Halloween may be known for pumpkins, costumes and a rather impressive amount of candy, but there’s plenty of room for kindness among the cobwebs too. With Elf Mates®, Santa’s official Champions of Kindness, children can turn October 31 into another chance to practise generosity, thoughtfulness and care.
No jump scares required.
Quick answer
Halloween kindness can be as simple as sharing candy fairly, welcoming younger trick-or-treaters, helping with decorations, passing on an outgrown costume or thanking a neighbour. Elf Mates can help turn those little moments into playful, year-round kindness habits.
Why add a little kindness to Halloween?
Halloween is full of small social moments. There are treats to share, doors to knock on, costumes to admire and other children to include. That makes it a natural time to talk about kindness without turning the evening into a lesson.
Elf Mates help make those conversations feel playful. Unlike Santa’s Scout Elves, who have their own special Christmas mission with The Elf on the Shelf® tradition, Elf Mates are made for cuddles. Children can hold them, hug them and include them in imaginative play all year long, and their job is to inspire kindness and goodwill wherever they go.
9 Halloween kindness ideas for kids
Pick one or two that suit your family’s evening. Kindness doesn’t need to be enormous to count.
1
Share the candy bowl fairly
Before trick-or-treating begins, talk about leaving enough for the next visitor. An Elf Mates pal can sit beside the treat bowl as a friendly reminder to choose fairly so everyone gets something.
2
Make a kindness cauldron
Write simple kind actions on slips of paper, fold them up and pop them in a Halloween cauldron or bucket. Children can pick one during the day or before heading out.
3
Give an old costume a second adventure
If a costume has been outgrown, see whether it can go to a friend, a cousin, a school costume swap or a local donation centre that accepts costumes. Children can help choose what to pass on.
4
Make trick-or-treating friendlier for little ones
Encourage older children to give smaller trick-or-treaters a little extra room at the door or offer a cheerful compliment. “I love your pumpkin costume!” can do more good than they might realize.
5
Leave a thank-you for a neighbour
Is there a neighbour who always decorates brilliantly or makes a fuss over the children each year? A small card with a pumpkin drawing and a cheerful message is more than enough.
6
Become the official decoration helper
Give children one helpful job they can own, like arranging decorations, adding battery-powered lights to pumpkins with a grown-up or tidying away craft supplies afterwards.
7
Make sure nobody gets left out
Encourage children to notice whether a sibling, friend or classmate is on the edge of the fun. Could they invite them into a game, walk beside them for part of the route or save them a seat during a Halloween movie?
8
Remember the grown-ups behind the fun
Costumes found, pumpkins carved, the door answered more times than anyone can count. Before the evening ends, encourage children to thank whoever helped make it happen.
9
Finish with a “kind thing I spotted” moment
When the costumes are off, ask everyone to name one kind thing they noticed that day. Children don’t only learn kindness by practising it. They also learn to notice it.
Kindness cauldron ideas to get you started
- Give someone a lovely compliment.
- Help without being asked.
- Invite someone to join in.
- Tell someone why you appreciate them.
- Do something kind for a neighbour.
If Halloween feels big for your child
For younger children, Halloween can feel equal parts exciting and enormous. The same kindness applies in reverse: there’s no rule saying every child has to love masks, noisy doorsteps or being the first one to knock. Going at their pace is a kindness too.
How can you use Elf Mates at Halloween?
Elf Mates don’t need to become “Halloween elves” to take part. Their role is much simpler: they bring their year-round mission of kindness into whatever children are already doing.
Place an Elf Mates friend beside your kindness cauldron, next to the treat bowl, near a costume that’s ready to be passed on or with a tiny note suggesting one thoughtful thing to try that day. Because Elf Mates are made for cuddles and imaginative play, children can bring them along and create their own stories.
New to these North Pole friends? Find out who the Elf Mates are and how they can help parents raise kind, caring children.
Keep the kindness going
Halloween is just the beginning. Discover more Elf Mates ideas, or try a kindness challenge the whole family can join in the weeks ahead.
Official Elf Mates products are available from trusted retailers across Canada. Find a store near you.