October Half-Term Activities for Children: Easy Ideas, Halloween Fun & Free Printables
October half-term can be a tricky one to plan for. One day it’s perfect weather for an autumn walk, the next it’s pouring with rain and everyone’s stuck indoors. And of course, there’s Halloween to think about too!
If you’re wondering what to do with the children this October half-term, we’ve got plenty of easy ideas to keep them busy. From spooky Halloween games and free printables to autumn crafts, rainy-day activities and kitchen fun, there’s something for every kind of day. And plenty of it won’t cost a penny!
Jump to:
- Halloween fun and free printables
- Get outside and explore autumn
- Get creative with autumn colours
- Rainy-day fun and drawing games
- Autumn food fun and spooky treats
1. Halloween fun and FREE printables
With Halloween just around the corner, it’s the perfect excuse for some spooky fun!
Download our FREE Halloween Activity Pack! It’s full of things to make and do, including a Halloween scavenger hunt, creepy puzzles, colouring sheets, pumpkin decorations and a spooky activity cube. There are 16 pages to choose from, so plenty to keep children entertained!
Try some spooky party games! Have a go at zombie musical statues, where everyone dances like a zombie until the music stops, or put together a spooky mystery box and challenge children to guess what’s inside by touch. You’ll find plenty more inspiration in our 20 Halloween family party ideas.
Create a Halloween escape room! For something a bit more adventurous, why not create a Halloween escape room at home? Our guide includes 20 puzzles and challenges to help you set one up.
More Halloween fun on Busy Things!
There’s plenty of Halloween fun on Busy Things too! Children can carve virtual pumpkins, colour in wicked witches, design their own monsters and more. Perfect for a bit of spooky screen time with some learning along the way!
Carve a virtual pumpkin!
Choose a pumpkin, carve a spooky face or pattern and turn out the lights to see your creation glow.
New to Busy Things? You can explore all our activities with a FREE 7-day trial. No payment details needed!
2. Get outside and explore autumn
There’s plenty of fun to be had outdoors at this time of year, especially with all those colourful leaves, conkers and other autumn treasures to discover!
Go on an autumn bingo hunt! Before you head out, get together and make a list of things to spot. What reminds everyone of autumn? Think colourful leaves, conkers, squirrels, mushrooms or even someone wearing a woolly hat! Turn your ideas into a bingo card, then see how many you can tick off on your walk. You could even take photos of your discoveries.
Have a conker competition! Who can roll their conker closest to a target, such as a stone or a stick? Or line them up at the top of a gentle slope and race them downhill. For another challenge, collect a few sycamore ‘helicopters’ and see whose spins for the longest!
Become tree detectives! Have a look at the trees around you. Can you spot any that are losing their leaves and others that are staying green? Do all the leaves change colour in the same way?
And don’t forget to collect a few fallen leaves for some autumn crafting when you get home!
More autumn fun on Busy Things!
Carry on exploring autumn when you get home with Busy Things! Children can discover more about trees and explore the changing seasons through our fun learning activities.
Deciduous or evergreen?
Which trees lose their leaves in autumn and which stay green all year? Find out more about different types of trees with this Busy Things sorting activity.
New to Busy Things? You can explore all our activities with a FREE 7-day trial. No payment details needed!
3. Get creative with autumn colours
Got a collection of leaves, conkers and pine cones from your autumn adventures? Time to put them to good use!
Make some woodland creatures! Turn pine cones, conkers and other natural treasures into little animals or funny characters. Use playdough to hold the pieces together and see what you can create. A hedgehog? An owl? Or a completely new creature? Give them names and make up stories about them!
Try some leaf rubbings. Place fallen leaves under a sheet of paper and rub over them with crayons to reveal their shapes and patterns. Experiment with different leaves and colours to make a lovely autumn picture.
Take the four-colour autumn challenge! Think about the colours you spotted on your walk. Rusty reds, golden yellows, oranges and browns. Now challenge children to create an autumn picture using just four colours. They could paint a woodland scene, design a pattern or even invent their own colourful autumn creature! Or download our FREE mindful colouring sheets and give them an autumn makeover.
