Family Halloween Fun

Discover SoCal activities & costume stores, plus get costume ideas!

After Halloween Clearance Sale continues in 2009: Good online costume companies keep a large stockpile of costumes so they won't run out when their customers need them most (which is Halloween, of course!) However, keeping well-stocked throughout the Halloween season means that they're stuck with costumes they don't want to continue next year...or that they simply don't have room to keep year-round. So, you'll find clearance sales at virtually every on-line costume store; now's a great time to stock up! Here's a link to the Clearance Costume Section at BuyCostumes.com, where you can reap big bargains.

Southern California is a great place to celebrate Halloween!

1.) Temperatures in Southern Cali range from warm days to cool nights. Gone is the extreme heat of summer, yet the chilly winter nights have not arrived yet. Will it snow? When zebras have spots instead of stripes!

2.) Costume shops are easy to find. Whether you have a favorite year-round costume store where you're a regular customer...or if you visit a seasonal shop, you'll find all of SoCal's metro areas dotted with Halloween stores filled with costumes, accessories and home decor.

3.) Many family Halloween activities take place throughout Southern California Disney's Halloween Time, a huge non-scary event, is a favorite choice for families with smaller kids. Teens and young adults flock in hordes to the popular "Knott's Scary Farm," Six Flags Fright Fest and Universal Studios Halloween Horror nights. Smaller celebrations are widely attended, too, such as festive pumpkin farms, haunted houses and mall trick-or-treating (which takes place at nearly every major chain of shopping malls.) If you're ready to celebrate, you'll find an activity in your price-range just waiting for you to show up!

On this page, we'll talk about Southern California Halloween activities; costume store locations; and family-oriented Halloween costume ideas. In the first section, you can discover what Halloween pages are available on this website...and in the second section, you'll discover other resources to explore in your quest for finding some Halloween fun.

Family Halloween Fun, pages on this site

Costume ideas to get you decked out for seasonal fun!

1.) Jack Sparrow Costume, pt 1: Discover how to pull together a Pirates of the Caribbean-style Captain Jack Sparrow costume from clothing you may already own. Also find out about how to apply Jack Sparrow's makeup to finish off "the look."

2.) Captain Jack Costume, pt 2: Find out options for sewing your own (or your partner's) Jack Sparrow costume from a pattern, as well as options you'll have when buying a pirate's costume from a store.

3.) Animal Costumes for Kids: Whether you'd like to sew or purchase a child's animal costume for Halloween, this page can help you find a costume that will look absolutely precious on your little one.

4.) Boys Superhero Costumes: Is your son or grandson interested in dressing as Batman, Superman, Spiderman, a Power Ranger or a Ninja this Halloween? Here are some ideas for buying or sewing superhero suits!

5.) Cute Halloween Clown Costumes: Get ideas for making an adorable children's clown costume for Halloween trick-or-treating.

6.) Disney Princess Costumes: Discover options for sewing or purchasing costumes for the Disney princesses...Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, and Tinkerbell.

7.) Kids' Pirate Costumes: Get tips for buying or sewing pirate outfits for girls and boys!

8.) Halloween BuildABears: We can't forget Halloween costumes for your stuffed animals! Explore the selection of Halloween Costumes you can get for own Build A Bear when you visit your local workshop, and see pictures of Halloween-themed Build A Bear stuffed ghosts and bears.

9.) Pet Costumes: Get ideas for helping your four-legged friend celebrate in style. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up having the best dressed pooch at one of Southern California's Halloween pet parades and contests!

10.) Witch and Vampire costumes, a page where you can get shopping & sewing ideas for updated looks on these old "classic" costumes.

11.) Darth Vader Costumes: Become the terror of the Universe! Choosing to be Darth Vader for Halloween can be great fun for Star Wars fans...and other party guests may even feel a bit of fear---who knows!

12.) Plus Size Costumes-- See an overview of Plus Size Costumes actually for sale during the 2008 Halloween season, and get tips for planning an attractive, even sizzling, Halloween disguise.

Halloween Stores; find your perfect costume!

