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10 Alternatives to Halloween for Christians | Fun Activities for Christians

ByMelissa Ringstaff
This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my disclosure policy here.

If you’re considering alternatives to Halloween, today I’m sharing 10 ideas and activities you can do with your kids instead of celebrating Halloween.

10 Alternatives to Halloween | A Virtuous Woman #halloween

“Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:31

In our family we decided not to celebrate a holiday that celebrates pagan and satanic themes. We want to uplift our Creator in everything we do – every day of the year. There are lots of ways to not celebrate Halloween, but still have a fun time together as a family.

My children have no problem with missing out on things that are evil in order to take a stand for Jesus. This year we are going to our church’s Fall Festival in November. It will be lots of fun!

I personally believe our children should be taught that sometimes we don’t do certain things simply because they do not please God. It is a fact of life that there will be times when everyone around us is doing “something fun” that does not honor God. This is especially true once our children become teens. Sex, drugs, and alcohol can seem like a lot of “fun” and peer pressure will weigh down those who have not been taught how to “Just say no for Jesus.”

Once you have explained to your children why you will no longer be celebrating Halloween, or even if you have never celebrated the day, here are some ideas to make the Halloween night a night to banish evil and make Jesus the center “light.”

related: 10 More Ideas for Christians Who Don’t Celebrate Halloween

10 Alternatives to Halloween for Christians

1. Go door to door passing out “treats” rather than receiving them! Explain that Jesus is the real treat and give them a tract to read, such as the ones at The American Tract Society.

related: Q & A: Door to Door Witnessing

2. Tape candy pieces to religious bookmarks or child friendly tracts and pass them out as the trick or treaters come to your door.

3. Attend a fall festival at a local church.

4. Invite friends over for a Bible Character costume party.

5. Stay home with your family and play board games all night. Talk to each other!

6. Go door to door collecting cans for the hungry for Thanksgiving and make baskets to give to local needy families at Thanksgiving. Get the church involved and increase your food bank supply! {You could also share some good literature while you’re at it.

7. Have a family communion.

8. Have a fall themed potluck dinner with other families. only serve foods such as apples, winter squash and soups.

9. Have a Family Day. Choose your families favorite activities: go to the park, visit a Christian bookstore, go out to eat… just make it special!

10. Have a group hayride. Sing song praising God. Some local farms may do this for a small fee.

I understand that many families say that they don’t celebrate the evil themes usually associated with Halloween. I also understand it’s fun to get dressed up and wear fun costumes. However, I personally believe that the evil surrounding the day is too great to play around with. If you’re children go trick or treating, they are more than likely going to be exposed to evil and disturbing images.

I grew up trick or treating. I grew up doing a lot of things I would never let my own children do. When we play with evil, however seemingly innocent, we open the door to our hearts to allow Satan and his demons to come in.

The Bible is very clear about witchcraft, mediums, sorcery, and demons. We are not to make light of these subjects. We are to reject them wholeheartedly.

We, as Christians, are in a war not against flesh, but evil.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

Whatever you do, do for the glory of God!

More Faith Based Alternative Ideas for Halloween

Prayer Pumpkins

Photo Credit: www.coffeewithus3.com

Use pumpkins as a tangible reminder to pray! A fun activity for kids of all ages, these Prayer Pumpkins have become a fall tradition.

How to Throw a Reformation Party

Photo Credit: asformeandmyhomestead.com

Find out how to throw a Reformation Party, so your kids (and you!) can have fun learning about the Reformation!

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My name is Melissa Ringstaff and I've been blogging here at A Virtuous Woman since 2001. I'm a pastor's wife and homeschooling mom living in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Southeastern KY. I believe in finding freedom from perfection and living life with purpose and I want to help you do exactly that.

I'm so glad you've stopped by to visit with me. I hope we can be friends!

