 14. 20, 21, 27 & 28 October 2023, 5.30pm – 8.30pm

Where:  Sea World

What: Enjoy a night of Spooktacular family fun at Spooky Nights, Sea World. Journey through seven eerie precincts as you witness the Monster Mayhem Laser Light Show, enjoy live entertainment, and experience a selection of rides after dark, including the Leviathan and Storm Coaster.

Spooky Nights Event Details

Events on Specific Dates 

Saturday 21st October 2023

DRM Halloween Trucks & Tunes and 

When: 21 October 2023, 4pm – 9pm

Where: Distillery Road Market

What: Distillery Road Market (DRM) transforms its outdoor entertainment precinct into a spooky atmosphere with live entertainment, market stalls and food trucks. Don’t forget to dress-up!

DRM Trucks & Tunes – Halloween Edition event details

Thursday 26th October 2023

Grand Plaza’s Halloween Ghost Hunt

When: 26 October 2023, 5pm

Where: Grand Plaza – Browns Plains

What: Dress up and head to the Customer Service Desk to collect your ghost-hunting map to locate the ten illusive ghosts hiding in shop windows, before getting your ‘treat.’

Grand Plaza Halloween Ghost Hunt event details

 Tiny Tots Halloween Fun

When: 26 October 2023, 10am – 1pm

Where: Aussie World

What: Little ones can have a spook-tacular time as they interact with Halloween characters, join in interactive activities, and enjoy trick or treating. There will also be face painting, toddler friendly rides and halloween-themed games. 

Tiny Tots Halloween Fun Event Details

Friday 27th October 2023

Halloween Night Enchantment Markets

When: 27 October 2023, 5pm – 9pm

Where: Old Petrie Town

What: Join Petrie Moonlight Markets for a spooky night where zombies roam and witches fly.Come dressed to scare, as this Halloween night, you’re sure to have fright. There will be lots of fun entertainment for the kids and lots of market stalls.

Halloween Moonlight Markets Event Details

Halloween at Brookfield

When: 27 October 2023, 4pm – 10pm

Where: Brookfield Showgrounds (Brookfield Bar)

What: Brookfield Show Society has teamed up with Jamboree Events to bring the community an evening of Halloween fun. Families can enjoy market stalls, music, entertainment, face-painting and plenty of food and drink options.

Halloween at Brookfield Event Details

Saturday 28th October 2023

Bethania Halloween Market

When: 28 October 2023, 8am – 1pm

Where: Bethania Community Centre

What: Head to Bethania for a spooky market, music, food, colouring in and lots of Halloween family-friendly activities. 

Bethania Halloween Market event details 

 2023 Ampol Wynnum Halloween Parade

When: 28 October 2023, 4pm – 9pm

Where: Wynnum Central and Bay Terrace, Wynnum

What: Halloween Parade, markets, food truck, trick or treating and best-dressed competitions the whole family will love. 

Halloween Parade event details 

 Outdoor Cinema in the Suburbs Halloween Event

When: 28 October 2023, 5.30pm – 10pm

Where: Victoria Park, Herston. Event is at Gilchrist Avenue side of the park.

What: Spooky features include Hotel Transylvania (2012, rated PG) at 6.30pm followed by Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, rated PG) at 8.15pm. Bring your own picnic rug, food and chairs or purchase dinner from onsite food trucks. 

Outdoor Cinema in the Suburbs Halloween event details 

Batty Halloween in the Park

When: 28 October 2023, 4.30pm – 6.30pm

Where: Doug Larsen Park

What: Celebrate Halloween and Bat Week  at Doug Larsen Park with this spooky educational event. There will be plenty of free activities on offer including craft, a best-dressed competition, sausage sizzle and an appearance by a Flying Fox called Luna. Registrations required. 

Batty Halloween in the Park Event Details

Halloween Trick or Treat Hunt

When: 28 October 2023, 11am – noon

Where: Beenleigh Marketplace

What: Grab your little monsters, dress up and join the trick or treat hunt around Beenleigh Marketplace.  Bookings required. 

Halloween Trick or Treat Hunt event details 

Halloween Carnival

When: 28 October 2023, 8.30am – 11.30am

Where: Kenmore Hills Early Learning

What: Come dressed in your best Halloween costume and enjoy some spooky fun at this annual Halloween Carnival. Families can enjoy a jumping castle, arts and craft, face painting, carnival games, food and more at this popular free community event.

Halloween Carnival event details

Family STEM: Halloween

When: 28 October 2023, 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Where: Brisbane Square Library

What: Enjoy an hour of Halloween-themed games and fun activities as you explore science, technology, reading and art at Brisbane Square Library. Bookings required. 

Family STEM Halloween event details

 Along Came a Spider

When: 28 October 2023, 10am – Noon

Where: Orleigh Park

What:  Hear creepy stories, play some games and make your own dangly spider to take home. Bookings essential. 

Along Came A Spider Event details

Halloween Disco

When:  28 October 2023, 5pm – 8pm

Where: Tiddlywinks Nundah

What: This awesome annual event features two BIG discos and a spooky stage show plus trick or treating. You can even meet Mickey and Minnie! The bar and cafe will be open too. Tickets required. 

Tiddlywinks Halloween Disco event details

Halloween Spooktacular

When: 28 October 2023, 4pm – 9pm

Where: Ipswich Showgrounds

What: With wicked entertainment, a spooky sideshow alley, creepy decorations, eerie market stalls, disco, tasty treats and more your little monsters are guaranteed to have a fantastic time at this Halloween Spooktacular event. 

Halloween Spooktacular Market event details 

Caboolture Halloween Twilight Markets 

When: 28 October 2023, 4pm – 9pm

Where: Caboolture Showgrounds

What: The annual Caboolture Halloween Twilight Markets have a large array of market stalls as well as trick-a-treating for the kids, and delicious food stalls. Don’t forget to come dressed in your spookiest costume for a chance to win the best-dressed competition. 

Caboolture Halloween Twilight Markets Event details

Halloween Spooktacular Twilight Markets 

When:  28 October 2023, 2pm – 7pm

Where: Brays Road, Murrumba Downs

What: Enjoy some spooky fun at the Murrumba Market Halloween Spooktacular Twilights Markets. Roving magicians, face painting, trick or treating, market stalls, food trucks and more will entertain families and provide a frightfully fangtastic atmosphere. 

Halloween Spooktacular Twilight Markets Event Details

 Redcliffe Markets Festival of Frights

When:  28 October 2023, 4pm – 9pm

Where: Redcliffe Parade

What:  A spooktacular night is coming to Redcliffe with the annual Redcliffe Twilight Markets. Featuring a spectacular fireworks display at 8pm, trick-or-treating, sideshow alley, jumping castle, face painting. spooky entertainment and yummy street eats, be sure to head down to Redcliffe for a ghouly good time!

Redcliffe Markets Festival of Fright event details

Halloween at Vend

When:  28 October 2023, 4pm – 8pm 

Where: Vend Marketplace – Virginia

What: Come down and celebrate Halloween at VEND Marketplace.  Come in your spookiest costume for your chance to win a prize. Visitors can enjoy trick or treating, face painting, a jumping castle, markets and more. 

Halloween at Vend Event Details 

Halloween Spooktacular

When: 28 October 2023, 9.30am – 2pm

Where: Peninsula Fair – Kippa-Ring

What: Join in the FREE fun event this Halloween at Peninsula Fair’s Halloween Spooktacular. Little monsters can create their own Halloween mask and visit participating retailers to collect treats. Bookings required. 

Halloween Spooktacular event details

Halloween Hullabaloo

When: 28 October 2023, 9am – Noon

Where: Underwood Marketplace

What: Children are invited to enjoy a morning of Halloween fun including a face painting, Halloween trail tour, a Halloween treat bag a beastly bracelet making workshop plus a $5 off treat voucher.  Tickets required – $5. 

Halloween Hullabaloo event details

Halloween Scavenger Hunt

When: 28 October 2023, 10am – 1pm

Where: Market Central Lutwyche

What: Get ready for some terrifyingly spooky fun at Market Central Lutwyche. Collect your Halloween Hunt checklist and treat bag from the Halloween Booth outside Aldi and follow the Jack-o-Lanterns to find the creatures lurking around the Centre.