SoCal costume store pages---

1.) Party America: This national chain of stores sells party decorations year-round. But every September and October, a special Halloween costume & decor section is carved out of the store, offering you a convenient place to shop for both your costume and your Halloween party supplies all in one quick stop.

2.) Party City Stores/Los Angeles: For 2 months every year, the popular party-goods chain, Party City, goes "gung ho" for Halloween. Discover where you can find a Party City location in Los Angeles County on this page.

3.) Party City/other So Cal: Here's where you'll find the list of Party City stores in Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties.

4.) Spirit Halloween Stores/Halloween Adventure Stores: Temporary Halloween stores spring up all over Southern California each fall. Two good temporary Halloween shops featuring a wide selection of costumes, decorations and accessories are the Spirit Halloween stores and the Halloween Adventure stores. These companies sell a huge selection of costumes year-round...but only on-line. Then, when the months of September and October roll around, stores sprout up all over California (and other states) selling a great array of costumes and home decor in a location not far from your home.

*To see a listing of costume stores in other locations besides Southern California, see the following pages of sister website www.HaveFunInTheSouthwest.com---

Arizona costume stores: Arizona costume & party stores
Colorado costume stores:Colorado costume and party stores

SoCal Halloween Theme Park Celebrations

1.) List of Disney Halloween activities

Disneyland Halloween: Learn details about the Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure theme park Halloween celebrations!

Woody's Halloween Roundup pictures: Kids will love the cute show, crafts, and barnyard animal-petting at Woody's Halloween Roundup, while adults will be dazzled by the beauty of Disneyland's fall decorations!

Holiday Haunted Mansion pictures: See photos of Disneyland Park's Haunted Mansion all trimmed & decorated for the Halloween & Christmas holidays!

Holiday Haunted Mansion photos, pt 2: See inside the Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Haunted Mansion for a view of how Jack Skellington & his crew have "taken over" for the holidays!

Disney Halloween Pumpkins: There's a Pumpkin Festival going on at Disneyland Park for Halloween! From mini-pumpkins used a part of larger autumn-themed decorations to a giant pumpkin so large it can be used as a photo backdrop, you'll find a real variety of them. See photos of Disneyland's creative use of pumpkins...including intricate Disney & Pixar character Jack O Lanterns!

Disney's Halloween Candy Corn:: Part of the Disney Halloween Time celebration includes whimsical Candy Corn Acres at Disney's California Adventure Park. You'll find a more imaginative and adorable use of giant candy corn than you ever thought possible. Come take a look!

Mickeys Halloween Treat Parade: Mickey's Halloween Treat is an extra-fee special event which takes place after-hours at Disney's California Adventure theme park. See photos and learn about this party's brand new interactive parade...where you can dance along with costumed Disney and Pixar characters!

Dance w/Disney Characters: Dancing at the parade is great...but it's just the beginning! Rock 'n roll the night away at 3 character-filled dance parties within the Mickey's Halloween Treat event. See pictures & get the scoop on this page.

Halloween Disney Characters: Discover what Disney Characters you can meet, greet and take photos with...when you visit Disneyland Park or the Mickey's Halloween Treat even in Anaheim, California.

2.) Knott's Halloween Events

Knott's Halloween Events: Get info about the world-famous Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Haunt...or discover the light-hearted, lesser-known children's Halloween attraction called "Camp Spooky."

Scary Farm Pics: See photos taken at the Knotts Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt!

Halloween Haunt Pics, pt 2:: One page just isn't enough for showing a good variety of Knotts Scary Farm pictures...so here's page 2!

3.) Other Southern Califoria theme park Halloween Celebrations!

Legoland Halloween Fun-- Discover the fun your family will have at Legoland Theme Park in San Diego County! You can trick-or-treat, enjoy decorations, or head to a nighttime family Halloween Party that's included with the price of your general admission ticket!

SeaWorld Halloween Spooktacular-- Enjoy Clyde & Seamore's adorable Halloween Sea Lion Show, catch the popular nighttime Shamu Rocks presentation, and take the kids to fill their bags at Halloween trick-or-Treat stations.

Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest pics: See pictures of Magic Mountain's after-dark Halloween celebration...when the lights go dim and scary monsters are on the prowl!

Six Flags Magic Mountain Halloween pictures, pt 2: Just like Knotts Berry Farm, the Magic Mountain Halloween festival includes fun---and tame---activities for kids during the daytime. See photos of the 6 Flags children's activities and other Magic Mountain Halloween decorations

Universal Studios Hollywood's Horror Nights-- Grab your teens & head to the gore-fest known as Halloween Horror Nights. Some of Tinseltown's most famous horror flicks come to life on the Universal Studios back lot--where these movies were actually filmed! Freddy Krueger and other famous evil-doers try to give you a scare as you walk through haunted mazes; will you scream or be brave?

SoCal Halloween Haunted Houses!

Theme parks aren't the only places to have some spooky Halloween fun in Southern California!

Here are some other fun places in Southern California where you can enjoy getting a Halloween fright:

1.) Anaheim: The Haunted Cellar Haunted House-- All year long, your family can enjoy shopping, dining and entertainment at the new Anaheim GardenWalk outdoor mall near Disneyland Park. For Halloween this year, you can also get your enjoy some spine-tingling fun at The Haunted Cellar! Remaining event dates for 2008 are weekends through October 19th, then nightly from October 24th through November 1, 2008. The Haunted Cellar opens at 6 pm. On weekdays, it closes at 10 pm. On weekends, the Haunted Cellar's closing time is midnight. Cost is $12. For further information, check out the The Haunted Cellar website. Or, to get directions to the shopping center, please see the Anaheim Garden Walk page of this website.

2.) Chatsworth: Spooky House 19-- For frighting fun in the San Fernando Valley, you can head for the Spooky House, an annual Halloween attraction whose centerpiece is a 25-room Haunted House. Another grizzly attraction is the Darkwater Asylum walk-through. Dates for Spooky House for 2008 are: September 26, 27; October 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31; and November 1 & 2. The Spooky House address is 21512 Nordhoff St, Chatsworth, CA 91311. (This location between Topanga Canyon Blvd and Canoga Ave.) Here's a Google map to Spooky House in the San Fernando Valley. For complete details about this annual Southern California Halloween event, here's a link to the www.SpookyHouse.com website.

3.) Del Mar: The Scream Zone-- Every October, the Del Mar Fairgrounds turns into the Del Mar "Scargrounds!" Events at the Del Mar Scream Zone include scary walk-throughs and a Haunted Hay Ride. Dates for the 2008 Del Mar Fairgrounds Halloween event are September 26 & 27; October 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31; and November 1st. The Del Mar Fairgrounds Scream Zone address is 2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar, CA 92014, just off the Via de la Valle exit of I-5. Here's a Google map to the Del Mar Scream Zone to help you plan your route to this eerie Halloween activity. For complete information, see the Scream Zone section of the Del Mar Fairgrounds website.

4.) Hollywood/Universal City: Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights-- Universal Studios Horror Nights feature scary mazes, shows...and a haunted tour of the park's back lot (movie filming sets.) This year's dates for the Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights are as follows: October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31 and November 1, 2008. Horror Nights are an extra-ticket event at Universal Studios theme park, and take place at night after the normal park closing time. For further information, here's a link to the official Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Night website.

5.) Ontario: Scandia family fun center's Haunted House-- All year long, your family can enjoy playing miniature golf and going on rides at the Scandia Fun Center in Ontario. For Halloween every year, you can also get your chills & thrills in their annual Haunted House! Event dates for 2008 are weekends through October 26th, then nightly from October 27th through November 1, 2008. For further information, check out the Haunted House Info page of the Scandia website. Or, to see pictures of the rides you may enjoy here, please see the Scandia Family Fun Center page of this website.

