These Halloween Toys Have Kids Digging Through Spider Webs and Touching Brains to Find Monster Gold

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When it comes to Halloween, kids are usually focused on one thing: the candy. But if they're eagerly anticipating trick-or-treating, if their candy baskets are already full, or if you want to give them something that won't give them a sugar rush or a bellyache, there are plenty of Halloween toys and small gifts that will put them in a spooky mood and offer up some family fun. Whether you're looking for a family board game to play in the weeks before the Big Day, just a little something to pass out at a class party or to trick-or-treaters, an activity book to get them in a spooky mood or a Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award-winning plaything, we've got Halloween toy suggestions for everyone on your list.

Our Top Picks for the Best Halloween Toys 2023

• TeeTurtle Reversible Ghost Plushie, $8 at amazon.com

• Highlights Halloween Tales, $8 at bookshop.org

• Paint By Sticker Kids: Halloween, $9 at amazon.com

• AnMeng Halloween Squishies, $17 at amazon.com

• WowWee Untamed Skeleton T-Rex, $18 at amazon.com

It doesn't take much to get big smiles from the kids this Halloween — and there are plenty more toys where these came from.

Looking for more fun ways to celebrate Halloween with kids? Check out these Good Housekeeping guides:

Best Spooky Basket Ideas | Best Halloween Games | Easy Trunk-or-Treat Ideas

Halloween Hayride Building Set

They can make their own Halloween scene with this small-but-mighty building set, which comes with enough pieces to build an entrance gate, a vintage tractor and decorative hay bales, along with minifigures of a tractor driver, a trick-or-treater and a skeleton. If LEGO is their thing, they can also build BrickHeadz models of a black cat, a witch, a Frankenstein's monster or a spider. Ages 7+

Zombie Dice

You can pick up this game or drop it whenever you feel like it — since it's simple to learn and plays in 15 minutes, it's an easy party game. Players roll the dice hoping to get some delicious brains, but get three shotgun blasts instead and their turn is over. Ages 10+

Bashful Bat

Jellycat stuffed animals have earned a cult following among kids and adults for being so, so soft. So if they're looking for a toy that's a little spooky, but something they can cuddle up with at night, this bat will be right at home. Ages 0+

Doomsday Temporary Tattoos

If they want to augment their costumes with something that's a little bit tough, but a little bit cute, these temporary tattoos are the thing. Each package comes with two tattoos (not three), and they have a holographic silver foil effect.

Paint by Sticker Kids: Halloween

Kids peel off stickers to make mosaic-like pictures with Halloween themes. It's a perfect toy to keep them busy while they're waiting to go out trick-or-treating. Ages 5+

RELATED: Scary Books for Kids Who Like Sneaking Flashlights Under Their Blankets

Halloween Bubble Wand

This toy does double-duty: It blows bubbles, much to the endless delight of children, and it also lights up, which gives an additional layer of safety while trick-or-treating. It comes with its own bubble solution, too.

Halloween Squishies

After all these years, the squishy trend shows no signs of slowing down. These six Halloween squishies are the perfect way to add to dose of Halloween fun into any collection. Ages 3+

Halloween Tales: Solve the Hidden Pictures puzzles and fill in the silly stories with stickers! (Highlights™ Hidden Pictures® Silly Sticker Stories™)

Untamed Skeleton T-Rex

They may look like regular dinosaur bones — but they're fierce! These glow-in-the-dark dinos hiss, growl, roar and even pass gas depending on how kids interact with them. Kids can also tame them, too, but where's the fun in that? Ages 5+

Reversible Ghost Plushie

Friendly ghost or scary ghost? Why choose? Flipping this inside out will take you from one to the other, depending on your mood. (And the angry ghost even glows in the dark!) It's an oddly soothing thing to flip over and over. Ages 3+

Halloween Stamps

If you're looking for goodie bag or spooky basket fillers, these stamps are just the thing. Kids can use them to DIY their own treat bags! Ages 3+