Halloween Scavenger Hunt event details

Halloween Pumpkin Hunt

When: 28 October 2023, 10am – 2pm

Where: Town Square Redbank Plains

What: Come dressed in your face Halloween costume and participate in the fun Halloween Pumpkin Hunt. After you have collected your Hunt card, visit retailers, and collect stamps. Complete your card to receive a special Halloween bag to take home. 

Halloween Pumpkin Hunt event details

Sunday 29th October 2023

Calamvale Halloween in the Park

When: 29 October 2023, 5pm – 8pm

Where: Calamvale District Park

What: Head to Calamvale District Park in your frightfully spooky dress-ups where you can enjoy food trucks in a family-friendly environment. As the sunsets, curl up to watch a movie outdoors.

Calamvale Halloween in the Park event details

 Blackwood Street Halloween Festival 2022

When: 29 October 2023, 3pm – 6pm

Where: Blackwood Street, Mitchelton

What: Dress up and get ready to have lots of fun at the annual Blackwood Street Halloween Festival.  Featuring markets stalls, live music, food, rides, a street parade, entertainment, a best dressed competition, and more, this popular family-friendly event is not to be missed. 

Blackwood Street Halloween Festival event details

Geebung Street Party

When: 29 October 2023, 10am – 3pm

Where: Collings Street, Geebung

What: Join in the festivities at the Geebung Street Party. With free activities for the kids including face painting, finger puppets and messy explorers, pop in for some spooky fun. 

Geebung Street Party event details 

Trick or Treat Trail

When: 29 October, 2023, 10am – 2pm 

Where: Westfield North Lakes

What: Join in the spooky fun at Westfield on the trick or treat trail.  There will be tricks, treats, face painting and a DJ. 

Trick or Treat Trail event Details

Strathpine Spooky Trail 

When:  29 October 2023, 10am – 1.30pm

Where: Strathpine Centre

What: Visit the Strathpine Centre in your scariest costume for a haunted guided tour of the Strathpine Spooky Trail. Bookings required. 

Strathpine Spooky Trail event details

Spooktacular Halloween Party and High Tea

When: 29 October 2023, 10am  – Noon

Where: Shingle Inn City Hall

What: Come dressed in your scariest Halloween costume and decorate your own biscuit to enjoy with your high tea. Tickets required. 

Halloween Party and High Tea event details 

Tuesday 31st October 2023

 Hocus Pocus

When: 31 October 2023, 3pm – 6pm

Where: Bulimba Memorial Park

What: Get down to some sick zombie beats and dance the spooky night away as well as enjoy free rides, markets, food trucks, kids’ activities and games and more. 

Hocus Pocus Event Details

Nightmare on Bogong Street

When: 31 October 2023, 5pm – 8pm

Where: Bogong Street Shops, Riverhills

What: Dress up in your most spookiest costumes for a chance to win a prize at Nightmare on Bogong Street. This free, family friendly event will have costume parades, markets, dancing, food and lots of other fun activities. 

Nightmare on Bogong Street Event Details

Halloween Street Party

When: 31 October 2023, from 4pm

Where: 31 Mayfield Street, Ascot

What: Celebrate Halloween with a street party in Ascot. Thanks to Ray White Ascot and DG House, there will be a haunted house and trick or treating. Don’t forget to dress up in your spookiest outfit. 

Halloween Street Party Event details

Halloween at Everton Plaza

When: 31 October 2023, 3pm – 6pm

Where: Everton Plaza

What: Dress up and visit Everton Plaza to trick or treat around the spookily decorated plaza. Register now to receive your free Halloween bucket. 

Halloween at Everton Plaza event details

 Everleigh Halloween Party

When: 31 October 2023, 5pm – 6pm 

Where: Leaf Park, Greenbank

What: Head to Leaf Park to celebrate Halloween with the local community. Come dressed in your spookiest costume for a chance to win the best-dressed competition, followed by an evening of trick-or-treating around the neighbourhood. 

Everleigh Halloween Party Event details

A Village Haunting – Halloween 2023

When: 31 October 2023, 5pm – 9pm

Where: Caboolture Historical Village

What: Get ready for a spooky night of fun on the grounds  of Caboolture Historical Village. There is a ‘scare-free’ hour between 5pm-6pm for the smaller monsters, or for those a little more daring, join in the frightful fun after 6pm. Oh and don’t forget to dress up and vote for the best decorated building. 

A Village Haunting event details

Wilston Halloween Spooktacular

When: 31 October 2023, from 4pm

Where: Munna Street, Wilston

What: Grab your little monsters and enjoy some trick or treating, decorations (inflatables, projections, animatronics), scary fun and lollies at the Wilston Halloween Spooktacular. 

Wilston Halloween Spooktacular Event details

Halloween at Australia Zoo

When: 31 October 2023, 9am – 5pm

Where: Australia Zoo

What: Spend the day at the Zoo with a side of trick or treating and Australia Zoo’s very own devils, The Tasmanian Devils!

Halloween at Australia Zoo Event details

 Brisbane Ghost Tours – Halloween Special

When: 31 October 2023, 7.30pm – 9.30pm

Where: Various locations across Brisbane including South Brisbane, Toowong and Ipswich.

What: Walkthrough and discover Queensland’s haunted history on a spooky Brisbane Ghost Tour. 

Brisbane Halloween Ghost Tours Event details

Brisbane Kids Halloween Soundtrack

Whether you are driving around this Halloween, having a spooky party or just wanting a soundtrack to the eeriest time of the year, turn up the speakers and turn on the Brisbane Kids Halloween Top 40, which can be found on Spotify. 

Where to Trick or Treat

Haunted houses and trick or treating have become extremely popular across Brisbane at Halloween. Come October many Brisbane Kids are begging to hit the streets in the hunt to fill their bags full of treats.

Before you start planning your Halloween events, check out our ultimate guide to trick-or-treating in Brisbane.

Brisbane Halloween Lovers Facebook group also has an interactive map with the best places to trick or treat in the Brisbane area. You can access the map at Brisbane Halloween Lovers (shared with permission)

Events Not Yet Confirmed for 2024

Halloween at Eat Street

When: October 28 – 30, 4pm-9pm

Where: Eat Street Northshore

What: Eat Street, the famous food market,  presents three nights of ghoulish dress-ups & scary makeovers when Eat Street transforms into the “Nightmare on Eat St” to freak everyone out! 

Halloween at Eat Street Event Details

Night at the Museum

When: 28 October, 6pm – 9pm

Where: Queensland Museum

What: A Night at the Museum is back with exclusive after hours access to Queensland Museum along with a range of other fun activities for the whole family including meeting wildlife animals, magic shows and face painting.

Night at the Museum event details

 Howl-o-ween at Lone Pine 

When: 30 & 31 October @ 10am and 11.30am. 

Where: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

What: Celebrate Howl-o-ween with the mystifying Bubble Bubble Toil & Trouble Show with the Lone Pine Witch, a creepy encounter with scaly friends, a monster lunch pack with trick-or-treat lollies and spooky crafts.

Howl-o-Ween Event details

Night at the Haunted Museum

When: 5pm – 9pm

Where: Pine Rivers Heritage Museum

What: Drop in while the night is young to enjoy family friendly fun. As the night grows darker and the little ones go to bed, the museum will transform under the glow of the moonlight into a spooky and eerie place. After you have braved the museum, you might dare to make your way to the Halloween Night Markets within Old Petrie Town.

Night at a Haunted Museum event details

Urban X-scream Halloween 

When: 7pm – 10pm

Where: Urban Xtreme

What: The most XTREME Halloween Party, we are opening Urban Xtreme after hours for lots of spooky fun! Join Urban Xtreme for Halloween Horror Maze, Glow in the Dark Rock Climbing, Monster Mash Dodgeball Bash, Halloween Scavenger Hunt,  Trick or Treat Candy Challenge and more.

Halloween Candy Carnival

When: 29 & 30 October, 10am – 1pm 

Where: Stafford City Shopping Centre.

What: Dress up and join in the fun including free face painting, special effects art, roller skaters, lollies in all stores and a secret codeword with a prize for the first 200 people daily.

Halloween Candy Carnival Event details

 Halloween Night Adventures: Celebrate Grandparent’s Day

When: 6pm – 7.30pm

Where: Raven Street Reserve

What: Celebrate Grandparents Day on a guided night walk on Halloween eve and try your hand at spotting nocturnal wildlife in Raven Street Reserve.  