6.) Pasadena: Old Town Haunt-- Creepy things are happening in Pasadena...the foul smell of decay, mysterious shreiks, missing persons... You can be a part of the terrifying action by attending the Old Town Haunt! Dates for 2008 are September 26 & 27; October 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31; and November 1st. Less-frightening children's matinees will be held on October 18, 19, 25 & 26 from noon until 4 pm. The Pasadena Old Town Haunt address is 20 N Raymond, Pasadena, CA 91103 (at Colorado Blvd.) Here's a Google map to the Old Town Haunt to plan out your route. For full information about this scary Halloween attraction, see the www.OldTownHaunt.com website so you can make plans.

7.) Pomona: Fearplex at the Fairplex-- Once the LA County fair ends, its time for the Fairplex in Pomona to gear up for another annual event--Fearplex at the Fairplex! Attractions include a haunted mansion and haunted asylum. 2008 dates for the Fearplex Haunt are October 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31 and November 1st. The Fearplex Haunted House address is 1101 W. McKinley Ave, Pomona, CA 91768. Here's a Google map to the Pomona Fairgrounds Fearplex Haunt. Get the full & gory details on the www.Fearplex.com website.

8.) Ventura: Seaside Haunt-- The Ventura County Fairgrounds also hosts an annual Halloween event that Haunt-lovers won't want to miss. Featured attractions include both a haunted house and a haunted pirate ship (!) Dates for the 2008 Seaside Haunt are October 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31; and November 1st. Matinees will be held on October 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 & November 1st from noon until 4 pm. The Seaside Haunt address is 10 W Harbor Blvd Ventura, CA 93001. Here's a Google map to the Ventura Co Fairground's Seaside Haunt. To get complete details for this chilling event, head to the www.SeasideHaunt.com website.

Other Family Halloween Fun resources

Try these interesting websites to find fun seasonal activities!

Are you from another state of the USA? No problem. This pumpkin patch-finding website has pages for other states and regions, too! Instead of using the Southern California link, simply use the following link to the www.PumpkinPatchesAndMore.org home page, where you'll find a master index for pumpkin patches throughout the 50 states of the USA...AND from the countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, as well!

Halloween crafts: www.How-To-Arts-And-Crafts.com: Families who enjoy making crafts projects will delight in seeing the clever Halloween ornaments and other artistic projects which can be found on this new website for crafters. Sections are available for Christmas crafts, as well...if you'd like to use the autumn time to get a head-start for December decorating.

Photo note: To your left, you can see the picture of a cute Southern California pumpkin patch. This one, located near US 101 and the Fallbrook exit, offers pony rides and inflatables for jumping in addition to selling Halloween pumpkins.

More Southern California Halloween activities: www.AlleyCatScratch.com: Here's a must-view site if you'd like the details about various Halloween festivities which will be happening around Southern California (both family-style and for teens or adults.) The events cover a wide span of types...everything from doggie Halloween costume contests to Haunted Houses. You'll find large-scale, expensive events (like haunted evenings aboard the Queen Mary) and inexpensive or free celebrations (like local street fairs.)

San Diego Halloween Activities: If you're living in or visiting greater San Diego, you'll naturally be more interested in Halloween activities going on in San Diego County. You can find out about San Diego area pumpkin patches at the Sign On San Diego website; and from the "Pumpkins" page, you'll find links to still MORE info about San Diego Halloween events and celebrations.

Halloween activities throughout California: www.BeachCalifornia.com's October 2007 events calendar: Here's still another good Halloween events calendar. It focuses on SoCal events, but includes October festivals in other parts of California, too. Secondly, it covers all types of events going on in October, not just Halloween activities. So, you'll also find out about Oktoberfest events, Fall festivals, and misc events (like jazz festivals, art festivals, car shows, etc.

Corn Maze aerial photos: If you'd like to enjoy some cool aerial photos of corn mazes, there's a website which has many high quality pictures you can enjoy. Head to the corn maze pictures page of the www.MazePlay.com website, where you can see some really intricate & great looking Halloween corn mazes. The down side: you'll have to access each photo one-by-one...eg, click on button #1 for photo #1, then button #2 for photo #2, etc. It would be faster to be able to flip quickly from one corn maze picture to the other...but the photos themselves are really good.