Gross Gummy Candy Lab

What's better than trick-or-treating for Halloween candy? Making it yourself! This edible science kit includes all the ingredients kids need to make gross gummy worms and spiders, including food ingredients, molds and flavorings. Ages 6+

RELATED: The Best STEM Toys for Kids, According to the GH Institute

Hocus Pocus: The Game

Here's the perfect game to play while you watch the Hocus Pocus on Disney+ again. In this cooperative board game, players must work together to stop the Sanderson Sisters from doing evil before the sun rises. Try to use some tricks of your own, like spells, Binx or Billy Butcherson, to stop those witches! Ages 8+

RELATED: The 20 Best Board Games for Kids, According to Parents and Experts

My First Pumpkin Play Set

For the littlest ones, this set comes with four plush stuffies that can all be stored a zippered pumpkin. But each one has a "trick" of its own: The candy corn crinkles, the cat meows, the spider rattles and the ghost squeaks.

Halloween Super Puffy Stickers

For some kids, stickers are just the ultimate treasure and they can't get enough. Put a Halloween twist on their obsession with this set, which comes with 75 cutesy puffy stickers with Halloween themes. In addition, there are activity pages with mazes, drawings and search-and-finds for them to use. Ages 3+

Treasure X Monster Gold

This coffin comes packed with 13 layers of ooey-gooey fun. Kids have to dig through sticky spider webs, create a squishy brain and more to find the Monster's treasure. The monster pops out of the coffin, which gives kids a fun, frightful start. Ages 5+

The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits Board Game

Gather your grim, grinning ghosts and come out to socialize with a board-game adaptation of the classic Disney attraction. Players go from room to room of the house — including the iconic ballroom and Madame Leota's séance room — trying to collect ghost cards of differing point values as they go. There's also a Walt Disney World edition that celebrates the park's 50th anniversary. Ages 9+

Halloween Mad Libs Junior

Mad Libs haven't changed since they were invented, but they still manage to make kids laugh! This book comes with 21 Halloween-themed stories to fill in (and might even get them to learn more vocabulary). Ages $6

Monster Bowling

If you're having a kids' party and want a quick Halloween game, this monster bowling set is thematic without being scary. In fact, the monsters are so cute, you can probably get away with keeping this out year-round. Ages 2+

Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss

Set this up in the yard and host a family-wide competition to see who can get the most points! It's something you can also play with trick-or-treaters who are feeling brave. Ages 3+

Halloween Pop Fidgets

Pop fidget toys are still so satisfying: Kids collect them, trade them and play with them mindlessly all day. You might find yourself popping those plastic bubbles, too. Ages 3+

RELATED: The Best Pop Fidget Toys

Hide & Seek Halloween Rock Painting Kit

Kids can decorate rocks to look like pumpkins, candy corn pieces, bats and other Halloween icons by using the included paint, rock transfers and stickers. Some of the colors even glow in the dark! Place them on the walkway up to your front door on Halloween night for a spooky effect. Ages 6+

Scooby & Shaggy with Ghost

Is that a g-g-g-ghost?! Scooby and Shaggy can go investigate and find out who's really under the ghost costume — but they have to grab some snacks first. The set comes with a glow-in-the-dark ghost, Scooby, Shaggy, Scooby snacks and a hamburger. For real fans, this can be combined with the Mystery Machine set and a Scooby-Doo haunted mansion that comes with trick staircase — a Good Housekeeping Toy Award winner — among other Scooby-Doo-themed Playmobil sets. Ages 4+

Halloween Window Art

As they get older, kids love to decorate their own rooms. Let them make their own Halloween decorations with this kit, with comes with enough materials to make up to 20 spooky suncatchers and window clings. Ages 6+

Something Wild! The Nightmare Before Christmas Edition

Something Wild is a simple-to-learn card game that involves matching numbers or getting three cards in a row to make sets and earn points. The Nightmare Before Christmas-themed deck is small enough to slip into a spooky "boo" basket, or take along to Grandma's house for a family game night. Ages 6+

