Celebrating Samhain as a Family: Samhain Activities

Creepy cupcakes are a fun way to celebrate!

Photo: Photo courtesy of the author

I think for most people coming to this blog, you'll know exactly what Samhain is already. For those who are not pagan, but curious, you can read about the origins of Samhain on Wikipedia.

One of the best things, for me, about Samhain is celebrating the season with my children. We spend much of the month of October preparing for Samhain and enjoying the start of the real fall weather.

Here is a list of a few activities that you can do yourself, or share with your kids!

• It's a great time to dig out all your witchy black clothing and all those "Neighborhood Witch" shirts. No one will even blink at them this time of year, even if you are still "in the broom closet".
• Break out the baking or candy making supplies and create some fun Halloween goodies!
• Have your whole family gather to write new year's resolutions on scraps of paper and burn them in your cauldron.
• Decorate your yard in a spooky or fun way.
• Gather your empty boxes and make a Haunted Halloween House!
• For trick-or-treating, or other events, wear costumes that reflect what you hope to accomplish or what you wish for in the coming year.
• Go pumpkin picking and carve jack-o-lanterns.
• Find a corn maze and find your way out!
• Use your craft scraps and old socks to make some Halloween Sock Buddies
• Bury an apple by your front door as food for the dead - and don't forget to bury one by the back door as well! This keeps the spirits passing through so they won't linger in your home.
• Do your choice of divination for the upcoming year. Pick a tarot card for each month, throw your runes, use a magic mirror, or simply fill your cauldron with water and see what you can see.
• Set out a mute supper to honor the dead. This doesn't have to be an elaborate event. Simply set out apples, pomegranates, salt and apple cider for your "guests".
• Make a mask of your shadow self.
• Gather supplies and make a few candles for the year. These can be as simple as melting old candle stubs and repouring them. Add a few crayons to the mix to color them for your intention! You can also add scents, herbs, stones or shells accordingly. There are candle making kits in most craft stores with simple instructions.
• Make a new wand or help your child find wood to make his/hers. Try to find fallen branches of oak, holly, ash, rowan, willow or whatever wood "speaks" to you.
• Make a witch's ladder to hang in your home for protection, or to help manifest your wishes for the coming year.
• Cast protection spells on your home and/or property.
• Review the mistakes of the past year. Write them down on scraps of paper. Vow to not repeat the. Burn the papers in your cauldron and cast off your feelings over these mistakes.
• Cleanse all of your divination tools and rededicate them to the God and/or Goddess. To cleanse, pass through sage smoke, wipe them with a mugwort tea, or whatever your favorite method is.
• Do a simple divination reading for every month of the coming year.  Write them in a notebook so that you can reflect on them through the year and see how many of your predictions happened!
• Harvest 9 hazel nuts (or alternately purchase them if you can't find them!) and use them to make a wreath of protection for your home.
• Decorate your door with a bundle of 3 stalks of Indian corn, representing the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone.
• Create Halloween crafts with the kids and decorate the house.
• Cook up some holiday goodies to share with friends and family.

 However you choose to celebrate the season, mix the fun in with stories about the origins of Samhain and why we continue it to this day.  







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