Parents say: Halloween festivities perfect for babies

Your baby's too young to go trick-or-treating, but you can still have fun on Halloween. Read on for creative ideas from other BabyCenter parents with babies up to a year old. (You can also check out Halloween ideas for toddlers.)

Throw a party at home

"Since my 7-month-old is a little young to get into Halloween, we're having a small family gathering at our home with Halloween decorations and snacks. My son will be decked out in his first costume to help answer the door for trick-or-treaters, and the family will get to share in the excitement of his reaction to the neighborhood kids out in their Halloween best. We've invited grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. Most of their kids are too old for trick-or-treating now, and the few with little ones will be able to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. I've decorated our house, inside and out, with flashing orange lights and ghosts that fly in the wind – they really catch my son's attention!"
— Andrea

Spread some Halloween cheer

"The members of my mom group are going to trick-or-treat at an assisted living residence on Halloween. Although my son will be only 8 months old, I think it's important for him to be exposed to new and different people. Taking him to visit the older residents will not only bring them happiness, it'll expose him to new sights and sounds. It's never too early to start community service!"
— Lory

Go to a zoo party

"My son will be 6 months old at Halloween. We're going to take him to the local zoo – they let the older kids trick-or-treat while the younger ones enjoy the animals. The whole zoo is decorated and all the employees dress up."
— Lainie

Look for local children's festivals

"Every year for Halloween our church has a fun, kid-focused evening they call Festival of the Lights. We plan to dress up our 7-month-old and take her there so she can enjoy the other costumes and have her picture taken."
— Amy

Visit friends or relatives

"My 7-month-old is way too young to care about Halloween, but we're going to have fun with it anyway. We bought him an elephant costume, and we'll take him to visit family and friends. This way, we can show him off to our family and friends, and our baby can enjoy seeing everyone too."
— Dacia

Pass out candy

"My daughter will be just shy of 9 months on Halloween. We're going to dress her up in a bumblebee costume, and she'll help us greet the trick-or-treaters that come by our house. Since she's too young for trick-or-treating herself, we'll take tons of pictures and maybe go strolling around the neighborhood to watch the other children."
— Debbie

"My son is 7 months, and he's going to split his night between trick-or-treating with his big sister and older cousins and helping Daddy hand out candy. Since we're new to the neighborhood, this will be a great opportunity to meet our neighbors. He's too young to eat candy, but he's not too young to enjoy a nice stroller ride in his scarecrow costume! He loves the house decorations we have up – especially the lamppost we turned into a ghost and the stuffed monster that sings 'Monster Mash' while dancing around."
— Anonymous

Make a Halloween keepsake

"My older daughter and I made a paper pumpkin for each member of the family, including her 4-month-old baby brother. We put our names on them and taped them to our front door. I plan to keep them as memories of my son's first Halloween and how his big sister helped him celebrate. Later we'll laminate them and put them in his scrapbook."
— Maureen

Dress up during the day

"I'll be dressing my 10-month-old in an inexpensive duck costume and taking her to Daddy's work for lunch. We'll be able to show her off but not overwhelm her with the normal Halloween festivities. It should be fun and we're looking forward to it! Can't wait to see the pictures!"
— Jill

Have your little goblin's portrait taken

"My daughter will be exactly 3 months old on Halloween. I bought her the most adorable costume, and we're going to have her picture taken that day and pass out candy that night. She'll be an extra treat for our trick-or-treaters!"
— Letitia

"I have 3-month-old twin boys. We're planning to dress them up as baby lions and take them to visit their grandparents. We'll also have a professional photograph taken of our two little lions."
— twinsma

Surprise the grandparents

"My son is only 9 months old and still too young to participate in most Halloween festivities, so we're planning to surprise both sets of grandparents by going to their houses and trick-or-treating. They have no idea that we'll be visiting them, nor do they know what his costume will be. Needless to say, they'll be very surprised!"
— Stacie

Try the library

"Check out your local library. We've lived in three different states and in each one, during their normal story time during the week of Halloween, they have the kids come in costumes and have a costume parade around the library as well as other fun activities – especially great for those too young to trick-or-treat."
— Anonymous

Do it for charity

"We've decided to go trick-or-treating for the fun of it, but instead of collecting treats for our baby, we'll collect change for UNICEF. The websiteOpens a new window tells how to do it. Never too early to do good deeds together as a family, right?"
— Venta