Halloween Night Adventures: Celebrate Grandparents Day Event Details 

Fairfield Spooky Fiesta

When: 9am – 1pm

Where:  Fairfield Gardens

What: There will be live cooking demonstrations, lots of fresh food sampling, an ice cream station, face painting, and airbrush tattoos. Plus, you’ll have the chance to play “Spook your Senses” to win many fabulous prizes.  Participating retailers will also be handing out free candy to the kids on the day.

Fairfield Spooky Fiesta Event Detail

YMCA Trick or Treat Zombie Walk

When: 4.30pm – 6.30pm

Where: Springfield Rise 

What: A fun afternoon with loads of chocolates/sweets/treats (be sure to bring along your bucket),  Trick or Treating for the younger and older zombies, explore  the Zombie Graveyard, walk through the haunted tent, visit the wicked craft station, enjoy spine chilling music and dance floor and come dressed as a Zombie to be in the draw to win prizes. 

YMCA Trick or Treat Zombie Walk Event Details

Toilet Paper Mummies

Toilet Paper Mummies is one of the easiest and cheapest Halloween games. All you need are some rolls of toilet paper and some willing soon-to-be mummies. Adults and kids can play this game, which involves getting the party guests into two teams. One player is the wrapper, and the other is the ‘mummy’. On the count of three, each team must work quickly to wind their toilet roll around the other player by spinning them around as they wrap them. The winning team is the one that finishes first!

Pop the pumpkin

Grab some orange plastic cups or cans and place a small Halloween treat inside each one. It could be a lolly, toy, particular activity, or dare the child needs to do. Cover the top of the cup or can with orange crepe paper and fasten it to the lid with a rubber band. Draw a small jack-o-lantern face to the top for further effect. Write a number on each of the cans and get the kids to roll the dice. When they get a number that corresponds with a can, they can pop the lid by poking, prodding or punching the crepe paper.  

Halloween Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are always hugely popular – for adults and children alike – and it is no different at Halloween. Make a list of spooky items in the yard or house (or even that they may see on their walk when trick or treating) and get the kids to try to mark off as many as possible. You can award points for each item found, with more points for things that are harder to see and single points for those that are easy. Some ideas are things like: jack-o-lantern, fake spiders, decorated letterboxes, witches, cobwebs, Harry Potter etc. The list is endless, and the kids will have a ball trying to find them all!

Pumpkin Bowling

For pumpkin bowling, you may first want to decorate six empty cans or plastic cups to look like Halloween characters. This could be as simple as painting them all white, adding two eyes for a ghost, or painting them orange and drawing on a jack-o-lantern face. You can use toilet rolls with some eyes painted on (for ghosts) if it is easier. Stack the cans in a simple pyramid shape – three cans on the bottom, two on top, and then one final can at the top. Kids can then get into a line and take turns knocking them down. The fun part? Grab a pumpkin from the shop and get them to use that as the ball! It may seem easy as it is big but they are not straight rollers and can take a bit of skill to hit the cans accurately. They can use a simple handball if this may be too heavy for younger ones.

DIY Bag Decorating 

What kid doesn’t like doing a bit of Halloween craft? We love this idea of starting off any Halloween party night with a bag decorating station. It is fun, and easy and the kids will love creating their personalised loot bags before heading out. All you need is a pack of cheap paper bags and an array of craft items to add details. Coloured pens, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and stickers. Cheap stores have a range of fun crafts extras and I promise the kids will love this activity more than any other!  

Lolly Spoon Race

Perfect for any sized Halloween event, lolly spoon race just requires a couple of bags of lollies (which most of us have around this time of year) and some spoons. Kids line up with a small bowl of lollies next to them and a loot bag each at the other end of the race line. With only a short time frame (one minute), kids must spoon up whatever lollies they can from their bowl and run towards their loot bags. The key is to make it to the loot bag without dropping their lollies and safely deposit them in. If they drop a lolly, they can’t go back and get it. Hint: lolly snakes are an amusing item to add to this game as the kids always want them, but those little guys also like to wiggle off unsuspecting spoons! Kids get to keep whichever lolly made it to their loot bag at the end – with the winner having the most.  

Eyeball Hunt

This game is super fun and also pretty hilarious for the kids too. Also, it is so easy to set up! Simply buy a bag of googly eyes and have fun sticking them up inside or outside your home. Once all of the kids have arrived, let them know that a certain amount of eyes are watching them, and through the course of the evening, it is their job to try to hunt them all out. You can have a lot of fun with these too. Buying various packs of eyes – with ones of different colours and sizes – also adds to the hilarity. They can be stuck to trees, leaves, glasses, chairs, lollies and even drawn onto the underside of a paper plate or cup! The kids will have a blast trying to spot them all.

Black Cat Got Your Tongue

On arrival at the Halloween party, give each of your guests two things. A small bag of lollies and a list of Halloween-related words they cannot say. Words like: Halloween, ghost, trick, treat, pumpkin etc. Each time a guest says one of the words on the list and someone catches them, they have to hand over one of their lollies to the person who caught them. This game can get hilarious and loud as multiple people try to catch others (the person who yells out to them first gets the lolly) and lollies go back and forth between players at an alarming rate.

Ghost Races

Exactly like sack races, except with white pillowcases! Grab about four or five cheap white pillowcases. Draw or paint on a couple of eyes and a large black screaming mouth. Get the kids to line up behind a start line, each standing inside their ghost case. On the count of three, kids all need to shuffle or hop to the finish line as fast as possible. The winner is the first one to pass the finish line!

Halloween Sticky Detective

Everyone loves this game. Write down a list of Halloween-related words on sticky notes and get each child to sit in a circle, facing each other. Making sure no one can see what is written on their sticky note, carefully stick one to each child’s forehead. Taking turns, kids ask everyone else in the group (who can see everyone else’s card except their own) questions about what their card may be. They can only ask questions that have a yes or no answer. For example: “Am I a living thing?”, “Am I orange?” or “Do I have eight legs?”. The winner is the first person to guess their card correctly.

Apples and Mallows

Ok, this one is for the parents that don’t mind a little mess but a lot of hilarity. Fill small buckets up with water and pop a handful of apples in them. Fill small bowls with flour on a nearby table and immerse some hidden marshmallows in each. On a timer, kids must run between apple buckets and marshmallow bowls with their hands tied behind their backs. Once they bob for and get an apple, they must place it in their bowl before racing to their flour bowls and, using their mouth only, trying to find a marshmallow. They continue to alternate until the timer goes off. The winner is the sticky-faced champion (who may resemble a ghost themselves!) who has collected the most apples and marshmallows.

Mini Pumpkin Golf

This one is a little bit cute, we think. Buy about six small pumpkins in the lead-up to Halloween and clear them out, so they are hollow (anyone keen on some pumpkin soup)? Cut out the usual jack-0-lantern face from them, making sure that the mouth shape is low to the ground and can fit a golf ball into it. Scatter the pumpkins around the yard in a small putt putt set up and have the kids move from one ‘hole’ to the other, taking turns to hit their golf ball into the pumpkin’s mouth.

Spider races

You will need a pack of straws and a small bag of plastic spiders or bugs for this game. Get each child to place their bug/spider down in front of them but behind the ‘start line’ you have drawn or stuck down on the ground. Using the straw, on the count of three kids need to get their spider from the start line to the finish line. The catch? They can only move their spider by blowing on them using the straw. The winner is the person whose spider crosses the finish line first.

Pumpkin / Ghost Drop

You will need some empty paper towels or toilet rolls for this Halloween game. You will also need either small orange or white balls or balloons. If you are using small handballs – simply draw a ghost or pumpkin face on the white and orange balls. If you have balloons, blow these up so that they are the smallest they can be while still inflating. Draw similar faces on the balloons – depending on what colour they are. 

This game is then run like a relay. If you have a large group, split the players into two teams with half at one end of a running track and the other half of their team at the other. If it is only a small group, it can be played with as little as two people per team. Get the first player to balance their ball/balloon on the top of a vertically held roll. On the count of three, players must race down the track as quickly but as carefully as they can, balancing their ball/balloon so that it does not fall off. If it does, they must pick it up, return to the start, and try again. When they reach their relay teammate, they must swap the ball/balloon over to their mate’s roll before they race off. The winning team is the one that successfully finishes the entire race first.

Halloween Worm Jar Guessing Game

This game is as simple and also makes a fun kids party game idea. Buy a jar and fill it with lolly snakes (aka worms). When guests arrive, ask them to guess how many lolly snakes are in the jar. This is a lot harder than it seems as the snakes wind around each other and are hard to see. Get them to write down their guess on a piece of paper and at the end, the person whose guess is the closest is the winner. Their prize? Well, the giant jar of lolly snakes of course!

