3 Outdoor Halloween Activities For Kids - Under $10

3 Outdoor Halloween Activities For Kids - Under $10

By: Sumera Garcia-Quadri

As part of a fitness team, I'm invested in the physical and mental health and social well-being of our littlest people!

We know there is a strong connection between regular physical activity and kids doing better in school and in their social life, along with feeling happier and having better self-confidence.

Because Halloween is celebrated by kids walking door to door to get treats in Toronto and across Canada, this blog will include 3 physical activities involving your household/current social circle that you can do in a post-COVID-19 era.

1. Outdoor mask-making game with your household/social circle only

What you need: paper plates or blank paper masks ($3), a pack of gems/stickers ($1), crayons/markers ($2), construction paper ($1), candy $3 (this may cost more if you have more kids involved)

From home: Hand sanitizer, Scissors, white glue, string, tape, a stapler, a large blanket or garbage bags, and enough Halloween character names written on paper to pull out of a hat

How: at a park, spread out a blanket or individual garbage bags across benches or on the grass. Making sure the kids have distanced far apart, place enough supplies on each child's station so they aren't sharing. Before they make their mask, each child comes up, one by one, to pull out a Halloween character from a jar. Their mask will be based on this character.

Each kid gets time to make it. Once completed, each kid explains their character and acts out what it does. The kid that shows the most movements wins the most treats.

Goal: To bond with others, be creative, and stay off their tablets/cells.

2. Halloween Treat Hunt – You Eat What You Hunt

What you need: hand sanitizer, enough clues written on paper for the total number of children involved, candy (each household can allocate $5 towards candy depending on how many kids are there)

How: among your household or social circle, choose a park to visit in the early evening. One adult/parent goes ahead of time to hide treats in different areas and then writes down clues on how to find it on paper. Once at the park, each kid or pair gets certain clues to where the candy is hidden. The pair/child that finds all of their treats first gets to choose their next activity (i.e. what Halloween movie to watch, or healthy Halloween treat to make on Halloween)

Goal: To encourage kids to move for at least 30 minutes, similar to trick or treating.

3. Halloween Haunted Walk – Discover Your City

What you need: A cell/tablet/pc and internet to look up haunted parks in Toronto, hand sanitizer, and healthy versions of kids treats (think of ingredients that cost under $10)

How: One early evening, choose a few of these parks to visit. Once at your site, look for monuments that tell you the history or open up a podcast telling you the haunting at that location. Bring treats as your snack for the walk (up to $10) / additional costs of gas/transit tickets to factor in unless you walk or bike there.

Goal: To move for at least 1-hr combined across different parks while getting spooked!

A site idea to explore: I live in the high park area. The house of John Howard, the original owner of the high park, is said to be haunted by his wife Gemima. She died of breast cancer. She was the first to be diagnosed with the condition in Toronto at that time.

Haunted site links below:

• https://www.toronto.com/news-story/4176168-history-of-hauntings-at-colborne-lodge-resurface-as-halloween-nears/

• https://www.toronto.com/things-to-do/haunted-places-in-ontario/

• https://dailyhive.com/toronto/toronto-haunted-locations-2017

How To Keep Your Kids Active This Winter

In the winter, there are a variety of exciting outdoor physical activities to get your kids involved in. Kids, however, may find participating in winter activities more of a chore than a pleasure due to the cold weather conditions. And for parents, the costs associated with paying for winter apparel, equipment, and/or lessons for activities like hockey and skating, to name a few, can be a burden. The good news is that there is still a fun way to keep them active without all of the hassles.

Indoor Group Fitness Classes Are A Great Option

Group fitness classes are great for both parents and kids because there are a variety of options and price points to choose from, most take place after school or on weekends, and are held at a local community/health center, united church, library, or your child’s school. Talk to your child’s school’s office secretary or gym teacher about what’s available there. Depending on where you live in Toronto, some programs may be free and/or at low cost at community centers. In the chance that your child cannot get into the program they want, local libraries can help you search for free instructional books or videos on how to learn the activity that your child is interested in. They may also offer free craft programs to keep your little person’s hands, arms and creativity flowing.

How Me and My Instructors Are Keeping Kids Active

In an effort to encourage healthy active kids and physical creativity, we are offering affordable Girl’s Dance Fitness and Mom and Baby Fitness classes in both the Bloor West and The Annex. We also run free, safe, girl’s fitness programs in partnership with social and health centers across Toronto during certain times of the year.

To sign your child up for a class this winter, please view the schedule.

Making Winter Exercise Fun For Boys & Girls

On Saturday, December 16, Fusion Cardio Toronto was invited to put on an interactive group dance fitness class for more than 400 kids and parents at Flemingdon Health Center’s Winter Fest. To encourage the kids to join in, FHC staff and parents joined in to set an example. Within minutes of the music playing, the gymnasium was filled with little dancers and spectators.

Key highlights included how well the children overcame their shyness in a public setting and the number of boys on the floor.

For some tips on how to get your kids active this winter, read the latest blog on, how to keep kids active this winter.