Paige the Pumpkin Squishmallow

Kids go crazy for Squishmallows, the toy they can snuggle with, use as a pillow and collect. This pumpkin will look right at home in Halloween display, but it's not too frightening for the little ones. Ages 2+

Pokémon Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle

You'll be the most popular parents on the block if you fill Halloween goodie bags or hand out these tiny packs of Halloween-themed Pokémon trading cards. The set comes with 40 packs, and each pack has three cards. Ages 6+

Zombaes Forever

Sure, they may be zombies, but they look so stylish! Each one comes with accessories, stickers, a stand and a collector card, and you can swap their limbs with other Zombaes Forever figures. They even have surprise designs on their glittery brains! Ages 4+

Cranky Cathy Black Cat

Black cats are the mascot for Halloween, and you can gift your kids these serene-looking Cathy cat and be totally on-trend. But watch out: One flick of a button behind Cathy's ear, and the teeth come out! If cats aren't their favorite, there are plenty of other Feisty Pets, including a dragon and a unicorn. Ages 3+

Create & Play Magnetic Monsters

Kids can be mad scientist, and combine and re-combine the parts of the monsters over and over again! The 20 pieces create four complete monsters or any number of mash-'em'ups, and Good Housekeeping Institute testers say strong magnets have grooves that make them easy for the pieces to fit together. Ages 3+

Create Your Own Haunted House Kit

Unleash their creativity with this kit, which gives them everything they need to make a spooky house for display. The house itself is made from laser-cut wood pieces, and there are also things like pom poms, eyes, bats, spiderwebs and skull beads for atmosphere. Ages 6+

Zombie Chase Board Game

Everyone's taking a trip to the carnival, when — uh-oh! — zombies come in to ruin the fun. In this board game, players choose to be either a zombie or a human. If you're a human, you win by escaping the park, and if you're a zombie, you win by infecting the last human player. Each piece can be flipped to look like a zombie or human, depending on what's going on in the game. The secret to winning? You've got to use your braaiiiinnns. Ages 7+

Monster High Dolls

Monster High dolls are back, bringing the same mix of fashion and frights that made them so popular the first time around! If Draculaura isn't their style, there's also Clawdeen Wolf, Lagoona Blue, Cleo De Nile and Frankie Stein. Ages 3+

Cold Case: A Story to Die For

If your teens are looking for something to do other than your typical trick-or-treating or Halloween party, have them over to solve a murder. This one-time game comes with 28 pieces of evidence they can pore over for clues. Once they have a culprit, you can enter it online to see if they're correct. Ages 14+

Tinker Totter Monsters

These monsters act like a stacking toy, since you have to stack the wooden feet, bodies and heads on top of each other. But the real fun comes when kids mix them up and combine and recombine the pieces to make new creatures. Ages 3+

How We Choose the Best Halloween Toys for Kids

When it comes to toys, the Good Housekeeping Institute does year-long toy testing to evaluate for safety, durability, and ease of use, then hands the toys over to real kids to make sure they have the all-important fun factor.

While not every advent calendar on our list is evaluated in the Lab, editors still look for gifts put out by trusted brands, gifts with great reviews from purchasers, best-sellers and editors' favorites. The list is then vetted by Good Housekeeping editors, who, after years of curating gift guides and keeping track of trends, tries to match the items with what is popular now and what Good Housekeeping readers and families have loved in the past.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

For decades, the Good Housekeeping Institute has provided expert reviews and advice on everything parents and children love, including STEM toys, educational toys, sensory toys, board games and outdoor toys.

Marisa LaScala, Good Housekeeping's Senior Parenting and Relationships Editor, has included brands and toys that Good Housekeeping and its readers have found trustworthy in the past. Marisa has covered all aspects of the world of parenting, from the postpartum years through the empty nests, since 2015, and she's pitched in with Good Housekeeping's toy coverage since 2018. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter, who are both avid toy (and Pokémon) collectors.

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