Family Halloween Events in Boston (Map + Calendar!)

The annual Trick-or-Treat Marshfield Center event includes trick-or-treating at local businesses, carving pumpkins at Dandelion Park, spooky story time, and a costume contest at the playground.

12-4pm

Families can learn more about this joyful holiday with crafts, performances, snacks and more kid-friendly activities.

1-4pm

A tradition on Salem Common, the Fun Fest has lots of great family activities for kids of all ages, including slides, rides, games, and fun!

10am-5pm

Enjoy Halloween with a trick-or-treat trail at the Franklin Park Zoo. Wander through animal habitats and collect terrifyingly tasty treats on the trick-or-treat trail. Get creative at arts and crafts stations. Show off your Halloween style in their kids' costume contest! Keep your eye out for some animals that might be getting into the spirit, too!

9am-4pm

The Great Pumpkin Hunt puts a spin on the typical candy hunt. Kids can dress up in their Halloween costumes and hunt for eggs in the field, searching for the one egg holding the Great Pumpkin prize. The hunt will be split into age groups and there will be one Great Pumpkin prize per age group. The event also will have games, photo and craft stations. Pre-registration is required.

Put on the costumes for trick-or-treating around Patriot Place. Candy and non-food treats will be given out. Allergy-friendly options will be available as well.

11am & 5:30pm

Come trick-or-treat with your favorite zoo animals! In addition to trick-or-treating, enjoy a costume contest, arts & crafts, music, and storytelling sessions!

9am-4pm

Come to Edaville for some pumpkin-picking fun! Board the train and take a scenic ride to the pumpkin patch, which is located on the beach of the beautiful Atwood Reservoir. Each child can pick a pumpkin to take home from the pumpkin patch.

Amanda Banta said:  Fort Independence is turned into a magic castle for the annual Halloween event at Castle Island. The festivities also will have storytelling, drinks and snacks. Kids are encouraged to wear their costumes.

12pm-4 pm

Amanda Banta said:  Hundreds of pumpkins will be carved, illuminated and placed along the nature trails of the New England Wildlife Center for its annual fundraising event. Take a stroll along the decorated trail, enjoy music, entertainment, and more! Pumpkins are carved by a combination of professional artists and community volunteers.

6:30pm-8pm

Erynn said:  A hayride with costumed actors, Halloween treats, and special stops across Marini Farm makes this trick-or-treat event a complete farm experience. Tons of other attractions can keep kids who aren't interested in sweets (or who maybe need to be cutoff!) occupied.

10am-4pm

Amanda Banta said:  Little kids are invited to a special Halloween-themed event, Boo in the Barnyard, at Weir River Farm. Visitors will get a chance to visit the Weir River's animals, including goats, chickens and cows, enjoy a pumpkin scavenger hunt, and an autumn-themed story walk. Costumes are encouraged.

10am, 11am & 12pm

Karen Lebedzinski Cle... said:  The Haunted Trail will be held this year on the grounds of the Townsend Public Library. Proceeds to benefit the Friends of the Townsend Public Library and the Townsend VFW Auxiliary.

7pm-9pm

Kristy Pepping said:  Spirit Cruises offers many boat rides all around Boston. During the Halloween season, they will be offering a family lunch cruise. The whole family should get dressed for this special costume cruise! There will be an onboard parade for the kids, buffet lunch, activities, fun games, and Halloween goodie bags. You can make reservations online and check the menu too.

12pm-2pm

Amanda Banta said:  The Mayor of Revere and the Parks and Recreation Department invite families to a night of spooky, but still kid-friendly, Halloween fun. Kids will enjoy inflatables, amusement and pony rides, Silly Willy the clown, DJ, cookie decorating and of course, trick-or-treating! Costumes are encouraged.

5pm-8pm

harvardmuseums said:  Learn more about this joyful holiday, a national symbol of Mexico shared with the world. The annual tradition of building ofrendas—altars with photos, favorite foods, and memorabilia of the departed—encourages visits by the souls, and is an occasion to honor and celebrate the lives of the departed. Enjoy three floors of activities for the young and young-at-heart including crafts, scent stations, traditional decorations, Nahuatl stories, decorating a sugar skull (extra $7 fee), painting demonstrations, folk dances and two live music performances. Outside the museum, visitors can purchase Mexican hot chocolate, café de olla, pan de muerto (sweet bread), and tamales from Jose’s Torta Mexicana. Mexican food trucks Tenoch and North East of the Border will also offer delicious tortas and tacos for sale.

