Best Halloween Celebrations for NYC Kids on October 31

As holidays in New York City go, few rival the scope of Halloween. Our 2019 Halloween Fun Guide overflows with parades, FREE fun, and trick-or-treating spots in each of the five boroughs, and Thursday, October 31 is the main event when kids score all the candy a parent can responsibly "test" once young trick or treaters have collapsed at bedtime.

Some things are certain: Both the trick or treating in Tribeca and the Park Slope Civic Council Children's Halloween Parade will be packed with amazing costumes. The annual BAMboo! block party will again treat kids to dancing and bounce-house jumping, and the Gravesend Inn Haunted Hotel will happily scare your tween or teen. But be sure to check out some new fun stuff, too, like the Monster Mash dance party on Myrtle Avenue or the BioBus Afterschool Science Hour in Harlem.

Whatever you decide to do on October 31, arrive early and expect crowds. For the best ways to plan an epic Halloween night with your NYC kids, scroll on. Most of our picks are FREE or inexpensive.

Best Door-to-Door Trick-or-Treating

Trick-or-treating in New York City's Carroll Gardens neighborhood. Photo by Anne Marceau

Trick or treating at stores or businesses is commonly accepted in New York City, so you don't have to stick to your own building. You can also leave your direct neighborhood for plenty of NYC neighborhoods with informally structured trick or treating. Our comprehensive trick-or-treat post includes specific blocks to hit in all five boroughs. But we've heard particularly great things about:

Chelsea around Seal Park
Tribeca
Harlem around Marcus Garvey Park
69th Street on the Upper West Side
92nd Street on the Upper East Side
Brooklyn Heights
Flushing's 166th Sreet between 45th and 46th Avenues in Queens
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Jackson Heights, Queens

Best Costume Parades

The Cobble Hill Park Association hosts a raucous family parade on Halloween. Photo by Eric Newhart

There are also a slew of Halloween parades on October 31—and we're not even including the you-have-to-see-it-once Halloween parade in Greenwich Village, which celebrates its 46th anniversary! These are all kid-friendly neighborhood processions that deposit you into a stationary outdoor bash or in the vicinity of great door-to-door trick-or-treating. Our Halloween parades post features processions in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, but our top parade picks are:

The Hippo Playground Halloween Parade, which marches right after school, where little ones can enjoy cider and doughnuts. FREE

The Cobble Hill Halloween Parade leads into a fabulous trick-or-treat run on Clinton Street, full of brownstones, decorations, and friendly neighbors. FREE

The Jackson Heights Halloween Parade proudly represents Queens as the second-largest Halloween procession in New York City. FREE

The Park Slope Civic Council Children's Halloween Parade, one of the biggest bashes of the night, ends with a party at the Old Stone House and J.J. Byrne Playground. FREE

The Dumboween festivities in downtown Brooklyn include a costume parade, trick-or-treating at local businesses along the waterfront, and more family fun. FREE

Get ready to party at BAMBoo! Photo courtesy of BAM

Best Events on Halloween for NYC Kids

BAM in Fort Greene hosts its annual BAMboo! block party outside of the Peter Jay Sharp Building, featuring a DJ, bounce house, art projects, and treats. FREE

If you've got a tween or teen, take in the spectacle at the Gravesend Inn Haunted Hotel, a theme-park-quality haunted house put on by the theatrical troupe at City Tech.

Attend the Spooky City Halloween Party at the Museum of the City of New York with mask making and a mildly haunted trick-or-treat and scavenger hunt through the galleries.

Head to Randall's Island Park, in costume, to collect treats, craft masks or treat bags, and pose for pictures with a fall backdrop.

Visit CMOM for its day-long celebration and costume parade through the museum, ending with a dance party.

Celebrate the opening of Bryant Park's Winter Village by trick or treating through its shops, decorating pumpkins, enjoying story time and a monster mash dance party, and plenty more during an afternoon party!

Hop aboard a haunted hay ride in Prospect Park ... if you dare.

When it comes to planning your child’s next party, you can keep the stress from ever appearing by booking your party with Kids Party Characters.

At Kids Party Characters, we’re your one-stop shop for all the entertainment your party will need.

We start with over 250 characters to choose from, virtually guaranteeing we’ll have your child’s favorite. 

In addition to your character putting on a full show for your child and her guests, we’ll bring along face painting, balloon twisting, cotton candy, and our latest edition — bouncy castles — to make your child’s party complete.

Even better, when you put down a deposit on your party at KidsPartyCharacters.com by the end of the year, you’ll receive either a 15% discount or a free upgrade to the next level package when you book the party.

So whether your party is this December or next summer, get your deposit in now and enjoy the savings when it’s time to book the date.

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