The October mid-term break 2026 runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, with Halloween on Saturday 31 October and schools reopening on Monday 2 November. That’s a full week at home with kids who are buzzing about costumes and sweets, and a lot of hours to fill.
This guide has 15 Halloween activities for kids, from old Irish traditions to easy crafts, active games and calm ideas for rainy afternoons. Most cost very little and use things you already have at home. Each one has a suggested age range, so you can pick what suits your family.
Planning days out as well? See our round-up of Halloween family events in Dublin.
Need weekday cover during mid-term? Book a Halloween Camp in Coolock and Tallaght.
October mid-term 2026: key school dates
| Date | What’s happening |
| Friday 23 October | Last day of school before the break |
| Monday 26 October | October bank holiday, schools closed (mid-term begins) |
| Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 October | Mid-term break continues |
| Saturday 31 October | Halloween |
| Monday 2 November | Schools reopen |
These are the standardised dates set by the Department of Education and Youth for all primary and post-primary schools (Source: Department of Education and Youth). Individual schools can add their own closure days, so check your little one’s school calendar as well.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so trick-or-treating doesn’t clash with a school night, and Friday evening is free for last-minute costume repairs.
Why the mid-term break needs a plan
The bank holiday takes one day off the problem, but four weekdays is still four days of cover. For most working parents, that means annual leave, help from family, a camp, or a mix of all three.
Earlier this year, Astropark ran an online survey of 53 parents (most based in Dublin) about the summer school holidays. Of those, 66% said they used annual leave to cover childcare. Cost wasn’t the biggest challenge: 32% said keeping children occupied was the hardest part, and 26% pointed to childcare hours not matching the working day (See the full findings: Astropark summer childcare survey, 2026).
Mid-term brings the same two problems on a smaller scale. Having a few ready-to-go ideas makes a big difference, which is where the list below comes in.
Irish Halloween traditions to try at home
Halloween has its roots in Samhain, the Celtic festival that marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter. Many of the customs we still enjoy began in Ireland, which makes mid-term a great time to mix a bit of folklore in with the sweets.
1. Carve a turnip lantern
Long before pumpkins were easy to find, Irish children hollowed out turnips (swedes) to make lanterns with scary faces. They’re much tougher to carve than pumpkins, which makes them a fun challenge for older kids.
How to do it: An adult slices off the top and cuts a flat base so it stands up. Kids scoop out the flesh with a sturdy metal spoon or melon baller, which takes patience. Draw the face with a marker, then an adult cuts it out with a small knife. Pop in an LED tealight rather than a candle.
Best for: Ages 8+, with an adult doing all knife work. Save the scooped-out turnip for dinner.
2. Play snap apple
This game was so popular that Halloween used to be called Snap Apple Night in parts of Ireland. Hang apples from string (a clothes rail, a door frame or a broom handle across two chairs works well) and have players try to take a bite with their hands behind their backs. The apple swings away every time, which is where the laughs come from.
Best for: Ages 5+. Hang apples at each child’s mouth height and keep turns short.
3. Bobbing for apples
Fill a basin with water, float a few apples, and take turns trying to grab one using only your teeth. Put down towels first and give each child a fresh go at the water if you’re worried about germs.
Best for: Ages 5+, always supervised. Use a shallow basin for younger kids.
4. Bake a barmbrack
Barmbrack (from the Irish bairín breac, meaning “speckled loaf”) is a fruit bread traditionally baked with charms hidden inside. Whoever found the ring was said to be married within the year. Other charms were a coin for good fortune and a pea for no marriage that year.
How to do it: Most barmbrack recipes start with soaking dried fruit in cold tea the night before, which kids enjoy helping with. The next day they can weigh, mix and stir. Wrap any charm in greaseproof paper before pushing it into the batter.
Best for: Ages 6+ with an adult. For younger children, skip the charms (they’re a choking risk) and tape a “lucky slice” sticker under one plate instead.
5. Tell the legend of Stingy Jack
The jack-o’-lantern comes from an Irish folk tale. Stingy Jack tricked the devil more than once, so when Jack died, he was turned away from both heaven and hell. He was left to wander in the dark, carrying a glowing ember inside a carved-out turnip. People started carving their own lanterns to keep wandering spirits away.
How to do it: Turn off the lights, switch on a torch and tell the story. Older kids can add their own ending. It works well while the turnip lantern from activity 1 is glowing.
Best for: Ages 6+. Tone the spooky parts up or down to suit your audience.
Easy Halloween crafts for kids
6. No-carve pumpkin decorating
Knife-free and perfect for small hands. Use poster paint, markers, stickers, googly eyes or washi tape to turn a pumpkin into a monster, a cat or a family portrait. Painted pumpkins also last much longer than carved ones.
Best for: Ages 3+. Put newspaper down first.
7. Make a costume from what’s at home
Making the costume is half the fun, and it saves money. A few easy ideas:
- Ghost: An old white sheet with eye holes cut by an adult. Shorten it so no one trips.
- Mummy: Wrap old white leggings and a top with strips of an old sheet or bandages.
- Skeleton: Black clothes with bones made from white tape or fabric paint.
