Trick or Treat Brisbane (2024)

For your ultimate guide to trick-or-treat Brisbane look no further!

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!