Christians & Halloween: a Few Halloween Celebration Alternatives for Christians!

1. Host a Family Game Night

Chances are, your homeschoolers will be longingly gazing out their bedroom on windows on October 31st unless you make your own fun indoors. A family game night is a wonderful way to have safe, Godly fun. Dust off the board games, pop some popcorn, and get ready for an evening of friendly competition. Candy prizes and autumn themed treats like candy apples and pumpkin pie will help your kids forget about trick-or-treating. You can also get together with other homeschooling families for a homeschool vs. homeschool showdown. Be sure to have at least one family member at the door to pass out candy. The last thing you want to do is come off as strange and unfriendly. There’s nothing wrong with passing out candy, and you can also pass out tracts with a friendly smile. Don’t shut yourself in and ignore your neighbors.

2. Go to a Harvest Party

When my kids think of Halloween they think of our church’s annual Harvest Party. This fun-filled evening occurs every October 31st as a safe, fun Halloween alternative. Races, leaf piles, corn mazes, and more fill the night with glee. There are candy prizes in each room in addition to larger prizes like video games, Bibles, and scooters. Believe it or not, my homeschoolers actually prefer going to the Harvest party over trick-or-treating. If your church doesn’t hold a Halloween alternative, meet up with your fellow homeschooling parents to brainstorm.

3. Cosmic Bowling Night

Most bowling alleys are open late into the night with florescent lights and strobes. Cosmic bowling is a great activity for those who wish to avoid Halloween festivities. Bowling alleys are usually empty on October 31st. This is a great opportunity for family-friendly bowling competition. You can even get together with other homeschool families and make teams. The Johnsons vs. the Thompsons! Go wild with uniforms, team names, and colors.

4. Throw a Costume Party

Just because trick-or-treaters dress up on Halloween doesn’t mean your youngsters can’t. Why not have a themed costume party with Biblical or historical figures? A friend of mine throws a party each year for homeschoolers. Last year she had a Noah’s Ark party. Each child dressed up as an animal for an impromptu play based on the story of Noah’s Ark. Just make sure you specify that all costumes must be appropriate for a Halloween Alternative. You don’t want any zombies crashing your party!

5. Carve Pumpkins

Carving pumpkins can be a fun day-long activity for creative homeschoolers. They don’t have to represent the souls of the undead as long as you don’t want them to! Take your homeschoolers out to a pumpkin patch to pick their favorite pumpkins. Mix it up with gourds and squashes. Draw some goofy faces and carve out silly creations. You can even write inspirational messages in the pumpkins for inquisitive passers by. Make sure to hang on to those squishy pumpkin seeds. You can throw them into the oven and dry them out for a crispy treat. Just add salt!

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.


Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation’s public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.


An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Homeschooling News Café Blog consists of the most current and relevant education news.

Homeschool Halloween: Christian Alternatives to Halloween

Just because you’ve decided to forego participation in the Halloween festivities doesn’t mean you can’t make fun on your own. Furthermore, there are ways to use the Halloween season as a way to spread Christ’s love and the redeeming power of the gospel message. Here are just five ways to have some fun without risking the safety of your Christian children.

1. Have a Game Night

So your kids are longingly looking at the kids outside with tear-filled eyes. What is a homeschool parent to do? Why not create your own fun? Have a family game night complete with a variety of board games and fun activities. Go wild with candy prizes and autumn-themed goodies. If your homeschoolers want, you can even dress up. You can still pass out candy to the neighbor children if you stay home. I know parents who pass out candy accompanied with small tracts or Bible verses. This is a great way to expose kids to God’s word. Whatever you do, don’t shut yourself in and ignore knocks on the door. That only sends the message that you are strange and even unfriendly.

2. Go to a Harvest Party

Each year, my church throws a Harvest Party on October 31st. There is a leaf pile surrounded by bales of hay that kids can dive into for a period of time to search for candy. There are competitions of all kinds, including target shooting, jousting, pillow fights, wrestling, and more. Each room of the church is devoted to a specific Bible-themed game. The cafeteria cooks pizza, popcorn, and nachos that come free with admission. My homeschoolers usually come home from the harvest party marveling as to how the harvest party has to be so much more fun than trick-or-treating. If your church doesn’t have one, why not look into starting one of your own? You could even host one with your homeschool co-op.

3. Go Bowling

On Halloween night, bowling alleys are usually pretty empty. You can take your family and to a bowling alley and have an all-night bowling party. Don’t just limit your fun to bowling. Laser tag, goofy golf, and other fun activities can be easily substituted. You could even get together with other homeschooling families for some friendly competition. You can make it especially fun by turning your family into a team. Each Christian homeschooling family can have its own colors or even uniforms. Be creative!

4. Throw a Costume Party

So your kids really want to dress up. Well, what’s wrong with that? As long as they don’t dress up as anything evil, a costume party can be a great activity for a church or homeschool co-op. Award prizes for the best costumes. One Christian homeschool friend of mine threw a Noah’s Ark party. Each homeschooler dressed up as a different animal and they put on a short play about Noah’s Ark.

5. Pumpkin Party

Carving Pumpkins was always my favorite element of Halloween. I can’t think of a good reason to not carve a pumpkin. Why not have a pumpkin party with your homeschoolers and other Christian friends? You can go to a pumpkin patch, pick out your favorite pumpkins, and then carve them into silly faces. I heard of one ambitious family carving Bible verses and inspirational messages like “Jesus is Lord” into a series of pumpkins. Just don’t throw away those seeds. Dry them out and add some salt for a fun snack!

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because “our current system of education has broken its promise…” Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.


Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.