From trick-or-treating to apple-bobbing, the traditions of Halloween may not be things that you would immediately consider to be "COVID-safe" but you can still have loads of fun with the family this Halloween.

We have compiled a list of fun activities to help you celebrate Halloween and keep your children entertained!

1. Pumpkintastic!

We're not aware of any pumpkin patches in Cirencester but there are a few places locally where you can go along and pick-your-own pumpkins, including Roves Farm, Cotswold Farm Park, Cattle Country Adventure Park, Primrose Vale and Over Farm.

Once you have chosen your ideal squash, get your kids to come up with a fantastic, spooky design and carve it together.

If you aren't too confident there are some easy and fun downloadable templates to help you cheat carve up the perfect pumpkin!

Don't throw out all that lovely pumpkin flesh as it's great for cooking!

2. Get out and about

Collect conkers for some epic conker wars and find out who will be the all-conkering hero; Cirencester Park has the best trees for conkers!

Collect leaves and do some leaf rubbings or use them to create some arty pictures, bats or ghosts.

Paint Halloween themed rocks and hide them around the Abbey Grounds for others to enjoy discovering.

3. Get crafty

Create Halloween crafts together and see who can make the creepiest creations.

Try your hand at some Halloween themed origami, think scary monsters, biting lips, blinking eyes and more or maybe these lovely Halloween paper lanterns.

Decorate paper pumpkins to display in your windows for your neighbours to enjoy or fashion some Halloween puppets using wooden spoons and put on a puppet show.

Another great idea is to create and send Halloween cards to family and friends that you may not be able to spook in person.

4. Haunted House

Decorate your house for Halloween and use your crafty creations to create your own shop of horrors.

How's about a spider made out of pipe cleaners and hidden under a duvet or a paper skeleton in the cupboard!

Leave a scary message on your bathroom mirror, write in soap ‘ I’m watching you’ or ‘I know what you did’ on the bathroom mirror. When the bathroom steams up, the message will appear.

5. Sweet stuff

Decorate Halloween cookies or have a go at some spooky shortbread using Halloween cookie cutters.

Make your own toffee apples, bake Halloween cupcakes or have a go at apple-bobbing.

When you have created a feast of devilish delights you could have a go at reverse trick-or-treating! Take some of your tasty treats and deliver them to your neighbours. Check first that they're happy to have visitors in the current circumstances (and remember the rule of 6).

6. Dress to impress

Paint each other’s faces in a spooky style.

Create your own Halloween costumes, there are lots of costumes sale in the local charity shops right now that won't cost the earth.

Hold a virtual Halloween fancy dress party - Zoom in your friends and family, sharing your wild and wacky costumes!

7. Party on

Hold a Halloween kitchen disco and play some spooky tunes – The Time Warp is one of our favourites!

Have a game of Halloween bingo with your family. You can download some FREE Halloween bingo sheets or create your own.

Play pin the spider on the web… the spider closest to the centre of the web wins!

Hold a Halloween treasure hunt around the house using clues and treats.

8. Grub’s up!

Cook a spooky family dinner with wormy spaghetti followed by jelly brains! Or you could try baking sausage mummy dippers.

Follow up with some Halloween inspired mocktails. Cranberry juice works well for blood! Food colourings are great for green and blue and they're delicious served from a hollowed-out pumpkin!

You can also raise the tone a little with some delicious pumpkin hummus.

9. Fright night

Make your family laugh, jump (or cringe) by telling spooky jokes.

Hold a scary movie marathon, turn off all the lights and cuddle-up tight and see who gets goosebumps! There are loads of scary movies for kids now available on Netflix.

Tell some spooky stories; find a quiet corner of the house, grab some duvets and a torch and scare the living daylights out of each other with stories of things that go bump in the night!