Eyeball Worm Dig

For Eyeball Dig, you will need to pre-cook some pasta spaghetti. Fill up several bowls (depending on how many kids are playing) with soft spaghetti (aka “worms”) and then hide within it several lolly treats. Kids must dig their hands within the slimy, wormy mess and see how many Halloween treats they can find quickly.  

Pin the spider on the web

A Halloween spin on a childhood classic party game, you need to get a large sheet of butcher’s paper and draw a big spider web on it for this game. Make sure that at the centre of the web you colour in a small black circle. Buy a bag of tiny plastic spiders and paint a different dot of colour on the back of each one. Pop some blue tack on the back of each one too. Hand these out to the kids. Taking turns, kids are taken to stand before the web. Give them a few minutes to look at it and then blindfold them. Spin them a few times and then, still blindfolded, each child must try to stick their spider as close to the centre spot of the web as possible. The winner is the child whose spider is closest to the spot at the end.

Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe

As simple as lining up a tic-tac-toe board (or a few) by placing lines of masking tape down on the floor or table. Buy some mini-playing pieces in two different colours (this could be spiders, mini-pumpkins – anything)  and place these next to the game in a container. Throughout your Halloween party, kids and guests can have fun with a little bit of Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe gameplay – something anyone of any age will enjoy.

Spider Web Balance

Create a large spider web on your floor using masking tape. Scatter small gifts (lollies, mini glow sticks etc) throughout the web. Have a “start” sticker at one end and an “end” sticker at the other. Taking turns, kids must navigate the web from start to finish and can only do so by walking on the web lines one foot in front of the other (like a tightrope). Carefully, not taking their feet off the line, they can bend down and try to retrieve the treats. If they get them without losing their balance, they can keep them. If they lose their balance and “fall into the web”, they are out.

Blind Guess Halloween Game

Grab a small white sheet and paint a ghostly face on it. Put a slit in the sheet where the mouth is and hang this up in front of a bench. Place different objects on the bench and have the kids come up and put their hands through the sheet to feel the object. The idea is that the slit is only small and the kids shouldn’t be able to see what is behind it. The kids don’t say anything but go back to their spot and write down what they think each object is as they feel them. In the end, the objects are revealed, with the winner being the child that guessed the most right.

Hopefully, you love this list of games as much as we do and that your Halloween party this year is just a little more crazy and fun because of them.  

Requiring only a few materials and steps, they are craft kids of any age can have fun making and these lanterns look amazing!  Whether they are lining your steps, decorating your house or carried by the kids as they do their trick or treat rounds (we suggest plastic jars here) – we think these are absolute winners. 

Check out our easy to follow guide on how to make Homemade Halloween Lanterns below. 

What you will need to make your Homemade Halloween Lanterns

There are a whole range of things you could use to decorate your lanterns, but the basic things you will need are:

• Empty glass jars
• Coloured crepe paper
• Black Pens
• Paper
• Glue (Clag is the easiest and quickest to apply)
• Pipe Cleaners (if doing a spider)
• Tea light candles (battery operated ones are safer) 

How to make your Homemade Halloween Lanterns

We have decided to make a pumpkin, a ghost, a Frankenstein and a spider for our lanterns.  We, therefore, chose four different glass jars and coloured crepe paper.

Step 1:  Using the brush from your glad glue, apply a layer of glue to the entire outside of each jar.  

Step 2:  Cut out a strip of crepe paper to the correct height and length of your jar.  Carefully wrap it around the jar.  Be careful to pat the crepe paper on and not push or smooth it.  It can tear easily, and the resulting texture of it being patted on is quite effective.

Step 3:  Allow to dry.

Step 4:  While waiting for the paper-wrapped jars to dry, draw some simple face shapes (like the ones shown in the picture above) on a sheet of white paper and cut them out.

Step 5:  When the jars are dry, glue the cutout face shapes onto the relevant jars.

And just like that – your homemade Halloween lanterns are done!  Pop a tea candle in them (or a battery operated one) and watch how amazing these look at night.

If you have fun making these, you might also enjoy these other Halloween crafts for kids:

Spooky Black Bats

Halloween Monsters

What you will need to make the Halloween Lollipops

Depending on which Halloween lollipops you decide to make (you don’t have to make them all – you can pick your favourite one or two only if you like!) will depend on what materials you need.  To make all the ones you see in the first picture, you will need the following:

• Coloured crepe paper
• Brown twine and black string
• Pipe Cleaners – black
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• Black pen (and red if you want to colour the mouths red)
• Googly eyes – only if you want
• Lollipops
• Tissues

How to make a Halloween Lollipop Spider

All you will need to make an easy Halloween spider lollipop are:

• Black pipe cleaners
• lollipop
• Googly eyes
• Glue

Steps for creating a Halloween Spider Lollipop

Step 1:  Wind each of the four pipe cleaners one at a time twice around the stem of the lollipop and bend them up on each side to look like a spider’s legs.

Step 2:  Glue on the googly eyes.

That’s it!  You are done, and seriously – how effective do these look???

How to make a Halloween Lollipop Ghost

All you will need to make an easy Halloween ghost are:

• Tissues
• lollipop
• Googly eyes
• Glue
• Black string
• Scissors
• Black pen

Steps for creating a Halloween Ghost Lollipop

Step 1:   Grab two or three squares of tissue paper and fold them over the top of the lollipop, securing it with a black piece of string.

Step 2:  Glue on the googly eyes and draw a black circle for the mouth.

How to make a Halloween Lollipop Broomstick

All you will need to make an easy Halloween broomstick are:

• Brown tissue paper
• Brown string or twine
• Scissors
• Lollipop

Steps for creating a Halloween Broomstick Lollipop

Step 1:   Cut a rectangle from the end of your crepe paper, and then, with the scissors, cut small incisions along one edge – so that it looks like many small strips.  You mustn’t cut to the end, though!  

Step 2:  Carefully wrap the end of the crepe paper not cut around and around the lollipop’s stick so that the frayed edges cover the actual lollipop itself.  The lollipop is round, making this fan like an actual broomstick!

Step 3:  Wind the twine around the stick of the broomstick and tie it with a bow at the bottom.

How to make a Halloween Lollipop Witch

All you will need to make an easy Halloween lollipop which are:

• Green and black crepe paper
• Brown string
• Scissors
• Lollipop
• Black pen
• Googly eyes

Steps for creating a Halloween Witch Lollipop

Step 1:   Cut a few sheets of square crepe paper and fold them over the top of the lollipop.  Fasten in place with a piece of black string.

Step 2:  Wind a single black pipe cleaner around a pen until it is a tight spiral shape and then glue each curl to the one before it so that it doesn’t separate when it is off the pen.

Step 3:  Cut a small rectangle of black crepe paper and cut the edges (like you did the broomstick) so that one end is made up of minor vertical cuts and the other is not missed.  This will be your witch’s hair.

Step 4: Finally, glue the uncut section of the crepe paper around the top of the lollipop and at the base of the curled pipe cleaner witches cap.  

Step 5: Glue on your googly eyes and add a smile that is ready to go!

How to make a Halloween Lollipop Pumpkin

All you will need to make an easy Halloween lollipop pumpkin are:

• Orange crepe paper
• Black Pen
• Brown twine

Steps for creating a Halloween Pumpkin Lollipop

Step 1:   Cut a few sheets of square crepe paper and fold them over the top of the lollipop.  Fasten in place with a piece of twine.

Step 2:  Draw your jack-o-lantern pumpkin face on the lollipop

As you can see – these five fun Halloween lollipop crafts are super cheap and super easy to make.  With most of them being only two easy steps and the harder ones being only a couple more steps, this is something you can do with kids of every age, and our team here at Brisbane Kids love how they turn out too!

If you have fun making these, you might also enjoy these other Halloween crafts for kids:

Ghosts and Ghouls Garland

Scary Egyptian Mummies

The end results will help to add a little creepy Halloween colour to your doors this Halloween season to await the Halloween Trick or Treat door knockers!  Find our easy step-by-step guide below on how to make these.