Disney's printable Halloween fun for kids: The Disney company publishes a family-oriented activities magazine and website called Family Fun. If you're looking for professional-looking Halloween coloring pages and pencil games (such as Halloween mazes & connect-the-dots puzzles,) then this is a great website for finding a whole treasure chest's load of them! Also on this website, you'll find fun family arts & crafts activities, children's Halloween party ideas...and Halloween-themed games to play at those parties! Use the following link to check out the Halloween section of Disney's Family Fun.com Website.

Halloween coloring pages: If you have children who love to color, you won't want to miss checking out the Halloween coloring pages of the www.ColoringBookFun.com website. This website is a real "find" for families, baby sitters, day care centers, etc needing a constant supply of printable coloring pages. When your group gets done coloring the Halloween pictures...which will take awhile, because there are so many...you can explore the site and find hundreds of other pictures to color. You'll find coloring pages to fit all of the major holidays, as well as many popular children's cartoon, movie and TV characters.

Outdoor Halloween Decorations: Do you want to fill your yard with either cute or scary Halloween decorations? Or, maybe not get TOO extravagant...but you still need an idea for a well-placed wreath or jack-o-lantern display? At the following link, you'll see dozens of photos of Halloween displays and decorations in REAL people's yards. OK, so these are NOT photos from Southern California; this website is actually based in New Jersey! But, location isn't really important, here...what matters is that this painstakingly-collected photo album of Halloween displays gives all of us TONS of ideas we can use! You'll see lots of scarecrows, wreaths, hay bale arrangements, Halloween inflatables, fake graveyards, Halloween banners, etc if you take the time to explore through the site.

Pictures of Halloween Jack O Lanterns!

The photos in the widget have been taken by members of the Flickr photo sharing website...a place where you, too, can make contributions, if you're interested. At Flickr, people have uploaded photos of Jack O Lanterns from various locations, then marked them as being for the public to view. Now, they're just waiting for their pictures to be admired---and that's certainly what we're willing to do!

As new photos come into the Flickr website, this Google Widget is updates itself. (How fast the slide show updates depends on how fast new Jack O Lantern photos get put into the Flicker picture library. At the end of October, there was a flurry of photo adding!) So, hopefully, by the next time you visit this page, you'll have a new batch of corn maze pictures to view!

Jack Skellington Merchandise on Ebay!

See more Southern California Halloween pictures!

How about taking a short photo tour of fun SoCal Halloween activities? Simply punch the eerie snakeskin-grey button above, and you'll head to the next Halloween page!

Or, choose a page from some of the categories on this website in the links below---

Backwards Links:   Family-Vacation-Getaways.com HOME ::   Latest News ::   Privacy Policy ::   Back to top of "Family Halloween Fun"

Select a different Halloween page---Costumes:   Jack Sparrow, pt 1 ::   Captain Jack, pt 2 ::   Darth Vader ::   Plus Size Costumes ::   Animal Costumes for kids::   Boys Superheroes ::   Clowns ::   Disney Princesses ::   Pet Costumes ::   Pirates/kids ::   Witch/Vampire costumes ::   Stores:   Disney Stores ::   Halloween BuildABears ::   Party America ::   Party City/Los Angeles ::   Party City/other So Cal ::   Spirit Halloween ::   Year-round costume stores ::   Activities--Disney:   Disneyland Halloween Events ::   Woodys Roundup pics ::   Haunted Mansion pics ::   Haunted Mansion, pt 2 ::   Disney Pumpkins ::   Disney Candy Corn ::   Mickeys Halloween Parade ::   Dance w/Disney Characters ::   Halloween Disney Characters ::   Knotts-- Knott's Halloween Events::   Scary Farm Pics::   Halloween Haunt Pics, pt 2::   Six Flags-- 6 Flags Fright pics ::   Magic Mtn pics, pt 2 ::   Other parks: Legoland Halloween ::   Seaworld Halloween ::   Universal's Horror Nights ::

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