Out and About - Low Scare Days They Will Love
1) Visit a Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin picking is huge in the UK now and perfect for little legs. Many farms offer mini wheelbarrows, child-sized pumpkins, hay bales and photo spots. Look for patches with parking close to the field, pram-friendly paths, and baby-change facilities. Go earlier in the day to avoid crowds and muddy tantrums.
2) Toddler Trails (Not Too Spooky)
Plenty of attractions run daylight trails throughout October:
- Country parks & woodlands: leaf-collecting, conker hunting and gentle “find the friendly ghost” trails.
- National Trust/English Heritage sites - many do pumpkin or autumn-nature trails with craft stations.
- Zoos/aquariums: some host “not-too-spooky” animal adventures—great if your toddler already loves creatures.
3) Soft Play & Garden Centre Events
Garden centres and soft play venues often run morning fancy-dress sessions in warm, well-lit spaces. Look for sensory-friendly hours with quieter music if your child is sensitive to noise.
At-Home Activities (No Knives, Minimal Mess)
4) Pumpkin Decorating (Skip the Carving)
- Paint it: washable poster paints, stickers, washi tape, googly eyes.
- Pumpkin “faces”: cut simple felt shapes (eyes/nose/mouth) with Velcro dots so toddlers can redesign endlessly.
- Gourd family: mini pumpkins with names and silly hats.
5) Kitchen Fun They Can Join
- Ghost toast: toast with cream cheese and raisin “faces”.
- Apple “monsters”: apple wedges with a smear of peanut/seed butter and a strawberry “tongue”.
- Pumpkin muffins: use tinned pumpkin or mashed sweet potato; let them pour and stir.
Allergy tip: swap nuts for seed butters; keep decorations soft (sprinkles > hard sweets).
6) Sensory Play, Autumn Edition
- Leaf & pine-cone tray: add scoops, spoons and little buckets.
- Pumpkin oobleck: cornflour + water with a dash of orange colouring (food-safe, taste-safe supervision still needed).
- Spice sniffing: tiny jars of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to smell and shake (lids on!).
7) Storytime That’s Silly, Not Scary
- Room on the Broom (Julia Donaldson)
- Pumpkin Soup (Helen Cooper)
- Funnybones (Janet & Allan Ahlberg)
Make a blanket den, dim the lights, and use a torch for shadow animals.
Play & Pretend
8) Dress-Up Parade (Layered & Comfy)
Let toddlers choose a friendly costume—pumpkin, bumblebee, cat, wizard. Layer over thermals/pyjamas and add wellies for park parades. A paper crown and a cape made from an old pillowcase do the job nicely.
9) Mini Pumpkin Hunt
Think Easter egg hunt but with mini pumpkins or Halloween toys around the lounge/garden. Use fairy lights or glow sticks to make it magical (keep it early evening for bedtime sanity).
10) Kitchen Disco
Make a toddler playlist (Monster Mash, Ghostbusters, The Skeleton Dance, Baby Shark Halloween). Add scarves, bubbles and a torch “spotlight”.
Trick-or-Treat… But Toddler-Proof
- Daylight doorstep trail: swap after-dark rounds for a short, early stroll. Visit a few neighbours you know, then home for stories.
- Treat swap: have a small bag of toddler-safe snacks ready and swap out anything too hard/chewy.
- Window wander: many streets do window-decorating trails—count pumpkins, cats and friendly ghosts as you walk.
Craft Corner
- Paper-plate pumpkins: paint or colour a plate orange; add a green paper stalk and a smiley face.
- Leaf ghosts: paint leaves white and draw little faces once dry; string into a bunting.
- Sock “spiders”: fill a (clean!) black sock with stuffing/rice, tie off, glue on eyes and pipe-cleaner legs.
Safety & Comfort Checklist
- LED candles only in pumpkins; no real flames near costumes.
- Watch small parts (buttons, beads) on accessories and decorations.
- High-vis bits: reflective stickers or bands if you’ll be out at dusk.
- Early start, early finish: toddlers enjoy it more before overtiredness kicks in.
- Weather-proofing: layers, waterproofs, spare socks, a compact blanket in the buggy.
Budget-Friendly Ideas
- Costume swap with friends/parent groups, or check nearly-new sales.
- Upcycle: black leggings + white tape “skeleton”, old sheet “ghost” with drawn-on smile.
- Decorate once, use often: a couple of paper garlands and a string of orange fairy lights go a long way.
- Library first: borrow Halloween books and story sacks instead of buying.
A Simple Toddler Halloween Week (Mix & Match)
- Mon: Library storytime + pick 3 Halloween books.
- Tue: Leaf walk & sensory tray set-up.
- Wed: Paint/decorate your pumpkin.
- Thu: Bake muffins; freeze half for the weekend.
- Fri: Kitchen disco in costume before tea.
- Sat: Morning pumpkin patch or trail; home for nap.
- Sun: Mini pumpkin hunt + cosy film (Room on the Broom or similar) before early bed.
Keep it bright, brief and gentle. Toddlers don’t need elaborate plans or late nights—just simple rituals, soft thrills and time with you. With a few tweaks for warmth, safety and routine, Halloween can be one of the loveliest weeks of the autumn.
If you’re trying to conceive (TTC), you probably know that there are certain foods and nutrients that become especially important once you’re pregnant. But nutrition plays a vital role even when trying to conceive, much like laying a strong foundation before constructing a house.
Certain nutrients create that foundation by supporting egg and sperm health (yes, nutrition matters for both partners), hormone balance and creating a hospitable environment for a fertilized egg to implant. In fact, studies show that certain nutrients can help increase fertility and improve success rates for both natural conception and fertility treatments.
In other words, nutrition is a key player in the TTC journey, but getting the right nutrients in the right quantities can be tricky. That’s where supplements come in. Just as you’d take a multivitamin to fill in nutritional gaps for optimal health, fertility supplements can give you that extra nutrient boost.
Choosing supplements for your fertility journey
When choosing a supplement to support your fertility journey, look for science-backed, high-quality ingredients. Our editors are careful to select and partner with brands that use ingredients that have been clinically studied to support fertility. Eu Natural® (pronounced you) covers all those bases and more. We love knowing that Eu Natural® products contain zero artificial additives, binders, or fillers and are lab-tested to ensure purity and potency.
When choosing a supplement to support your fertility journey, look for science-backed, high-quality ingredients. Our editors are careful to select and partner with brands that use ingredients that have been clinically studied to support fertility. Eu Natural® (pronounced you) covers all those bases and more. We love knowing that Eu Natural® products contain zero artificial additives, binders, or fillers and are lab-tested to ensure purity and potency.