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19 Comments

  1. Hi Melissa, I love your website and it is helping me become the woman God desires me to be ( better) and to be the woman my fiance deserves as a wife. Melissa, I liked your Fall Festival suggestions and it was much needed. My fiance and I decided to go fishing at the lake Friday night October 30th. The weather was so mild we stayed all night. We fell asleep for a few hours in the car and when I awakened at about 4:00 in the morning there was an eclipse and I saw about twenty people near the area we were fishing dressed in black robes. Since I was groggy I thought I was seeing things and there were not any other cars on the causeway. Well, I was not hallucinating, some satanic cult pulled up to the shore from two boats and were doing some rituals right near the shore where we were fishing a few hours before, during the eclipse . When we first arrived at the lake there were small rocks stacked all along the waters edge that seemed strange so I knocked them down and kicked them over in case they were some type of abominable alters. LOL I guess whichever group that was that showed up were probably pretty upset that their stone formations had been knocked over and smashed. After the eclipse, lightning started and a storm that had been in the forecast blew in. I hadn't celebrated halloween in years, but that was just confirmation that halloween is not just fun and games and that it is serious business for the dark side. I'm not condemming Christians that participate, there is no condemnation for those in Christ, but when satanic cults have taken over the public parks and are setting up alters and performing rituals, as Christians we have to know that it is not expedient.
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    1. Wow! Thank you for sharing this! You posted this years ago, but I am glad to read this. My friend told me a lot of people do these rituals apparently. Very creepy!
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  2. Thank you for this. I just had my first child in July and I knew I didn't want to celebrate this pagan holiday with her or her future siblings. I was feeling pressured by others that it wasn't a big deal but you've helped me solidify my beliefs on Halloween. This is one holiday were gonna have to just sit out.
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  3. Hi Melissa - I was so glad to see your article about Halloween. I celebrated it as a kids as well, but when you know better, you do better. As an adult I do not and neither does my family. My kids don't even miss out on the Trick-or-Treating anymore, they just want the candy anyway, so we get treats, pop popcorn and have a family movie night. We have to give our kids an alternative so they realize they are not missing anything. They need to now the truth about Halloween. You can't dress up and ring doorbells and then say you really aren't celebrating what it means. You are! The world and the media have tried turned something demonic, dangerous and anti-Christ into fun and games as they typically do to desensitize us. Don;t become numb, or you'll start to ignore it and that's when the devil creeps in. Take care and God bless! Angela
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    1. Angela, I totally agree! I love your idea about having candy and popcorn and a movie night! I believe our children need to be strong enough to stand up for what they believe. How can they do it, if we've never shown them how? Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject. Come back soon!
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    2. Thank you for this post Melissa and Angela I love you answer and totally agree. The media is making what is bad good and what is good bad! So encouraged to know that other Christians are waking up to the truth in Halloween! I remember seeing a blogger post pictures of adults dressed up as zombies and taking her grandchildren to see this! I was aghast! We have to guard our eyes and especially those of innocent children. I too grew up going trick but it was my husband who really woke me up and made me see the truth. You can't take the devil out of Halloween just like you can't take Christ out of Christmas as hard as the world will try.
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  4. My children grew up NOT celebrating Halloween instead we have our own Fall Festival complete with decorations like pumpkins (without evil faces) we decorate by painting them. We have a ring toss game. I make the ring toss out of old soda bottles and large plastic lids from large coffee cans. I just cut out the middle and make the ring. We play toss across, I save aluminum cans from canned fruits and veggies and stack them and the kiddos throw bean bags at them and knock them down. The kids try to also drop the clothespins in a clean milk jug (very challenging) We have a meal (this year it is chili and corn bread or pumpkin muffins, apple slices dipped in Carmel sauce, pop corn and dipped marshmallows (marshmallows dipped in chocolate coating and then dipped in sprinkles.) I also have a goodie bag for each guest filled with some candy and small toys. The kids are able to dress in appropriate costumes and it is alot of fun. It is not expensive to do as we make all of our fall decorations from free stuff on the internet. It really doesn't cost much and it is a fun time for all!
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  5. I'm a single mother with a 2 year old girl. Growing up I also celebrated Halloween. It was one of my favorite holidays. But from the moment my daughter was born, again at her Christening and every day promised God that I would raise Viola knowing Jesus. I'm been in a journey with iOS and downs to become a better servant of the Lord. I discovered your blog last year and it was a breath of fresh air, so honest, so direct and loving. I cried reading some of your blogs and have the 10 virtues hanging up in my room. Back to this topic- last year family members from my daughter's father's side of the family gave her 2 costumes when I didn't buy her any for Halloween. I let her wear one for a parade they took her too, a bumble bee. The second, a spider, she wore treat-or-tricking a couple houses down and back. When I took her second costume off I wanted to cry. She had bites all over her back and neck. The family members neglected to tell me that they have a bed bug problem and those creatures plagued my daughter for months. They felt so bad they helped me with money to buy sprays and etc. I tried everything in the store, I tried natural remedies that were actually more affective (lavender and peppermint) to repel them. I even threw out her crib and other items. I did a routine of washing and spraying etc. every day. She is very allergic to bug bites and to see her face swollen and little limbs with large red bump- I felt so defeated. I thought about how God can help us with absolutely anything and I found some articles about Christians and bed bugs. People were able to effectively pray