What you need to make your paddle pop stick Halloween door hangers

To make the fun Halloween door hangers seen in this article, you will need the following:

• Paddle Pop Sticks (both coloured and plain)
• Black and white paint
• Scissors
• Glue
• Googley eyes
• Pipe Cleaners
• Buttons
• Felt

How to make your Paddle Pop Halloween Door Hangers

Step 1:  Lay the paddle pop sticks into the number and colour you need for each character.  For the pumpkin, we used seven already coloured orange sticks.  For the witch, we used three large coloured green sticks and painted the bottom section black (as seen above).  For the black cat, we painted six plain paddle pop sticks black.  And for the ghost, we painted five plain paddle pop sticks white.

Step 2: While the paint is drying, get four plain paddle pop sticks and cut them so that you have two pieces for each door hanger.  Make sure you measure their length so that they are no longer than the width of the character they are being used for (as per the image above).

Step 3:  Once the paint has dried, turn the groups of paddle pop sticks over and glue the cut pieces to the back horizontally.  This will help keep them securely together (as per the above image).  

Step 4:  Once this is done, you can turn the paddle pop sticks over and decorate them to look like each character.  For the pumpkin, you can simply cut two ends of a green paddle pop stick to make the leaves and then draw on the jack-0-lantern face.

For the ghost, simply add some googley eyes and draw on a mouth.

For the black cat, add on a coloured ball and pipe cleaners for the whiskers, some eyes and then cut up some triangles of felt and add these for ears.

Finally, for the witch, add on two buttons for her dress, draw on her face, add some pipe cleaners for hair and cut out a small felt hat.

Step 5:  When they are all done, glue a pipe cleaner from one top corner of each to the other top corner and you will have your door hangers!

If you have fun making these, you might also enjoy these other Halloween crafts for kids:

Spooky Black Bats

Jack-o-Lantern Rocks

Where to Buy Halloween Costumes in Brisbane

If you like to have a look at the costume in person and try it on before you hire or buy it, then you may want to first check out the below list of stores in Brisbane that stock halloween costumes.  Whilst the stores below all have an online hire / buy option as well, it is nice to know these companies have a physical store you can check out or click and collect from nearby.

Disguises, Woolloongabba

Operating out of Wooloongabba since 1983, Disguises stocks a wide range of fancy dress costumes, wigs, makeup, mask and accessories in store.  Professional and friendly staff will help you sort out exactly the look you are after and you can choose to either buy your outfit or hire it just for the one occasion.  In store and online purchase and hire available.

Address:  659 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba, 

Phone:  07 3255 1990

Cracker Jack Costumes, Taringa

With everything halloween catered for – from your makeup, wigs and costumes all the way to you fun and scary accessories – Cracker Jack Costumes at Taringa have you covered.  They have the option of in store purchase and hire, and you can also order online as well.  If you order before 2pm (Brisbane time) they guarantee same day dispatch.  Click and collect is also available.

Address:  179 Moggill Road, Taringa 4068

Phone:  07 3870 5881

The Costume Company, Annerley and Kedron

Since 1981, The Costume Company have been serving Brisbane and Greater Brisbane with the best locally available costumes to hire or buy.  They have all your halloween needs sorted and have warehouses in both Annerley and Kedron filled with costumes and accessories you can try on before you buy or hire.

Address:  19 Kitchener Road, Kedron 4031 |  356 Ipswich Road, Annerley  4103

Phone:  07 3359 7000 (Kedron)  |  07 3393 1010  (Annerley)

Camelot Costumes, Brisbane City

With majority of their hire costumes made professionally locally, Camelot Costumes in Brisbane City is a one-stop shop for all of your halloween needs.  They have a huge range of costumes and accessories and offer in store and online purchasing as well as hire options too.  If you want a particular outfit and have a little bit of time they will even order a particular costume you are chasing in for you.  Just make sure you give them at least a week’s notice!

Address:  262 Adelaide Street, Brisbane City, 4000

Phone:  07 3229 7868 or  07  3221 8595

Jokers Costume Megastore, Rocklea

Beat the halloween rush and dress to impress with Jokers Costume Mega Store’s large range of costumes and accessories.  They have over 25,000 costumes and accessories to browse through, and even have halloween props and outfits for your pet!  You can check it all out either online or at their Rocklea megastore.  Their large retail selection of costumes are available to be viewed and purchased in store. However, as the costumes are brand new and pre-packed, costumes are not able to be tried on. They can assist you with sizing OR you can visit the online store to see the measuring chart attached to every costume in the range for your convenience.

Address:  1821 Ipswich Road Rocklea, 4106

Phone:  07 3376 9115

Hidden Identity Costumes and Dance Wear, Cleveland

Hidden Identity Costumes and Dance Wear is Australian owned and stock a huge range of fancy dress costumes and accessories. Here you’ll find everything from kids costumes to adult costumes, including an impressive selection of plus size costumes and of course, all your staples including Halloween costumes!  

Address:  Shop 3,  57-63 Shore Street West, Cleveland, 4163

Phone: 07 3286 9836

Unique Party Shop, Sumner Park

The Unique Party Shop bills itself as your one-stop-party-shop, offering everything you could need to host your ultimate halloween (or any theme) party.  They have a huge range of both kids and adults halloween costumes to look through and you can do this both at their Sumner Park store or online.

Address:  42 Spine Street, Sumner Park, 4074

Phone: 1300 764 097 

Where to buy Halloween Costumes online

For those that are on the run and like to let their fingers do the walking for them, below is a list of online stores where you can easily browse and purchase or hire your halloween costume.  

Costumes.com.au

Costumes.com.au is an absolute online megastore when it comes to finding a selection of halloween costumes to choose from.  Although they are based in Melbourne, their range is super impressive and delivery is pretty quick too.  Their selection of ready-to-wear costumes ranges from wicked witches and creepy clowns to characters from your favourite movies, TV shows, and video games. 

Phone:  03 9988 1137

Costume Haven

An Australian-based online costume store, Costume Haven has a large range of both kids and adults halloween outfits and accessories to choose from.

Phone: 0497 135 794 

The Costume Hub

Based out of Brisbane, The Costume Hub has a huge range of halloween costumes for kids and adults online to choose from.  They will despatch your outfit within two days but also have a flat $9 rate for express post – meaning you can order as many costumes as you like without an additional charge.

Heaven Costumes

Heaven Costumes stocks some of the best kids Halloween dress ups and includes a full range from baby Halloween costumes to scary outfits for boys, girls and even teen Halloween costumes. All the latest and greatest styles are available, so your little ones have an abundance of terrifying, strange or magical Halloween costumes to choose from.  They are based in Adelaide but will despatch their costumes the same day if you order before 4pm (Adelaide time).

Phone:  08 8258 5141

Costume Closet

Costume Closet Ipswich is the newest costume hire and sales store in the Ipswich area.  Their store mostly just deals with costume hire, so if you want to check out the full range of halloween costumes on offer you are best to do it all online instead.

Phone:  07 3143 5092

Costume City Australia

Costume City Australia will offer you a massive online selection of halloween costumes, accessories and more. Although their despatch warehouse is based in Victoria. with staff based in their Kenmore office, it will be easy to discuss and order your costumes online.  All orders received before 12PM Melbourne time will be processed and shipped on the same day and will generally be delivered to most major cities within 2 – 3 business days.

Phone: 07 3177 9430

Once you are dressed to impress, why not check out all the Halloween Events in Brisbane that you can visit with your family this spooky season.

Halloween is fast becoming one of the kids’ most popular dates on the Brisbane calendar.  While it may have been only a handful of families that dressed up and door knocked for treats in years gone by, today the shops are overflowing with gruesome costumes and kids are hitting the streets in droves as they immerse themselves in the fun and spooky annual celebration. 

For all things Trick or Treat in Brisbane this year, check out our information below on how to go about having the best, safest and most fun this Halloween.

How to Trick or Treat in Brisbane 2024

Before dressing the kids up and heading out to door knock the neighbourhood, it is a good idea to first check how involved in the event your neighbours really are.  The truth is, not all of your neighbours may be into Halloween but there are ways to find out to ensure Halloween Trick or Treating goes more smoothly.

Look for lights on 

If you are in a suburb with lots of families, you might be lucky enough to have an active Halloween suburb. If this is the case, all you need to look for is the sign of decorations at the front door or the front lights on. Decorations are obviously a 100% green light, and in 11 years of trick or treating, lights on are 99% positive too.

The rule is, if you knock and no one comes to the door, obviously don’t knock again, but in all our trick-or-treating time in Brisbane, having your front lights on at Halloween is a welcoming sign that the home is open for trick or treaters. Given that this year, Halloween 2022 is on a Monday night, we feel like this rule applies even more because on weekends, sometimes it can mean people are out for the night. 

