Make something simple, find an outing nearby or get wonderfully weird with a cardboard box and a few willing neighbors.
Halloween is close, and the costume may still be a conversation rather than an outfit. That’s fine. A familiar shirt can become a pumpkin, a cardboard box can become a washing machine, and your porch can become the place neighborhood children remember next year.
With Halloween falling on Saturday, October 31, Los Angeles families have daytime celebrations, merchant trick-or-treat walks and evening events to choose from. Start with what fits your time, budget and children’s appetite for spooky fun.
Start with a costume you can make at home
Check the closet before buying supplies. The simplified versions below use everyday clothes; allow extra time for glue or paint to dry. No particular clothing brand is needed.
Cat: Pair dark clothes with felt ears attached to a headband or hoodie. Add optional whiskers with child-appropriate face paint. Follow Primary’s black-cat instructions, adapting the accessories to your child’s age.
Pumpkin: Attach black felt eyes and a smile to an orange shirt, then add a green felt leaf to a headband. You can skip stuffing the shirt. Find the pumpkin directions in Twinkl’s no-sew costume guide.
Scarecrow: Start with a plaid shirt, jeans or overalls and a soft hat. Fabric patches supply the character without loose straw. Use The Goddard School’s scarecrow instructions as a starting point.
Skeleton: Attach white felt or fabric-tape bones to a black shirt and pants. They need only be recognizable, not an anatomy lesson. See the skeleton instructions in Twinkl’s costume guide. Primary.com
Have children walk, sit and try a step in the finished outfit. Keep their faces uncovered and hems above the ground.
Where to take your little monsters
These organizers list 2026 events. Check their pages before leaving for registration, availability and updates. Outdoor merchant walks still involve streets and crossings.
- Union Station, Los Angeles: Boonion Station brings free trick-or-treating, crafts and entertainment to the South Patio on October 31, 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. A daytime option for families who want an early finish. www.unionstationla.com
- Santa Monica: The Montana Avenue Halloween Walk runs October 31, 2–5 p.m., with treats at participating businesses. No admission charge is listed. www.montanaave.com
- Pasadena: Old Pasadena’s store-to-store trick-or-treating runs October 31, 4–8 p.m. Look for orange Treat Stop signs along Colorado Boulevard and adjacent streets. Treats are available while supplies last. www.oldpasadena.org
- Downtown Los Angeles: The DTLA Halloween Festival for Kids takes place at Grand Hope Park, 919 S. Grand Ave., October 31, 5–8 p.m. It features trick-or-treat doors, characters and crafts, with ages 2–8 highlighted. Tickets are required; check current pricing. Children under 3 enter free. downtownla.com
- Torrance: Mall-O-Ween at Del Amo Fashion Center is Friday, October 30, 4–6 p.m., for children 10 and younger. Candy is free while supplies last; masks are prohibited. www.torranceca.gov
- Burbank: The Halloween Carnival at McCambridge Recreation Center offers games, prizes and candy October 31, 6:30–8 p.m., for ages 3–11. It costs $5 per child, requires registration and has limited space. www.burbankca.gov
Feeling adventurous? Make something wonderfully strange
Halloween rewards a good visual joke. These projects take more preparation, but the family can invent the punchline.
The washing machine that ate your socks: Follow this cardboard washing-machine build, keeping the bottom open and the head uncovered. Our twist: attach mismatched socks and label the machine “Missing Sock Dimension.”
A walking spaghetti dinner: Yarn becomes noodles on an old shirt, with lightweight imitation meatballs attached. This spaghetti-and-meatballs tutorial shows the construction. Adults should handle cutting and hot glue; shorten hanging yarn for easy movement.
A refrigerator with suspicious leftovers: This refrigerator costume tutorial demonstrates a more elaborate upholstered version. Simplify it with painted cardboard. Our addition: paper leftovers with monster eyes and a label reading “Since 2019.” AHS
Keep wearable boxes light and easy to remove. Try them indoors before committing to a long walk.
Staying home? Start the Monster Porch
Make your home a small Halloween destination. For inspiration, this guide to organizing a neighborhood Halloween celebration offers ideas for bringing neighbors together, sharing responsibilities and adding costume fun. Your version can start with a few families and one welcoming porch.
Invite two or three nearby households to a one-hour gathering on your porch or in your yard. In an apartment building, use a shared space only with permission and keep exits clear.
One household can bring wrapped treats, another a game, and another help welcome visitors. Nobody needs to buy a costume or contribute money.
Start with three activities: children invent monster names, introduce their costumes and toss rolled socks into a cardboard monster’s mouth. Then let everyone add an eye, tooth or tentacle to a larger cardboard creature.
Save that creature. Next Halloween, bring it back and add another section. Suddenly, children have something to return to.
Before you head out or welcome visitors
Safe Kids Worldwide recommends reflective tape, flashlights, properly fitting costumes and adult company for children under 12. At home, keep walkways clear, use battery lights around decorations and offer nonfood treats separately. www.safekids.org
Give the Monster Porch a closing time and parents responsibility for their children. Finish by choosing next year’s theme.
The first year can be small: one porch, one game and a cardboard creature that gets a little stranger every October.