beg bugs away. One man lived in an apartment complex where the whole building had the bugs except for him because he had faith and prayed and trusted God. Now I think that article was from someone who practiced Scientology, but the underlining message was clear to me. Repent for my sins, all I could think or including celebrating this holiday and allowing my child to, and ask God for forgiveness and rebuke Satan and all his works and his presence in my home. My daughter was the only one getting bit and it was psychological torture. The same blog listed root words of infestation-attack- and I know the only way to defeat the enemy is with Jesus himself. I rededicated myself to trying to walk a better path. I put down all the remedies (I was no longer using the harsh chemicals in the house) and just wanted to let my faith work. The bugs were no more. It's still unbelievable to me but God works! I told those individuals about what had happened and they hardly believed me. I jokingly say they change religions like we change underwater, every few months they teach their children to follow some other "faith" or "cult." Not to judge, but their bed bug problem still president and there has not been one other incident in my home or with my child and there will never be. I trust God. I know that God did not viciously allow my child and myself to undergo such grief and that bugs are his creatures too (I never actually saw one no matter what time I got up to try to catch them and see where they were coming from). I blocked my blessings and invited evil into my home. It was a sharp reminder to me of my promises and how I can never again allow my family (my daughter and self) to be exposed to evil like that again. Though it was a combination of the costumes which also came with a bag of nice hand-me-down clothing- the start of this episode began with that spider costume for Halloween and we will never celebrate again. Spritual warfare is real and I'm not a fanatic or zealot- my demeanor is very laid back and down to earth. Though I made the decision then, time passes and I'm just starting to share my decision with friends and family now, because Halloween is approaching, who all say that Halloween is harmless. It's been tough. I used to enjoy the festivities but I refuse. I've also started a new job and they want all the kids to come in the Friday before Halloween and trick-or-treat around the office. I want them to meet my daughter but I don't want her to partake, even if they call it character day/dress up day. The book "Mommy why don't we celebrate Halloween," has been such a blessing to help me flesh out what I want to say about my decision to others and what I want to teach my daughter about the reasons. I just hope I stay strong. I'm not settled on alternatives, she's pretty young and I doubt she'll miss out or fully understand if we stay home. I hate feeling like the odd ball in the office (because they already had a conversation at lunch early on) about those "weird people who don't celebrate Halloween." I'm asking God for the courage to be secure with my decision and confident that I'm serving him appropriately and rearing my child to believe that Jesus is our friend. However, standing alone sometimes is hard and I just hope that my daughter will understand and be strong in her walk as she grows up. I don't want her to resent me for his choice but it does matter more what God will think of it. I think this article is awesome and I think you should repost/renew it for this season. Sorry that my comment is so long. Any additional advice you have would be amazing. My daugher's father is not involved in her life and I've since grown apart from those family members (for other reasons) so there is no pressure there. The amazing man I'm dating doesn't celebrate either, has been preaching since age 15 and well on his way to dive deeper into ministry and pursue his Masters in Divinity so he keeps me grounded and reminds me that I'm doing the right thing. I wish I didn't feel so awkward with the work situation and my parents are wondering why I'm depriving my daughter of the festivities when they raised my siblings and I in the church and allowed us to celebrate and I "turned out fine." It's not personal against their parenting but they take it that way. Thanks in advance!
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    1. Yanni, thank you for sharing your story. Sounds like quite the ordeal! God is good - and you're right. Spiritual warfare is a real thing. So often we forget that there is real "evil" out there because we're so comfortable in our comfy homes and everything seems okay. It's hard sometimes when we are the one that is "different" from the rest of the crowd, but instead of feeling embarrassed or insecure, we can rest assured that as long as we honor and glorify God in our activities, He will be pleased. We can have sympathy for others who have not yet come to the same conclusions as we have. And it's important to never condemn another person or family for their choice to celebrate Halloween. Rather, it's our faithful witness and loving attitude that is the best way to share the love of Jesus. In our house, we don't celebrate Halloween, but we will pass out candy to anyone who comes to our door with love and joy. We want to be a light in our community - not a source of condemnation. God bless you as you make important decisions for yourself and your little one!
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  6. We usually have a BBQ and game night at our Pastors home. It is very hard to explain to people that we do not celebrate or partake in this holiday. I also take that day off from work because it is a big deal there. When I do explain it I tell them this holiday is not pleasing to God. Explaining it to "non" believers is easy. Explaining it to those who say they are Christian and yet participate is not so easy.
    Reply
  8. Thank you so much for this! I am a Christian mom and a leader in children's ministry. This is the first year I have been convicted that participating in Halloween activites is wrong and I was looking for some alternatives. These are great! Thank you!
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  10. I’m so glad to see this article! I grew up in a small country in Europe and we were always taught that Halloween that’s being celebrated in America is evil holiday. I moved to the USA as a teenager and was absolutely shocked to see that many Christians celebrate it. I understand that many people grew up celebrating Halloween so it’s hard to change it; but Jesus wants us to constantly work on ourselves, to get closer to Him, to change our characters and old ways. I think the biggest issue is that churches don’t speak up about it. Everyone is scared to offend someone. Pastors are scared that people will leave the church if they say it straight. But the truth must be spoken. And children who are blessed by God will have more than just a fun evening getting candy. They’re not missing out on anything!
    Reply

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