- Robot: A cardboard box body with bottle tops and foil for buttons and dials.
Best for: All ages. Older kids can design their own from scratch.
8. Toilet roll bats
Paint an empty toilet roll black, fold the top edges down to make ears, and glue on paper wings and googly eyes. Hang a few from a doorway with string for an instant spooky entrance.
Best for: Ages 3+.
9. Paper plate masks
Paper plates make an easy base for cats, witches, pumpkins or monsters. Cut out eye holes, decorate with paint, wool and card, and attach a lolly stick or elastic so it can be worn during the Halloween party.
Best for: Ages 3+, with an adult cutting the eye holes.
Active Halloween games for kids
After eight weeks of school, kids have plenty of energy to burn. These games get them moving indoors or out, with very little setup.
10. Pumpkin bowling
Set up ten toilet rolls or plastic bottles as pins (decorate them as ghosts for extra fun) and roll a small, round pumpkin to knock them down. A ball works just as well. Keep score on a sheet of paper.
Best for: Ages 3+. Best in a hallway or on grass.
11. Mummy wrap race
Split into pairs. One person wraps the other in toilet roll as fast as they can, and the first fully wrapped mummy wins. Add a rule that the mummy has to walk to the finish line without the paper falling off.
Best for: Ages 4+. One or two cheap rolls per pair is plenty.
12. Monster freeze dance
A Halloween version of musical statues. Put on some spooky songs, and when the music stops, everyone freezes in their scariest monster pose. Anyone who moves is out, or has to do a silly forfeit.
Best for: Ages 3+. Great for mixed ages and small spaces.
Calm Halloween ideas for rainy afternoons
13. Halloween table quiz
A table quiz keeps mixed ages busy for an hour. Split into teams, keep score, and have a small prize for the winners. Here are a few questions to get you started:
| Question | Answer |
| What was the Celtic festival that Halloween comes from? | Samhain |
| Before pumpkins, what vegetable did Irish children carve into lanterns? | A turnip |
| What is traditionally hidden inside a barmbrack? | A ring |
| Which Dublin-born writer created Dracula? | Bram Stoker |
| What was the name of the man in the jack-o’-lantern legend? | Stingy Jack |
| How many legs does a spider have? | Eight |
| What do you call a group of bats? |
A colony |
Best for: Ages 7+. Younger kids can answer picture rounds instead.
14. Spooky story circle
Sit in a circle with a torch. One person starts a spooky story with a single sentence, then passes the torch. Everyone adds a sentence until the story reaches a (hopefully funny) ending.
Best for: Ages 5+.
15. Halloween movie night
Build a blanket den, make popcorn, and let the kids design tickets and a “menu” for the evening. Check the age rating of any Halloween film first, as some family favourites are scarier than you remember.
Best for: All ages.
Need cover for the working days? Astropark’s Halloween Camp
If you’re working Tuesday to Friday, Astropark’s Halloween camp in Dublin keeps kids active and entertained from 9am to 3pm, at our Tallaght and Coolock venues.
|
Dates |
Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 October 2026 |
| Hours | 9am to 3pm |
| Ages | Boys and girls aged 5 to 12, grouped by age |
| Price | €90 per child for the four days |
| Discounts | 5% off for each additional sibling or friend (up to 5 kids). |
| Locations |
Tallaght (Greenhills Road, D24 KPN8) Coolock (Oscar Traynor Road, D17 Y998) With parking at both |
| More info |
https://www.astropark.ie/kids/camps/halloween-camps/ |
Kids spend the day on football, NERF AstroWars, Bubble Football (ages 7+), dodgeball, Uni-Hoc, football rounders and a Crazy Old Sports Day, with table quizzes and colouring for calmer moments.
Why parents choose Astropark for Halloween camp
Here’s why Astropark is a popular choice for parents looking for a fun, active and practical Halloween camp option:
- Kids burn off a term’s worth of energy: After eight weeks at a desk, children get full days of running, kicking and playing. Active play is good for mood and focus as well as fitness, and most kids come home tired in the best way. One parent’s review put it simply: her children came home tired and dirty, which is exactly how an active holiday should end.
- Activities are pitched at the right age: Children are grouped by age, so the youngest aren’t lost in a game built for 12-year-olds, and older kids aren’t bored.
- Friends together, or new friends made: You can request that your child is placed with a friend when you book. For kids coming on their own, team games make it easy to get chatting.
- North or south Dublin: With camps in Coolock and Tallaght, you can pick the venue that suits your school run or commute.
- Secure, supervised pitches: Camps take place on enclosed pitches, supervised by trained coordinators, from drop-off at 9am to pick-up at 3pm.
- Built for Irish weather: Camp goes ahead in the rain, so pack a raincoat. On heavy rain days, children move indoors for table quizzes, with colouring for the younger groups.
- Good value camp: €90 covers four full days, and sibling discount brings the cost down further.
Comparing options? Our guide on how to choose the right kids camp in Dublin covers the key questions to ask before you book.
Places are limited, so it’s worth booking early: book Halloween Camp in Tallaght or book Halloween Camp in Coolock.
