Halloween Weekend 2023 on Long Island: Zipline Pumpkin Toss and More Things To Do with Kids

Jaime Sumersille's picture Submitted by Jaime Sumersille on

Halloween Fest in downtown Riverhead transforms Main Street into a spooky, enchanted land. Photo courtesy of Downtown Riverhead

Looking for the best things to do on Long Island this Halloween weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list.

Halloween weekend is upon us, and there's no shortage of ways to celebrate on Long Island. Zip into the festivities at WildPlay's pumpkin toss zipline adventure. The Haunted Hanger returns to the American Airpower Museum this weekend, too! 

Other top picks for Halloween weekend on Long Island include stepping back in time to experience an 1800s Halloween at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration, the Long Island Aquarium's annual Bats, Barnacles, and Broomsticks event—plus Halloween Fest in downtown Riverhead, and the Great Jack-o'-Lantern Sail at Belmont State Park. 

Come Tuesday, October 31, be sure to keep our picks for the top trick-or-treat spots on Long Island handy, and bookmark our Long Island Halloween Guide for more picks to keep your costumed kids entertained all weekend, including Long Island's best trunk-or-treats and FREE Halloween activities and parades. 

Halloween Weekend 2023 in San Francisco: Trick-or-Treat and More Things To Do with Kids

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Trick-or-Treat...It's Halloween time in the Bay Area! Photo by Joe Shlabotnik courtesy of Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Looking for the best things to do in San Francisco and the Bay Area this Halloween weekend? The city is positively bursting with Halloween parades, costume contests, and more family-friendly events to add to your list for this weekend.

Calling all goblins, ghosts, and ghouls: Halloween is here! There are so many spooky things to do in San Francisco from now until Tuesday. Get scared at a haunted house in San Jose, trick-or-treat with the animals at the zoo, go on a Halloween rain ride in Felton, and jam out to Halloween fun in Oakland. These are just our best-of-the-best picks, too—there are also a ton of free events throughout Bay Area communities and plenty of not-so-scary events for little ones in every neighborhood from San Jose to Oakland and beyond. You'll find all our Halloween activities on our San Francisco Bay Family Event Calendar. Happy Halloween! 

For more Halloween haunts, check out the top Halloween events in San Francisco, fill up those candy buckets at the best places to trick-or-treat on Halloween in San Francisco, and visit the best pumpkin patches in the Bay Area. Everything you need for Halloween is in our Halloween Events and Activities Guide for San Francisco Kids. 

Halloween Weekend 2023 in Chicago: Trick-or-Treat and More Things To Do with Kids

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Halloween weekend 2023 is finally here! Photo by Kate Connealy, courtesy of the Logan Square Halloween Parade Facebook page

Looking for the best things to do in Chicago this Halloween weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for Halloween weekend.

Halloween weekend is finally here! With trick-or-treating itself falling on Tuesday, kids have plenty of opportunities to pre-game over the weekend at lots of neighborhood trick-or-treating events. Kids can grab some candy in Norwood Park, Andersonville, Wicker Park, or Lincoln Square, or watch a Halloween parade along Halsted Street, or in Logan Square or Glen Ellyn.

Need more to do for Halloween? Check out our lists of Free Halloween Events in Chicago or Top Halloween Events Near Chicago. Celebrate early with one (or more!) of these Trunk-or-Treat Events, or scope out the Best Trick-or-Treat Neighborhoods in Chicago.

Halloween Weekend 2023 in Atlanta: Trick-or-Treat and More Things To Do with Kids

Elsa Simcik's picture Submitted by Elsa Simcik on

Enjoy trick-or-treating, a parade, and more during Zoo Atlanta's Boo at the Zoo. Photo courtesy of the zoo

Looking for the best things to do in Atlanta this Halloween weekend? Here are some Halloween events and activities to add to your list.

Families celebrate all-things monsters, candy, and fall with special Halloween weekend events in Atlanta! Go wild at Boo at the Zoo; score a candy touchdown at Haunted Hall of Fame at the College Football Hall of Fame; and entertain the fam at the Center for Puppetry Arts' Monster Mash. Atlanta also offers lots of easy (and free) ways to trick-or-treat before Halloween night this weekend—collect candy at the Lawrenceville BooFest on Friday; then visit Trick-or-Treat at Avalon and Halloween at Halcyon both in Alpharetta on Saturday. 

