This Halloween Trick For Kids Is So Easy and Fun, You'll Definitely Make It a Yearly Tradition

Laurel Niedospial
Laurel Niedospial

Even though the official phrase of Halloween is "trick or treat," we all know that kids really just want the candy. But what if there was a way to have both? Enter the Halloween Hobgoblin, which magically appeared this week and gave my family a fun little surprise. Attached to our front door was a cutout of a cartoon ghost and a little bag filled with goodies for my son. The ghostly note read: "You have been visited by the Halloween Hobgoblin! Within the next 48 hours, you must pass this on to 8 of your friends or neighbors. Please copy this Hobgoblin in your window so you won't be visited again! Let's see how many houses the Hobgoblin can visit before Halloween! Happy Halloween!"

My son was delighted by his surprise bag of goodies, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get him excited about the trick aspect of the holiday. While our note was kept simple and cute, you can get as creative as you want with what you and your kids write. From a spooky poem to a Halloween movie quote to a friendly message, the Halloween Hobgoblin is yours to to mold! Keep reading for more info on how to make this fun project come to life.

01
Head to the Cheap Aisle of the Store

Head to the Cheap Aisle of the Store

While I personally checked out The Dollar store, Target's dollar section is also a great place to get things for this Halloween trick. All in all, I spent around $10, and my son picked everything out.

02
Gather Your Supplies

Gather Your Supplies

To put in the Halloween bags, we chose pencils, bubbles, plastic eyeballs, Pixy Stix, Ring Pops, stickers, and vampire teeth. As an added fun toddler activity, you can have your kids count out each item and bag, stealthily hiding education within a fun activity.

03
Make Them Do the Work

Make Them Do the Work

We decided to make each bag as even as possible, so my son would count out each item and put them in the bag. For the Hobgoblin task, you'll need to make eight. The excitement of soon surprising his friends and neighbors made this part even more fun!

04
The Ghost Template

The Ghost Template

While this isn't the exact hobgoblin that visited us, it should be easy to print this off to get yourself going. Or, you or your children can freehand the ghost.

05
Make Copies

Make Copies

If I had been smart, I would have had my son trace the ghosts and then bought toddler scissors for him to practice his cutting skills. However, I just photocopied the original ghost for a dollar at the library and then cut them out myself. Parenting fail, but it still worked!

06
Deliver the Goodies

Deliver the Goodies

We had so much fun going around our neighborhood delivering the bags. Using tape, we stuck the bags to the doors, and for my friends who live in condos, rang their buzzers or texted to let them know it was downstairs waiting for them. You can also hide it in a mailbox or weigh it down with a pumpkin on their front porch.

07
Eat All the Treats

Eat All the Treats

The perfect trick-or-treat activity for kids, this one was easy to make and even easier to enjoy.