It’s finally October, which means time to get into the Halloween spirit! I will admit, Halloween has not always been a favorite holiday of mine. I have never been into scary movies, haunted houses, or gory costumes. But since I’ve become a parent, the holiday has become much more exciting because my kids LOVE Halloween! They love dressing up as their favorite characters/animals, decorating our house with spiderwebs and orange lights, carving jack-o-lanterns, and the highly anticipated trick or treating. Their excitement has helped me realized Halloween is actually pretty great after all.
This year to kick off the Halloween season, we decided to have a Halloween themed movie night – complete with spooky snacks! It is such a fun and simple way to get excited about the upcoming holiday, plus who doesn’t love an excuse to cozy up with the family on a chilly fall night?!
First, you have to pick out the perfect movie – something that everyone in the family will enjoy. This is not always an easy task for our family and it definitely takes some time to decide, especially since there are so many options to choose from with all of the streaming services available. Lucky for you, I’ve cut out some of the work and have created a list of our new family favorites and the popular classics. This is by no means inclusive, but a great tool to help in your Halloween movie search. Be sure to click on the titles for more information on each movie.
Family-Friendly Halloween Movies:
G Rated Movies – Great for all ages!
Spookley the Square Pumpkin (2005)
Super Monsters Save Halloween (2018)
Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005)
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
PG Rated Movies – Suitable for most children, but let the grown-ups check it out first!
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Halloween Movie Night Snacks:
Now that the movie has been selected, let’s get down to my personal favorite – snacks! I love a good Pinterest-worthy snack, but I also love something simple enough that the kids can help too. I also like to have a variety of foods that will balance sweet and salty, making sure all the taste buds are satisfied!
We started out with “mummy dogs” for dinner. With just three ingredients – hot dogs, crescent roll dough, and candy eyes – you have the silliest Halloween dinner that’s ready in about 15 minutes! Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees, cut the roll of crescent dough into thin ¼” strips, and let the kids go to town wrapping up the hot dogs. Place them on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the crescent “mummy wrap” turns golden brown. Top them off with candy eyes (we used a little bit of ketchup on the backs to help them stick)!
For our sweet dessert, we went with classic fudge brownies with a Halloween twist. This is a no judgement zone and I am perfectly happy to admit I used a box mix to make these! Bake the brownies according to the directions. Once they have cooled, use white frosting to pipe a spiral shape on each one, then take a toothpick and drag it from the center of the spiral outward all the way around the brownie. Viola! Spiderweb brownies!
And lastly, no movie night is complete without popcorn. But to make it extra festive, we threw some Halloween colored M&Ms to the mix! The ultimate sweet and salty snack.
If you want to add in some other snacks inspired by the season, here’s a list of fun fall snacks.
Movie nights are all about having fun and spending quality time with family. Don’t get overwhelmed at the thought of time-consuming themed snacks, because they don’t have to be over the top. My kids had a blast making all of these snacks, and all it took was a few extra items on my weekly grocery list and not much artistic skill on my end! So carve an evening into your calendar, let your kids take over the kitchen, and snuggle up for a fun Halloween movie night with your family. Happy Halloween!
