It's scary how many ways there are for families to celebrate Halloween in New York City. From family-friendly haunted houses to FREE Halloween festivals and fairs to kids' costume parades to door-to-door trick-or-treating, the options seem endless—and overwhelming.
That's why for the second year in a row, we're rounding up the absolute best Halloween celebrations in all of NYC. These aren't your run-of-the-mill fetes in parks or playgrounds. We're highlighting major Halloween events hosted by top NYC cultural institutions and organizations that are worth the schlep as well as your valuable time, energy and money (though some are FREE). These are all special, must-experience-at-least-once happenings like the New York Botanical Garden's Haunted Pumpkin Garden, the Monster Mash dance party at the Brooklyn Children's Museum and Central Park's Halloween Parade & Pumpkin Flotilla. If an event piques your interest, be sure to click through to our listing for all the details, including address and time. And keep in mind: In NYC, really cool Halloween happenings often get booked up quickly. So buy your tickets ASAP or, in the case of FREE events, arrive as early as possible to try to beat the crowds.
So let's cut through the cobwebs! Here are our top 10 Halloween celebrations for NYC kids.