Halloween ideas for babies and toddlers

With Halloween happening, we thought we'd gather a few ideas for activities you can do with those too small to trick or treat. Whether Halloween marks for you the changing of the seasons or is simply a good excuse for fancy dress, there a lots of ways to include toddlers and babies in the festivities.

Carve or decorate a pumpkin
The pumpkin is a must-do. Apparently, carving turnips is the more British way to go. Since that sounds like a lot of hard work for not much reward, we'll stick with the Americans on this one.

Red Ted Art offers 20 Pumpkin Decorating Ideas. We especially love the idea of carving your baby's hand prints and footprints into the pumpkin to make a face.

Get crafty
Halloween offers a perfect time to get toddlers involved in crafts. Mum of One has very simple instructions for making a felt pumpkin that your toddler can decorate with eyes, noses and mouths. Hertfordshire Mummy suggests you turn an old jam jar into a glowing pumpkin lantern. For younger toddlers, Playful Learners shares the great idea of apple print pumpkins. We also love her toilet roll bats. Me and My Shadow made a family of handprint spiders, both spooky and easy.

Get dressed up
Apart from anything else, fancy dress provides the perfect photo opportunity for you and your baby. If you're looking for inspiration (and something to make you smile) flip through Parentdish's Babies in Pumpkins! slideshow.

Make snack time spooky
Finally, inject some Halloween fun into your snacks and meals on the dark day. We'll be back with pumpkin recipes next week from Baby Bites but in the meantime we've spotted a fun idea for your snack times. Another Lunch suggests Halloween finger foods from Kiwistein to ghostly bananas. Some of the options are sugary so you might want to avoid or limit them.

For more Halloween and Autumn ideas, and lots of other pretty things, follow us on Pinterest.