Talk to your neighbours about Halloween

If you have a street Facebook group, this can be a great way to let fellow neighbours know that your kids will be trick or treating for Halloween.  If you don’t have one, then now might be a good time to start one up and you can do this by popping small notes in each of their letterboxes.  Maybe write a small note letting them know and possibly even include a bag of treats (as a nice gesture) and some orange ribbon.  Tell them if they are happy to have trick-or-treaters visit to tie the ribbon around their letterbox so that the kids and parents know who is up for a visit.

If you are in a community Facebook group, you will find that chatter usually begins in early October and we recommend using the search function to search for Halloween to locate any local Halloween events or popular streets in your area. 

Hang Halloween signs on your letterbox or door

The general rule of thumb, if you forget to prepare for Halloween, is that if the front light is on, then Halloween Trick or Treaters are welcome.  Another idea, along with the ribbon, is a simple sign that can be hung up to let kids know if trick-or-treaters are welcome.  Below are some free Brisbane Kids Halloween printables you can use:

Halloween Door Sign Printables

Step 1 Select and print out some of these Brisbane Kids Halloween printables in full colour. 

Click on these links for the print ready PDF versions –

Print ready BK Halloween Printable # 1

Print ready BK Halloween Printable # 2

Print Read BK Halloween Printable # 3

How to use the Halloween Printable

• Colour photocopy or print several times.
• Cut out and use a hole puncher to put a hole in the top and attach some ribbon or string so it can easily hang on a door, letterbox or gate.
• Ask your neighbour to attach their flyer to their door, gate or letter box so that it can easily be seen and to show that Trick-or-Treaters are welcome.
• Drop into letter boxes or visit your neighbours door-to-door, or other places where you plan to go trick-or-treating. Host a Halloween street partyThis is a big one, but if you have plenty of young families in your neighbourhood, it could be a great way to get to know them all better and make for a fun Halloween experience.  Kids can trick or treat at the beginning of the night and then all of the neighbours can bring a plate to a central location.  The kids can enjoy their sweets together and the adults can enjoy the friendly neighbourhood catch-up. 

Best Halloween Suburbs in Brisbane

While it is usually more advisable to trick or treat in your own street and neighbourhood, this is not always possible for different reasons.  It might be that you live on acreage, in blocks of units or in an area that doesn’t get into Halloween festivities, and for this reason, heading to one of the more festive suburbs may be more appealing.  

The truth is, some pretty awesome areas of Brisbane go that extra mile when in comes to Halloween.  Worth even a drive to check out the ghoulish and freaky street decorations with the kids; below are some of the best places to go trick or treating in Brisbane. We do not support driving your kids to popular suburbs and letting them jump out of the car while you drive them from house to house. The point of trick or treating in Brisbane is to get out of your car, walk, and participate in your community. 

Brisbane Halloween Lovers

Brisbane Halloween Lovers is a Facebook group that is dedicated to finding the best spots in Brisbane to go trick or treating and they have even set up their own map for people to add their location to.  Head to their facebook page to see the full map and all the locations listed.  Below are some suburbs that go all out!

Best Northside Suburbs

• Northgate – Check out the spectacular visual display at Lights on Parker Ave, with their Halloween Horror Lights and sound effects.
• Sandgate – Check out 107 Clayton Street’s Haunted house.
• Paddington – Paddington love to get into the halloween vibe – check out Hayward Street while you are there.
• Gordon Park –  Spook on Groom St have a Display and the whole Street & Neighbourhood participates

Best Southside Suburbs

• Capalaba – Check out Night of the Living Dead at Sunburst Court and Riley Drive (they have an interactive haunt and display)
• Fig Tree Pocket – A lot of thought goes into the street and house decorations in this area.
• Mt Cotton – specifically around german church road and the nearby haunted houses are great for kids of all ages.
• Redland Bay – check out Nightmare on Ashbury Court.
• Rochedale – check out The Morgue on Kumbari Street, with entry donations going to the Black Dog Institute.  This is the ultimate kids halloween destination, complete with parking, food trucks, mazes, photo booths and so much more!

Brisbane Halloween Lovers

Brisbane Halloween Lovers is a Facebook group that is dedicated to finding the best spots in Brisbane to go trick or treating and they have even set up their own map for people to add their location to.

How to prepare your Brisbane Kids for Trick or Treating

Teaching your child to trick or treat is not unlike teaching them how to receive a present at Christmas time. It’s is a great opportunity to learn about etiquette, respect for other people’s property, opinions and, most importantly, personal safety.

• Choose costumes. Make them easy to walk in and super fun. Face painting is a great way to lead up to the big finale. You can buy Halloween costumes online or most department stores sell them for less than $30 each. If you are so inclined, you could even make one. Consider using reflective colours on costumes if you make them.
• Try on the costumes before the big day. Nothing worse than a skeleton costume that doesn’t fit or a cape that is too long to be walked in.
• Begin trick or treating just as darkness creeps into the day. Trick or treating shouldn’t go past 8pmish. The reality is, for most kids, just a few houses of trick or treating will achieve their idea of Halloween. If you only have a few houses, you can safely trick or treat at then simply prepare the kids with realistic expectations beforehand. “We will be knocking on Mr and Mrs Jones’s Door and the next-door neighbours and then we will come back and trick your father
• Practice with your kids beforehand how to receive candy and lollies especially if it is candy that they don’t like.
• Feed your children before trick or treating.
• Provide them with a small basket or bag each to gather their goodies.
• Consider applying a pool rule for kids- which means at the end of trick or treating everyone pools what they got and splits it up.
• Decorate your home. It is super fun for trick-or-treaters to see cobwebs hanging from eaves or a ghost in a window.
• Educate the older kids and younger ones about What Halloween is really about. Bust some myths and fill them with history!

How to have a safe Halloween

• Children under 12 should never trick or treat by themselves and those over 12 should only do so in groups and in a familiar, well-lit neighbourhood. Ideally, even kids 13 and over would be accompanied by an adult.
• Buy some cheap glow sticks or torches so that each child is illuminated for both safety and their own peace of mind.
• Drive carefully on Halloween.
• Discuss how this only happens on one day of the year, Halloween, and that Trick or Treating can only be done with a parent or adult. There is a lot of discussion in Australia about the safety of trick or treating and it sets up the expectation that knocking on neighbours’ doors will be okay any time of year. I think establishing some rules, such as not entering the home, remaining on the doorstep, explaining about the adult presence and also talking about it being one special day, is no different than visiting a doctor that might examine a child’s body or a friend who brings your child home from a playdate. It doesn’t mean your child will let everyone look at their body or feel okay about every person giving them a lift home.  It is all about being reasonable in discussing with your child and supervision at other times of the year which would largely prevent them from wandering off and deciding to trick or treat. There can be a tendency to be over-cautious and miss out on a lot of fun.

How to manage kids with sensory issues at Halloween

From experience, the best way to prepare a child who is on the spectrum for Halloween is to first ask them if they want to do it. They may not want to Trick or Treat but they may want to still be involved in having a costume and being there to receive trick-or-treaters as opposed to door-knocking. Maybe they just want to knock on the neighbours’ doors or the grandparent’s or family friends?

Purchase a costume ahead of time to ensure that they get used to the feeling of the fabric and walking in the costume. Also, consider buying a costume with a mask so if they decide they don’t want to get into the costume they may still decide to wear a mask.

If they decide they do want to trick or treat then there are a couple of things you can do to help ensure they are properly supported. Social stories are a great way to begin and you can either write your own OR at least support the idea of trick or treat in reality by planning a route on paper together and then pacing it out before the big night.

This is a social story that has been written for a general trick-or-treating experience https://www.andnextcomesl.com/2016/10/halloween-social-stories-for-kids-with-autism.html

Halloween Events in Brisbane 2024

There are many fun and family-friendly Halloween events on in and around Brisbane this year.  If you are looking to do something a little different with the family this Halloween on top of just the usual trick or treating, maybe check out our page on all of the Halloween Events for Kids in Brisbane 2024.

Help create magical childhood memories that are backed up with important social skills that will last a lifetime….

Trick or Treat Brisbane!

