Trick or Treat at the Library is always a no-brainer. I always tell my families it’s a great way to get more mileage out of your costume. And your library is temperature controlled–doesn’t matter if it’s cold or raining outside. So perfect place to Trick or Treat! I’ve always loved Halloween and it’s so great to tie it into library stuff:
So I’ve been having Trick or Treat at the Library for over a decade–usually the Tuesday before Halloween from 6:00-7:30 PM, unless of course Halloween is actually on a Tuesday. Here’s what I normally do:
STORYTIMES
For the event, I usually do two storytimes, one session at around 6:15 and then an encore for anyone that showed up later a half-hour later. My two go-tos are always “There’s a Monster in Your Book” by Tom Fletcher and “Frankenstein Doesn’t Wear Earmuffs!” by John Loren. I love interactive picture books (you can read my article about it here) so “Monster in Your Book” works really great with a group, and ties in really well to a scavenger hunt. “Frankenstein” is fun to because it’s funny to dress up in different hats and coats as the story goes on, plus I also have an activity that goes along with it you can find here.
I also like “Zombees,” and “How to Scare a Mouse and Bear” because they’re short and simple, and don’t have many characters. “If You’re a Monster and You Know It” is great for a sing-a-long. “Scariest Thing in the Castle” is good, but is only in a board book so maybe not the best for a big group. The one I forgot to put on the graphic is “Spoonful of Frogs” by Casey Lyall, because it’s fun to bring out props and have a frog fly off your spoon. So anyway I usually do 3 stories and call it good.
GAMES
Feed the Monster: I found this guy online–it’s suppose to be a frisbee golf catcher, but it works for this too! I also found this Nerf slingshot to shoot balls at the monster. Will put the monster on a table to raise him up a bit, but overall a simple game and not something that most kiddos will have expected or have done before.
Pumpkin Bowling: This is just a pumpkin beach ball I found online. Really simple but I feel the stem on the pumpkin is going to throw some people off when they’re bowling, so again a fun little twist on something that a lot of kiddos might already be familiar with.
Axe Throwing: I wrote about my axe throwing board and using it for library outreach here on the ALSC blog, but again something crazy to do in the library you normally don’t get to do. I came up with some safety tips in the article you’ll want to read, and you’ll definitely want to have a volunteer at this station to make sure kiddos are being safe. And obviously DON’T have right by the board, the photo is just me being stupid, per usual.
ACTIVITIES
Halloween Worksheet: I came up with this one a couple of years ago. I try to save paper when I can, so decided to cram as much stuff onto one big double-sided sheet as I could. Like a kids placemat from a restaurant, probably where I got the idea. I made all the drawings, so comfortable making this available for you all:
Who’s Feet Are These?: So this on Pinterest a decade ago, and have been using it every since. Really easy to replicate. You just guess who the character is based on the feet. So you print off a few characters, and paste a ghost over the top of the printout so it’s easy to flip up.
Monster Scavenger Hunt: Scavenger hunt is always an easy passive program, I have several ideas here on the site for them. But “There’s a Monster in Your Book” is made for a scavenger hunt. Here’s what I’ve done–replicating it on your own will be super easy and is sure to be a hit.
Library Blanket Forts: Super easy–it’s just two laundry lines between two library shelves. A sheet on top, and some padding on the floor. I put an electric lantern and some Halloween books in there to set the mood. I usually do at least two forts, so that it don’t get monopolized all night by one kiddo. I’ll upload with a picture later–thought I had one somewhere.
DECORATIONS
Not a big decorator, but I usually do character pumpkins, which you can find out about more here. I reuse the same ones each year and no one seems to mind.
I think that’s about it–hope your event goes great!
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