Spooky Halloween at the New York Botanical Garden

For my urban kids, our version of Halloween is trick-or-treating at local businesses or our small apartment building. Although fun, not the full Halloween experience that you typically think of like spooky decorations and neighborhoods full of ghouls, ghosts, and goblins. This year, both the kids are old enough to get into the spooky spirit of Halloween. So I pondered for days with the burning question all slightly wicked parents have, “how do I scare my children without terrifying them?” It became an obsession, the question consumed me, I googled it, I asked for advice from colleagues and friends, I contemplated for hours and then like a ghost in the night, the answer appeared in my email inbox—the New York Botanical Garden event, Frida for Families: A Spooky Nighttime Adventure. To celebrate NYBG’s featured exhibit, Frida Kahlo, the garden created a Dia de los Muertos evening with a Halloween theme. Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is celebrated in Mexico around the same time as Halloween and honors the lives of loved ones who have passed. NYBG created a hybrid celebration between the two holidays with this spooktacular Friday night event.

The Garden was partially open after dark and transformed into a Halloween adventure. Large, beautiful skeletons danced with and spooked patrons throughout the walkways to live music from a six-piece band. The skeleton dance party was just the beginning of the spooky fun. The Everett Children’s Adventure Garden featured a trick-or-treat trail with goodies and stations for painting skeletons and making pumpkin germination necklaces. We walked through the trail taking our time to explore the hidden treasures along the way.

The children used their flashlights in search of owls, bats, spiders, and ghosts hidden in the trees. Although the night was brisk, the kids were bundled up so we took our time to enjoy a spooky ghost story and giant pumpkin carving demonstration. The pumpkins, some weighing over 2,000 pounds, were award-winning giants transformed into art right before our eyes. The trail was lively and walking through the garden at night was an unforgettable experience.

To my devious dismay, the children were not all that scared—the night was the perfect blend of fright and fun. We can’t wait to return next year and make the spooky garden walk our Halloween family tradition.

Share how you plan to scare your kids and enjoy Halloween in the comments below!