The Dark History of Halloween 

It is known to have all started with the Celts from Central Europe and their pagan religious festival Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”), marking the end of summer or the beginning of “the dark half of the year”. This was the tradition that celebrated the end of the harvest year. Bonfires were lit, animal sacrifices were made, celebrations were carried out and along with this – the dead were called to mingle with the living, since the veil between the living and the dead was believed to yield during this festival.

For Pagans, celebrating death was not a morbid affair but was done out of respect for the departed. The Celts honored them by preparing offerings and leaving them outside villages and fields. They would also dress as animals and monsters so that other members of the Otherworld like fairies and witches would not be lured into capturing them! 

Halloween As We Know It

Much later on in the 8th century, Christian influences changed the holiday to be known as Hallow’s Eve – the day before November 1st, or All Saints Day. Before long the festival had travelled the seas to America along with the Irish and Scottish immigrants to eventually become commercialized and sold as a holiday at the start of the 18th century. 

Our modern day Halloween traditions have a number of influences. Most of them are borrowed from ancient traditions – like ‘apple dooking’, from the Celts during Samhain festivities and trick-or-treating from the ‘soulers’ of England. 

Though the festivities took a long time to evolve into what we know today, one thing is for sure – they have always celebrated the strange and scary! 

Trick-or-Treating

The earliest accounts of dressing up in scary costumes during the beginning-of-winter time festivities are of the Celts during Samhain. They did this on those three days to ward off the evil spirits that they believed might cross over as the barrier separating the physical and supernatural worlds grew weak. This is perhaps where the dressing up aspect of the beloved modern tradition takes root. The pranking part of Halloween is also known to originate from Samhain, though those tricks were typically pinned on fairies! 

“Souling” or “going-a-souling” is an old English custom also practiced during the end of the harvest season where a group of poor, merrymaking soulers visited local farms and cottages to sing a traditional request for food and soul cakes. It is believed that the act of young children going door to door asking for candy favours this old English tradition! 

Though these two customs seem reminiscent of our beloved modern Halloween-time activity, it is still unknown how and when they merged, since Trick-or-Treating only really took off after World War II!

Pumpkins on Halloween 

Note: Be prepared for a scary backstory

The tradition of carving scary faces onto gourds actually originates from an old Irish folktale about a shrewd and lazy drunkard named Jack who tricked the devil into agreeing to not claim his soul, should he die. Eventually, when Jack did die, he was denied entry into heaven because of his misdeeds and the devil, true to his word, refused to let him into hell. 

Legend goes that the devil gave Jack a single piece of burning coal to light his path through the darkness. Jack is said to have put that coal in a carved-out turnip to make a lamp and to this day, still listlessly roams the Earth with it. This ghostly figure was named “Jack of the Lantern” which then later changed to “Jack O’Lantern.”

The Irish and Scottish began making their own versions of this glowing lamp by carving scary faces onto all kinds of different gourds and vegetables – like turnips, potatoes and even beets, to scare Jack and other evil spirits away. Eventually when immigrants from these countries found their way to America, so did the tradition and it was adapted to be done using pumpkins – since America had so many of those! From there, the rest was history. 

Despite this interesting folksy origin story, the earliest known usage of the term Jack O’Lantern dates back much earlier; all the way back to the mid-17th century, when it originally meant a night watchman. Regardless of where it precisely originated from, it sure is a fun family tradition to share with your kids today! 

Explaining the History of Halloween to Kids

When it comes to telling a child about the scary stories behind the most fun holiday of the year, it’s crucial to keep it age-appropriate – or risk frightening your 4 year old into sitting it out entirely. Yikes! The real sticking point in explaining Halloween to a child in a historically accurate way, is that it involves one tough topic in particular; death. The good thing is that depending on the age and maturity of your child, you get to decide how much you share with them. Here is a rough guideline based on the difference between fact and fiction for different developmental stages : 

• For children below 5 years : Stick with editing out the scarier parts of the story and keep it simple; for example, ”Dressing up as someone you’re not is fun for one day!”
• For children between 5 and 9 years : You might discuss with them about how it was originally celebrated as a harvest festival by the Ancient Celts to mark the coming of the cold months and how those traditions travelled the seas to reach us today. If you feel your child is mature enough you can even tell them about how the Celts wanted to honour their dead so they would leave out food for them and meet in large groups to celebrate – sort of like what we do today! 
• For children 9 years and older : If you are up for it, you could do some internet surfing with your child and dig up information to answer their questions about Halloween, together. If not, you could just say that long ago certain groups of people believed that the living and the dead would cross paths on Halloween, along with some reassurances that it’s not possible for any such thing to happen to anyone in today’s day and age, of course. (That said, you still might want to skip the pumpkin back story)

Can Halloween Just be a Fun Annual Activity?

Yes, of course! At the end of the day, the most important thing for your child to know about Halloween is that it’s a fun, laughter-filled day for dressing up with your loved ones while safely trick or treating. 

Overall, just make sure your child understands that Halloween, like many other festivals, is personal to each individual and family, so we should be respectful while understanding its origins. By wanting to nurture their curiosity and give their little minds something to munch on, you are already ensuring that they have the most enjoyable Halloween experience! 

Sources : 

• https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/celts
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/samhain.shtml
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_cake#Souling
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy
• https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins
• https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellnes
• https://news.utexas.edu/2006/11/27/young-children-learn-to-distinguish-between-fact-and-fiction-research-at-university-of-texas-at-austin-finds/

1. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial 

In 1982 ET was released, telling the story of a lost alien on earth and the friendship he forms with 10-year-old Elliot and his siblings. On Halloween night, they sneak E.T. out of the house, dressing E.T. as a ghost, in an attempt to make contact with his own family.

Image Credit: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Facebook page

2. The Nightmare Before Christmas 

Released in 1993, this classic animation tells the story of Jack Skellington, a Hallow Town resident, who opens the portal to Christmas Town and decides to celebrate the festive holiday with comical consequences.

3. Hocus Pocus 

Hocus Pocus was first released in 1993, with the original three witches returning for a 2022 sequel. The comical story of three witch sisters mistakenly resurrected into modern-day Halloween by three curious teenagers, unaware of what their actions would cause. Chaos follows in an attempt to restore order. A good option for older kids and teenagers. A sequel has been released as of Halloween 2022. 

Image Credit: Hocus Pocus Facebook page

4. Halloweentown 

Halloweentown was released in 1998. The first in the Disney film series, with the story of Marnie and her siblings, prevented from celebrating Halloween like their friends by their mother until their Grandmother turns up for her annual visit and encourages all things Halloween despite their mother’s attempts to hide the secrets that unfold.

6. The Little Vampire

The Little Vampire was released in 2000. A spooky comedy based on the book series of the same name, tells the story of a friendship between two children – one a vampire and the other an ordinary boy.

7. ParaNorman 

ParaNorman was released in 2012. An animated film telling the story of Norman, an 11 year old boy who can speak to the dead, except hardly anyone believes him. His uncle informs him of a great responsibility he must take on to save their town, and Norman begins on his path, meeting many new ghosts along the way.

5. Casper 

This heartwarming live-action story of Casper released in 1995, tells the tale of the friendly ghost, who becomes smitten with the daughter of a paranormal therapist hired to help remove Casper and his three ghost uncles from their home so treasure can be obtained. Features 90’s teenage heartthrob Devon Sawa as the friendly ghost.

8. Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie was released in 2012. In this black & white stop-motion animated film, a boy named Victor loses his dog Sparky. He uses electricity to resurrect Sparky, but is blackmailed into sharing the resurrection secret, resulting in reanimated mayhem. Some sad themes relating to deceased pets.

Image Credit: Frankenweenie Facebook page

9. Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie 

Released in 2005, this is the perfect choice for the youngest children. It is Lumpy’s first Halloween with Winnie the Pooh and friends, so they plan a night of trick-or-treating. They were alarmed by the story of a monster who turns people into Jack-o-lanterns, which results in chaos and adventure on Halloween.

10. Spooky Buddies 

Spooky Buddies was released in 2011. As part of the Disney Buddies franchise, the team of adventurous dogs are on a school trip to a mansion with their owners. They find themselves on a Halloween adventure, off to save the day.

11. Hotel Transylvania 

Hotel Transylvania versions were made in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Count Dracula owns a hotel for monsters. He invites his closest monster pals to celebrate his daughter’s 118th birthday. An ordinary human traveller arrives to stay at the hotel, and much to Dracula’s horror, romance forms between the human and his vampire daughter.

