Over the age of 10, kids can often start to show less enthusiasm for Halloween. Not because they don’t want to bob for apples or dress up anymore, but because they’re afraid of appearing uncool to their peers. To help make the holiday fun for them, arm yourself with a list of such cool Halloween activities that even they won’t be able to refuse! Here are 15 Wickedly Good Ways To Amuse Your Tween This Halloween.

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#1. Scary Movie Night

Let your tween host a scary movie night with their friends. Encourage all the guests to come in costume and bring a Halloween snack/treat. Agree beforehand the movie that will be shown, which should still be age appropriate. Then back-off and let them enjoy – just expect a few screams!

#2. Make Ghoulish Halloween Drinks

This green Vampire’s Kiss Halloween drink from Life of a Whisk with its ghoulish “blood rim” looks awesome and with some food colouring is pretty straightforward to make too. This recipe is an adult-version, but you can make it tween-friendly by replacing the alcohol with lime kool-aid. There are lots more ideas in 10 Ghoulish Halloween Drinks for Kids.

Image via Life of a Whisk

#3. Give Them a Job

Kids of this age can sometimes feel at a bit of a loss – they desperately want to be involved, but may feel too old to partake. Giving them a job can help them still enjoy the night, yet feel grown-up. Put them in charge of:

• Trick or treat supervision of younger kids around the neighbourhood
• Organising the party games for younger kids
• Setting up not-so-scary haunted house tours for little ones in your yard
• Playing Halloween Bingo with the younger kids/siblings

#4. Play Hide & Seek In The Dark

If your tween has friends over, they will love a game of Hide & Seek in the dark! Give everyone a glow-stick or torch, and let them loose in your garden. Expect much shrieking and screaming.

#5. Decorate

Let your tween be in charge of turning your house into the ‘Haunted House of the Neighbourhood’ this Halloween, and get them to decorate the front porch/steps or your front hall this Halloween, in their own style. You might just need to help them with the pumpkin carving, but let them decide how they should look. Check out these Simple DIY Decoration Ideas for Halloween.

#6. Make Itsi, Bitsi Spiders

Kids of this age love all things spooky – the creepier and grosser the better! This creepy yarn spider’s nest from craftberry bush will tick all those boxes, and is perfect for decorating your haunted house this Halloween.

Image and Instructions via craftyberry bush

#7. Paint Spooky Nails

Get your tween to paint some spooky nails – we’re loving these Halloween Faces from Adventures In Acetone which use black and orange nail polish. More ideas in Achingly Awesome Halloween Nail Design.

Image via Adventures In Acetone

#8. Be a Mad Scientist

It wouldn’t really be Halloween without some gooey slime, and what better fun than creating this Dr. Hows Science Wows version that glows in the dark? I defy any tween to say this is uncool! They could also try make these Glow In The Dark Bubbles.

#9. Decorate Pumpkins

Let your tween decorate the pumpkins this year. If they don’t want to carve them, they could also just decorate un-carved pumpkins. There are lots of cool ideas in these Enchantingly Easy Pumpkin Designs. If they have some friends over, why not have a pumpkin decorating competition?

#10. Halloween Eyeball Cookies

These very realistic Halloween Eyeball Cookies from Food.com will make a great addition to any tween halloween party, or to hand out to trick or treaters. They are very creepy looking but we promise they taste delicious, and your tween will love making and decorating them!

Image via Food.com

#11. Tell Ghost Stories

If you’re hosting a party for your tween, they’re still young enough to enjoy ghost stories. So turn off the lights, have some candles lighting and tell some spooky tales. For added fright-factor you could have someone nearby making some spooky sounds (creaking door, distant footsteps, breathing).

And to lighten the mood at the end of the scary stories, here are some fun Halloween jokes.

#12. Make Monster Teeth Cookies

The kids will enjoy making these Monster Teeth Cookies, especially if they’re having some friends over at Halloween. They’re super easy and look great too.

#13. Play Freaky Feel Box

Freaky Feel Box is another great activity to do if your tween has some friends over. Are they brave enough to put their hands into the Freaky Feel Box? Guaranteed fun, squirming and shrieks!

How to Play

• Get a large cardboard box and divide into 4/more compartments internally (you could use flaps from top of box for this)
• Cut holes on sides of box to access each compartment, ensuring just large enough to fit in the hand, but not see in. Decorate the top and side of box creepily, using cobwebs, plastic spiders etc.
• Place “creepy” items in each compartment – examples include fake fur, peeled grapes for eyeballs, cold spaghetti for worms, slime, damp rough sponge for brains, tines of a plastic fork for vampire teeth, hairy fake spiders etc.
• Turn the lights down low to add to the spook-factor, and get the kids to take it in turns to put their hands into the box and try guess what they are feeling. You could also leave another hole at back of box, for you to reach your hand in and grab theirs – sure to cause high-pitched screams!

#14. Create Silhouette Lanterns

Silhouette lanterns can be easily made with jars, spray paint, and a paint marker, and can look very effective as part of your Halloween decor. A perfect crafty activity for kids of this age.

Image & Instruction via  Adventure in a Box

#15. Make Flying Ghosts

Growing a Jewelled Rose has a simple but super effective science project for Flying Rocket Ghosts that your tween will love trying outdoors.

Image & Instructions via Growing a Jewelled Rose

Over to you! Have you any great ideas for entertaining tweens at Halloween? Let us know in the comments below.