It’s that spooky time of year again, and for many of us, that means we’re celebrating the Samhain season. If you’re a busy witch with little witchlings, celebrating the Sabbats comes with additional challenges. It can also feel really overwhelming to get your kids involved if you’re new to celebrating the Sabbats. Fortunately, I have a few super simple ways you can celebrate Samhain with kids!
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Observing the Sabbats helps you better align with the natural patterns and cycles of the world around you. There’s no better way to learn about those patterns than to get out in nature. My little ones love going on walks and collecting treasures.
Allow kiddos to pick up twigs, leaves, acorns, and any other little treasures they find along the way. Occasionally, we even find dragonfly and butterfly wings. Remember to ask lots of questions about what your little ones notice about how the environment seems to be changing (think changing leaves, darker days, fewer flowers and bugs, cooler temps, etc).
Then, when you get home, let your curious witchlings observe and investigate what they found. Pull out some basic science tools like magnifying glasses, measuring tapes, sorting mats or bowls, and a camera or device for taking photos.
Take it a step further, and use their treasures to create something new. Kiddos can use what they find to make…
- art projects
- leaf rubbings
- preserved flowers and plants
- their own altar or sacred space
2. Enjoy a Samhain Themed Scavenger Hunt
One of my favorite dark season traditions is going out after sunset to walk the neighborhood and look at Halloween and Christmas decorations. It’s something we all look forward to every year. Why not add a little scavenger hunt to the fun?
Did you know that many of the symbols of Halloween and Samhain are the same? Use this to your advantage and make a symbols of the season scavenger hunt for your witchlings. Need help with symbolism ideas? Check out this post! Whenever they find a decoration that matches the symbol, they can check it off. This can be easily modified to fit a variety of ages and subject areas. Incorporate some traditional learning while you celebrate Samhain with kids!
- For preschoolers, keep it simple with check boxes, pictures, short labels, and word tracing. This way, they can have fun while practicing their developing literacy skills.
- For grade schoolers, include the pictures and labels, but also add a couple sentences or paragraph about the lore or meaning of the symbol. After they find the symbol, they read you the text and retell (tell in the author’s words) or paraphrase (tell in their own words) what they learned.
- For older kids, include more in depth history and abstract themes and symbolism. Maybe on their list, you tell them to find something that represents death, sacrifice, transition, etc. Then, they write or draw the symbol they found.
- Send this off with your solo trick or treaters to give them something to focus on besides mischief and candy! If they bring it back completed, they can earn a spooky prize for their hard work.
- Include a math element with tally charts to tally up how many of each symbol they find. Later, they can even use the tally chart to make other data tables and graphs.
3. Participate in Some Traditional Halloween Activities
So many Halloween traditions that we love already work well for the Samhain season. Why reinvent the wheel? Maybe you’re crunched for time. It could also be that you’ve got one of those little ones who shares your family’s whole life with strangers, and you don’t want strangers to know you observe Pagan holidays. It could even be that you’re interested in Samhain but just not ready to take the plunge.
Participating in common Halloween traditions is the perfect way to celebrate Samhain with kids in a low key way. Many Halloween traditions have roots that go way deep. Here are some popular ones that work for both holidays!
- Dressing up in costumes and going trick or treating.
- Carving and lighting up Jack-o-Lanterns.
- Bobbing for apples or eating candy apples.
- Decorating with spooky symbols like skulls, bones, bats, black cats, and more.
- Visit a local cemetery. Do some ghost hunting, clean up an unkempt grave site, or take some headstone rubbings.
4. Let Your Littles Help with the Ancestor Altar
Kids love helping. It doesn’t always make life easier, but why not take advantage of that willingness to learn? Spend some time talking about how this is a good time of year to remember the people and pets we love that have died.
As you build the altar together, talk with your kids about the ancestors they might not remember. For example, “This ring belonged to your great grandma Nancy”, or “I’m putting candy on our altar because Uncle Bob loved sweets”, or even just “This is a picture of your grandfather who died before you were born”. These stories, photos, and treasured items can help your child connect to family members they might not remember and start to learn more about their heritage.
If you like to leave offerings to your ancestors, get your kids involved in swapping out old libations for fresh or putting offerings on the offering dish. If you can trust them to be careful, they could even help with keeping the space clean and free of dust or clutter.
Has your family recently lost a pet or loved one? Allowing kids to participate in creating the ancestor altar is a great way to help them process those big feelings. It also shows them that it’s normal and totally ok to still think about their lost loved ones. While it doesn’t make the pain go away, simple ancestor veneration can be a great way to process death and mourning in a safe and supported way. Provide space and support for questions and big feelings.
5. Add Samhain Spirit to Your Weekly Grocery Trip
You would be amazed at how many kids have no clue where their food comes from. As the seasons change, taking a few extra minutes during your weekly grocery trip to talk about local and seasonal produce can get kids thinking about where their food comes from.
This will require a little research beforehand on your part, but you can do it! A quick Google search on seasonal produce in October in (your area) will give you what you need. Alternately, you could try searching for what produce to harvest in October in (your area). Print that out and stick it in your bag or pocket on the way out the door.
While you’re shopping, have conversations about the different fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats available this time of year. Point out that the cost of those items is usually cheaper because it can grown in your area, and it’s ready in October. Allow kids to see what different fruits and veggies look like, and talk about what animal different meat products come from.
If you’re up for a challenge, you can even let your kiddo choose a new, seasonal food to help you prepare and try for dinner one day that week.
There’s no need to feel pressure to do all of this in one trip! Spread it out across many trips in the 6 weeks or so surrounding Samhain.
6. Visit a Local, Family Friendly Public Ritual
If celebrating the Sabbats is a part of your families religious or spiritual practices, there’s no simpler way celebrate Samhain with kids than a public ritual.
With a little bit of research ahead of time, you might be able to participate in a public ritual with your children without all the added work of actually planning out the ritual. It’s also a great way to build community if you find a group that really resonates with you.
In my area, the best place to go is a local Universalists Unitarian church. Don’t have one of those? Perform a Google search or Facebook search for open or public Samhain rituals in your area. Then, visit the websites of the options that come up for details about whether they are kid friendly and what to expect.
This option doesn’t work as well if you’re in a very rural area. However, you could also do a search for online rituals you can join. This could be a better option for people in isolated communities or who have concerns about public pagan gatherings and privacy. This is also a good option if, like me, you had a 1 month old baby on Samhian and could hardly function!
How Do You Celebrate Samhain with Kids?
What’s your favorite way to celebrate Samhain with kids? I’m always on the lookout for fun and creative new ideas to entertain my little witchlings.
Drop me a comment to share your personal favorite Samhain traditions with your family.
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