Image Credit: Hotel Transylvania Facebook page

12. Monster House

The Monster House, released in 2006, is an animated tale of 12 year old DJ Walters, his friends, and their neighbour’s ‘haunted house’. They find themselves in the house in an attempt to end the house’s evil reign, on a mission to destroy the ‘heart’.

Bucket list of family friendly Halloween Movies

If you’re planning on celebrating Halloween this year, why not check out the Kids’ Halloween Party Music and 17 Ideas for a Spooktacular Halloween Party and everything you need to know about Halloween Events in Brisbane.

The top 40 kids Halloween party music tracks

Hit the play button on the app below and take a listen while we give you the low-down on our top 40 songs for kids at Halloween –

1. Monster Mash – Bobby “Boris” Pickett + The Crypt-Kickers

The quintessential Halloween song, the “Monster Mash” is essentially a dance inspired by the well-known “Mashed Potato”… though apparently can only be performed by the dead! A #1 hit in 1962, it has become a staple for Halloween celebrations ever since.

2. The Addams Family (main theme) – Victor Mizzy and His Orchestra and Chorus

One of the most memorable TV themes ever, “The Addams Family” was a massive hit show when it hit the airwaves in the ‘60s, which was in fact an adaptation of an American comic strip which debuted in 1938. Revived again as big-budget Hollywood films in the ‘90s, you just won’t be able to avoid snapping your fingers to this one!

3. Banana Boat Song (Day-O) – Harry Belafonte

Who could forget the scene in the movie “Beetlejuice” where the Michael Keaton-played character possesses the residents of the haunted Connecticut house. The film reinvigorated interest in Harry Belafonte’s classic, receiving much TV and radio airplay as well as chart success 32 years after its original release.

4. Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead! (re-mastered) – The Munchkins

Certainly the oldest song in the list, “Ding-Dong” dates back to 1939 when the ground-breaking “The Wizard of Oz” motion picture was released to movie theatres worldwide. While the film may have aged, the story and its sentiments are timeless, appealing to children and grown-ups for countless generations.

5. Funhouse (main version – clean) – P!nk

P!nk is undoubtedly one of the most popular artists of our time, and this title track from her 2008 album of the same name is a great backing track for everything from dance routines to themed parties. The song claimed an Aussie top 10 chart position thanks to its funky guitar hook and fun sing-along lyrics.

6. Ghost – Ella Henderson

Now for the newest song in our list, “The X Factor” UK finalist Ella Henderson’s debut single was a massive platinum hit in her native homeland scoring a #1 spot on its release, as well as nabbing an Australian #3 position. With its powerful vocals and musical accompaniment, you’re sure to be tapping your toes when this one comes on.

7. Ghostbusters (from “Ghostbusters”) – Ray Parker, Jnr

Another fantastic example of Hollywood’s ability to produce great pop songs for movies, “Ghostbusters” was not only a huge box office success but the title track earned itself top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 of 1984. Don’t you still find yourself shouting the catchphrase “who you gonna call?” 30 years after the film’s theatrical release?

8. The Monster – Eminem + Rihanna

Eminem has found universal appeal to a broad audience across multiple music genres, and this is partly due to his knack for collaborating with just the right people. Kids and grown-ups alike just love the Rihanna-sung chorus of “The Monster”, which speaks about the invisible “monsters that are around us and that live inside of us.”

9. The Munsters Main Title – Dominik Hauser + Tim Kobza

Following the success of “The Addams Family”, Universal also produced “The Munsters” which debuted on American TV screens in 1964. There are no words to sing along to here, but guaranteed you will recall the theme song as soon as you hear it — and our apologies in advance if you find it hard to get out of your head!

10. Nightmare (Sinister Strings mix) – Brainbug

The Mums and Dads who were nightclubbing in the ’90s will likely fall off their chairs when they hear this one! With distinctly spooky qualities thanks to its “sinister strings”, Italian producer Alberto Bertapelle popularised a sound here that later became known as the “Pizzicato Syndrome.” Just try and avoid busting out some dance moves when the beat drops!

11. People Are Strange – Echo and the Bunnymen

Do you hear this song and think of Kiefer Sutherland in Vampire-mode spouting the dialogue “they’re only noodles, Michael”? If so, then you’re remembering “The Lost Boys” movie, which also starred heartthrobs Corey Haim and Corey Feldman in their heyday. This Echo & The Bunnymen cover of The Doors classic holds its own as a memorable moment in the minds of many children of the ‘80s.

12. The Purple People Eater – Sheb Wooley

Before the “Monster Mash” came about, another hit novelty song with a spooky aspect ruled the airwaves. Sheb Wooley’s tale of an alien being coming down to Earth to play in a rock & roll band captured the attention of audiences worldwide, partly thanks to the use of experimental recording techniques of the time which involved speeding up tape to achieve the high-pitched voice of The Purple People Eater itself.

13. Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell

Half-brother of present-day personality Redfoo, Rockwell had a huge hit on the Motown record label in 1984 with this spooky song. Yes, you ARE hearing Michael Jackson and brother Jermaine singing on the chorus here — allegedly done as a favour… wow! Those ex-clubbing Mums and Dads might also recall when DJ Bobo appropriated the chorus for his dance hit “Somebody Dance With Me” almost a decade later.

14. Thriller (2003 edit) – Michael Jackson

Does this song really need an introduction? Probably the quintessential Halloween party track, “Thriller” may well be Michael Jackson’s most memorable production in both a musical and visual sense. The 13-minute video is epic, and unlike anything that came before it, ultimately setting a new benchmark for music promos that followed with choreography that is still performed by fans today.

15. Time Warp (from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”) – Richard O’Brien + Little Nell

Still hugely popular with musical fans of modern times, the virtually timeless “Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a wonderfully kitsch and camp stage play which translated brilliantly to the big screen thanks largely to the amazing performance of Tim Curry as mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter. This homage to B-grade science fiction films has seen many revivals over the years, and the “Time Warp” with its how-to spoken and sung instructions is certainly the centrepiece and most memorable moment of this production.

16. Twilight Zone – 2 Unlimited

2 Unlimited were an important component of the early ‘90s rave movement, greatly assisting in the crossing-over of dance music into the mainstream. “Twilight Zone” was the follow up single to their record-smashing “Get Ready For This”, commanding us to shake our bones… which we most certainly did, all the way to #11 of the Aussie ARIA charts in 1991.

17. Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon

Another much-loved Halloween standard, Warren Zevon’s tale of a Werewolf spotted out and about at night on the streets of London-town was a surprise hit in 1978. Of course, it didn’t hurt to have music-industry heavyweights Jackson Browne and members of Fleetwood Mac on the production!

18. Witch Doctor – Alvin & The Chipmunks

David Seville (aka Ross Bagdasarian) started a musical revolution in 1958 with a little manufactured boy-band he called Alvin & The Chipmunks. Clearly not human, or real for that matter, it produced what would ultimately become a hugely successful franchise that is still relevant today. This version of “Witch Doctor” is taken from the re-booted movie series “Alvin and The Chipmunks” from 2007.

19. (You’re The) Devil in Disguise – Elvis Presley

What hit list would be complete without an Elvis Presley number? This one in particular is a really fun song, bouncing between two different tempos for the verses and chorus — a sure fire hit!

20. Materia Primorsis: The X Files Main Theme – Mark Snow

21. Addams Groove – MC Hammer

22. Men In Black – Will Smith

23. Hell – Squirrel Nut Zippers

24. The Real Life – Raven Maize

25. UFO – Sneaky Sound System

26. The Creeps (Radio Edit) – Camille Jones + Fedde Le Grand

27. E.T. – Katy Perry

28. Rotten To The Core – Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson

29. Dark Lord Funk (Harry Potter “Uptown Funk” Parody) – K-Face Rules + Eli Thomas

30. Calling All The Monsters – China Anne McClain

31. Stranger Things Theme – Luke Million

32. Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival

33. Ways To Be Wicked – Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart

34. Toccata – Sky

35. Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) – Backstreet Boys

36. Demons – Imagine Dragons

37. Black Magic – Little Mix

38. Poison – Rita Ora

39. Stressed Out – Twenty One Pilots

40. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga

Don’t forget to follow Brisbane Kids Radio on Spotify by hitting the ‘Follow’ button under our name! Spotify is FREE to listen to and use, with a free app available to download for Apple and Android devices. You can also check out a spooky compilation of Kinderling Radio if you need more music to make your Halloween even spookier https://www.kinderling.com.au/music/mixtapes/halloween-digital-disco

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