Let our Atlanta Halloween Guide be your go-to for spooktacular ideas like Halloween party snacks, last-minute Halloween costume ideas, and the scoop on the Best Atlanta Neighborhoods to Trick-or-Treat. From all of us at Mommy Poppins, have a fun and not-too-scary Halloween! 

Halloween Weekend 2023 in Orlando: Trick-or-Treat and More Things To Do with Kids

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The Oakland Nature Preserve lets families show off Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat, all while enjoying the outdoors. Photo by the author

Looking for the best things to do in Orlando this Halloween weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list.

Gather your goblins and ghouls! It's Halloween weekend in Orlando, and we've got with fang-tastic events for all ages. Spooktacular Orlando Halloween events are taking place in Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Apopka, Maitland, Lake Eola, and Avalon Park. Take the family to see the amazing fly-overs at the Orlando AirDotShow in Sanford; stroll through Oakland Nature Preserve for its annual Pumpkin Glow event; and visit the Central Florida Zoo for the final weekend of the Zoo Boo Bash. Plus enjoy more bewitching Halloween activities this weekend by referring to our Best Halloween Events in Orlando. 

Check out our Orlando Halloween Guide for more details about the holiday, including the Best Neighborhoods for Trick-or-Treating! Subscribe to our email list and receive updates about everything happening around Orlando all year round.

25 Things To Do in New Jersey During November's School Holidays

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Spend a day running around at Johnson's Corner Farm this November. Photo courtesy of the farm

While New Jersey students have an abbreviated November schedule to look forward to, parents are left to figure out things to do in New Jersey to fill those days off. The first holiday falls on Election Day on Tuesday, November 7, followed by NJEA Convention on Thursday, November 9, and Friday, November 10. Several school districts have gone a step further, giving students that entire week off!

Of course, don't forget about Thanksgiving at month's end, when kids have off both Thursday, November 23, and Friday, November 24; some even have a half-day or no school the Wednesday prior, too. Yikes!

With that in mind, we've pulled together this list of 25 things to do to in New Jersey to keep your kids busy during November's school holidays. Whether you choose to hang indoors at a popular local indoor play space, embrace the fall weather with a day at the farm, or plan a family road trip, read on for our picks for the best staycation ideas this November.

If you are looking for more activities this season, take a peek at our New Jersey Fall Fun Guide and bookmark our Family Activity Calendar for even more ideas. It might also be a good time to check off one or two items on our list of 100 things to do in New Jersey with kids before they grow up.

The Cauldron Brings Pumpkin Patch, Halloween Fun to the Flatiron District

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Spooky and sweet fun awaits at The Cauldron, which has teamed up with Little Kid Big City for a fun Halloween activation.

You don't have to get out of the city to experience the magic of a pumpkin patch this Halloween season. The Cauldron NYC—in conjunction with Little Kid Big City—has conjured an urban pumpkin patch in its brand-new Flatiron location, where you can dress in wizard's robes and create some spooky—or silly—jack-o'-lanterns. My son and I recently checked out this pumpkin carving adventure and had a great time. Read on to find out more about this interactive experience and what you need to know before visiting with kids.

For more Halloween events and activities, check out our jam-packed New York City Kids' Halloween Guide, which showcases our top picks for FREE Halloween events, not-too-scary-haunted houses, and more.

Gift Guide To the Best Gifts for Teens & Tweens

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Kids can tune out parents and listen to music with these cool Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones.

If you want to know what the best gifts are for teens and tweens, you need to go to the source. So we did!

It's really hard to come up with gift ideas for teens and tweens that they'll really like that venture beyond electronics, video games, or gift cards. Frankly, even if you go with one of the big three categories, if you're over 20, you are pretty much guaranteed to pick the wrong thing. So we went to the source, asking Charley, who has a keen eye for what the middle and high school crowd is into, to help us come up with a list of gifts teens and tweens will actually be excited to open.

What you'll find here is a mix of electronic gifts kids will be surprised and thrilled by, crafts and artsy gifts for teens who need a little Zen time after school, fashion gifts for teens that don't look like their mom picked it out, and other cool surprises. Read on to discover actually cool gift ideas for teens.

Looking for awesome gifts for other ages? Find the most beloved toddler gifts, cool gifts for elementary school-aged kids, and more in our Mommy Poppins Gift Guide for Birthdays and Holidays.

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