Make an autumn wreath! Put those fallen leaves to good use by creating a colourful wreath. You’ll also find an autumn wreath activity in our FREE Halloween Activity Pack.
More creative fun on Busy Things!
Keep the creativity going with Busy Things! Children can experiment with colours and patterns in Mindful colouring or create their own colourful designs with Pixel art.
Mindful colouring
Choose from beautiful patterns and designs, then bring them to life with your favourite autumn colours.
New to Busy Things? You can explore all our activities with a FREE 7-day trial. No payment details needed!
4. Rainy-day fun and drawing games
Rain stopped play? Try turning an afternoon indoors into a series of fun challenges! You don’t need much equipment or preparation for these ideas either.
Host your own 60-second challenge tournament! Set up a few mini challenges using things you’ve already got at home. How many rolled-up socks can you throw into a laundry basket in a minute? Who can build the tallest tower of plastic cups? Or move the most cotton wool balls from one bowl to another using a spoon? Let children invent their own challenges, keep score and take turns being the gameshow host!
For more quick challenges, take a look at our easy 10-minute activity ideas. There are plenty of things children can try independently too!
Play the mystery drawing game! Fold a piece of paper into three. One person draws a head, folds it over to hide their drawing and passes it on. The next person draws the body, and someone else adds the legs. Unfold it to reveal your hilarious creation! Give it a name and invent a story about it. For more drawing challenges, check out our 100 Fun Drawing Prompts for Children, complete with a FREE printable drawing prompts pack.
Make the most of the rain! Pick two raindrops on the window and race them to the bottom. Or challenge children to become weather presenters, delivering a dramatic forecast complete with warnings about enormous puddles and torrential downpours! You’ll find more ideas like these in our Easy Rainy Day Activities for Kids blog.
More rainy-day fun on Busy Things!
Keep the fun going with Busy Things! Children can create their own weather forecast with Weather Report, or try their hand at solving puzzles and challenges.
Weather Report
Sunshine, showers or a storm on the way? Have a go at creating your own weather forecast on Busy Things!
New to Busy Things? Try it FREE for 7 days, with no payment details needed!
5. Autumn food fun and spooky treats
Half-term is a great opportunity to get children involved in the kitchen, especially with Halloween just around the corner!
Create some monster pizzas! Give children their own mini pizza bases (pitta breads or wraps work well) and a selection of toppings. Can they make a monster face using olives for eyes, peppers for mouths or sweetcorn for teeth? Let them invent their own monster and give it a suitably spooky name!
Have an autumn apple bake-off! Apples are in season, so why not put them to good use? Make individual apple crumbles together, letting children measure the ingredients, mix the topping and experiment with different flavours. Will they add cinnamon, blackberries or something else? Who can come up with the best name for their creation?
Give apple bobbing a go! This traditional Halloween game is always good for a laugh! Set up individual bowls of water and see who can catch an apple without using their hands, with close adult supervision. Or try a less soggy version using kitchen tongs. Who can rescue their apple the fastest?
More food fun on Busy Things!
Children can design their dream pizza with Make a pizza, discover which British fruits and vegetables are in season, or experiment with cooking times in Busy Oven without the risk of burning dinner! You’ll also find recipes to try together at home.
Make a pizza
Choose your base, add your favourite toppings and create your perfect pizza. What will you put on yours?
New to Busy Things? Try it FREE for 7 days, with no payment details needed!
Keep the half-term fun going with Busy Things!
Enjoyed these ideas? There’s plenty more to discover on Busy Things! With hundreds of games, puzzles and creative activities for children aged 3–11, you’ll have plenty of fun ideas ready for rainy afternoons, quiet moments and everything in between.
Try Busy Things FREE for 7 days and let your children explore as much as they like. No payment details needed!
Looking for more ideas?
Whatever the weather, we’ve got plenty more ideas to keep children happy and entertained!
- Boredom Busters for Kids – Easy games, creative challenges and ideas for those inevitable “I’m bored!” moments.
- 10 Stress-Busting Activities for Kids That Actually Work – Simple, playful ways to help children unwind, burn off energy or enjoy a bit of calm.