Event activities are free with regular museum admission. Sugar skulls extra ($7 each). Free parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Presented by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University.

1-4pm

Amanda Banta said:  Camp Kiwanee is putting a twist on trick-or-treating with their annual Halloween Spook-tacular that will send kids and families to not-too-spooky cabins on the campgrounds. Each cabin will be decorated by a different family, community group or business. Families who want to help out with the event can apply to decorate a cabin and hand out candy. The event will have a pumpkin walk, storytime with Big Joe, hot cocoa station, s’mores around the campfire, crafts, Spooky DJ, and a Haunted House!

3pm-7pm

Amanda Banta said:  Visit Old Sturbridge Village after hours for Halloween fun! This family-friendly event has mysterious performers, trick-or-treating, crafts and games, and storytelling by firelight.

4:30-9pm

Amanda Banta said:  Visit Boston Common this October to see hundreds of glowing pumpkins floating on the Frog Pond. If you want to participate in the event, carve a small pumpkin as you like and bring it down to the Frog Pond, where volunteers will light and float it that evening. Pumpkins must be hollowed out and eight inches or smaller in diameter in order to float.

There will be music, food and other family friendly activities along with the Pumpkin Float.

5pm-8pm

The Haunted Train Ride is a scarily good time on the Holmes Bus grounds. As you board the train, you will see scarily good venues, dancers, and more! The Haunted Train Ride is geared toward kids from kindergarten through middle school. As the evening gets darker, the ride gets scarier.

5-8:30pm

Kristy Pepping said:  This ritual has been taking place since 1984. Come bring the family and release a handmade lantern made from recycled soda bottles. Leading up to this festival, several area businesses will host workshops where you can make your own lantern. You can also buy an already made lantern. Arrive at sunset with your lantern and wearing a Halloween costume is encouraged. The parade goes around the pond lighting the way.

Parade begins at dusk

The Alden Haunted House Haunted House event includes (mildly) frightfully haunted tours of the historic Alden House, a haunted maze and trail walk, games and a scavenger hunt. Costumes are encouraged!

5-9pm

Amanda Banta said:  The Great Pumpkin Dash kicks off the Fall and Pumpkin Festival at Revere Beach. The annual 5K will step off from Kelly's Roast Beach on the Boulevard.

There also is a one mile fun run for kids. All runners are encouraged to dress up in the spirit of the season; there will be prizes for great costumes!

Fun Run starts at 9:30am

5K starts at 10:30am

Erynn said:  What could be better than pets dressed up in costume for kids to ooh an ahh over? A costume contest and pet parade- that's what! Get kids involved and have them create a costume for their furry (or non-furry) friend, or attend as spectators for a good time.

12pm-2pm

Amanda Banta said:  Take an after-dark stroll through the grounds of the historic Pioneer Village, which showcases life in early 17th Century Massachusetts, and see dozens of carved and illuminated pumpkins along the way. There will be spooky stories told in a separate area for those who wish to get a little scare after the walk.

5:30pm-8pm

Enjoy a freshly-roasted s’more by the firepit, trick-or-treat around Sheep Pasture, get your face painted with spooky Halloween designs, and enjoy games of cornhole, giant Jenga, and yard-zee with the family! Journey through the woods on a guided hike with NRT educators, or take a story walk as you read the tale of “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything”! The Sheep Pasture Spooktacular is a family-friendly event for all ages.

2-5pm

The Buttonwood Park Zoo will host its annual Boo at the Zoo event, during which visitors are encouraged to dress up in costume and explore the zoo. There will be trick-or-treating, roaming characters, face painting, crafts, and more!

The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo is always a crowd pleaser and a very popular event in the area. Thousands of intricately carved pumpkins will be illuminated throughout the zoo.

6-10:30pm