Halloween Toddler Activities That Won’t Break the Bank

Halloween activities to do with your toddler this October using mostly products from the Dollar Tree! Learn how to make fizzing bugs, Halloween playdough, and more.


It’s time for another round of fun toddler activities. If you’re new here, I’ve shared a ton of toddler activity ideas in the past (I’ll link them at the bottom of this post) but I thought it’d be fun to do some that are seasonal. So, I’ve come up with some really fun Halloween toddler activities to do at home with your little ones, so let’s jump into it!

Bug Rescue 

Using a plastic bin or cardboard box, you’re going to place some bugs and other Halloween items inside (I got all mine at the Dollar Tree). Then, you’re going to stretch some fake spider webbing over the top (again Dollar Tree). If you don’t have fake spider webbing you could also use white yarn and wrap it in a criss-cross pattern to resemble a spider web. Then, the goal of this activity is for your toddler to rescue the bugs. For slightly older kids, offer them a set of little tongs or tweezers to rescue the bugs. For younger toddlers, you can make it less challenging by spreading the webbing more sparse.

Halloween Toddler Sensory Bin

Start by dying some rice Halloween colors.  To color your rice, place it into a plastic bag (or large bowl) with about 1 cup of rice to about 1 tsp of vinegar mixed with food coloring. Mix it well until the color is well distributed. Spread the rice out on a cooking tray or parchment paper to speed up the dry time, it usually dries in a few hours but could take up to a day.

Layer these colors on a pan or shallow plastic nim and add in a variety of Halloween items, (again I used the Dollar Tree to source pretty much everything). Try to add a variety of items with different textures and make sure to to offer multiple tools like scoops, bowls, etc.

Melting  Play Dough

Mix approximately 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup baking soda, then add in about 1/4 cup hair conditioner. The cornstarch consistency is strange so just really mix it well and eventually, a soft pliable dough will form. 

Now, This is a really fun activity because it’s actually 2-in-1. You can start by just letting your little one play with the dough as it is. Then, as they seem to tire with that, it’s time to make your playdough melt and fizz because it is Halloween! I made a few eyedroppers full of vinegar I’d colored with food coloring. When you drop the vinegar on the dough it will slowly bubble and melt!

Jelly Pumpkins

Mix up some orange Jello according to the package and carefully pour them into your mold. You can see empty plastic egg cartons, half a plastic Easter Egg, or even just muffin tins. I suggest spraying them with cooking spray first.

Options: Using raisins or mini chocolate chips, add little eyes and faces to the pumpkins when the Jello is about 1/2 firm. Let these firm up completely in the fridge. Then, it’s time to pop them out. You should be able to get them out with just a little knife on the edges but if necessary you can use some warm water on the bottom of the mold to loosen it up.

Then, I placed these in a low tray and made this an outside activity. However if you can’t get outside, a kitchen floor or even the bathtub is a great place for messier activities like this!

Fizzing Bugs

For this activity, you’ll need to take some muffin tins and put a drop of different color food coloring at the bottom of each one. Then, cover with baking soda and put a spider in each tin, I got mine at the Dollar Tree. Give your child an eye dropper with vinegar and let them squeeze the vinegar into the trays, revealing the hidden colors underneath!

Fine Motor Pumpkins

I gave my son some stickers to decorate mini pumpkins with and it’s such a great fine motor activity! Plus, the fun thing about stickers on pumpkins is you can stick and re-stick them over and over again!

Halloween Flashcards

Last but not least, I also made some Halloween Flashcards. I think they are super fun for each season. My son LOVES matching, so we match the little pictures with the big ones. But you can also play concentration with them. You could also hide them around the house and go on a scavenger hunt!

>>Download my free Halloween Flashcards<<


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I'm Kallie!

Nothing happens around here before coffee, so pour a cup and join me. Here you’ll find life hacks, budgeting, simple DIYs, and honest motherhood.
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Hey there, I’m

Nothing happens around here before coffee, so pour a cup and join me. Here you’ll find life hacks, budgeting, simple DIYs, and honest motherhood.
New here?