The events at the top of this guide are running for an extended period of time (the titles are clickable for more info). Scroll down further for your curated list of things to do this this half term and things you should be booking up for the future.
Evenley Wood Garden Halloween Spooktacular 19th October – 3rd November
Utterly brilliant! We go to this every year and its like a Hollywood set! Yet every year it gets better. A mad amount of effort goes into it and people flock to it from far and wide. See our pics on Facebook.
High Lodge Farm Spooky Trail and Pumpkin Patch 19th – 31st October
Fun rather than frightening! Big and small will LOVE this as there is so much to do and parents will love this as they can sit down for a coffee and watch the fun unfold! Tickets include entry to the PYO Pumpkin Patch and Spooky Trail, activity sheet, Halloween games and refreshment area and the chance to play in the farm tractor. A free sweet treat is included too. Book your arrival time and stay however long you want!
The Witch’s House at Cogges Friday 25th October – Monday 4th November
This year the house is inspired by Roald Dahl’s strange stories. Spooktacular sights and sounds, gloriumptious treats, disgusterous trails and trickery. There’s a bat trail in the grounds and craft activities to enjoy too. There’s also an after dark session on the 2nd November…will you dare?
Waterperry Gardens Halloween Hunt in the Gardens Saturday 26th October – 3rd November
Find the Pumpkins! The Waterperry Halloween Hunt is on now! Get your little pumpkins down there to tear thorough the garden finding them and marking them on the map then head to the tills to collect your prize. Don’t leave without a trip to the playground and Waterperry Farm shop.
Earth Trust Pumpkin Patch Sunday 20th October and half-term 27 – 31 October
Earth Trust has done big this year with their Pumpkin Patch! As well as being able to pick your own perfect pumpkin there’s also a MEGA maize maze, storytelling teepee, Earth Lab ‘Discovery Zone’ and scarecrow trail around the farm plus nature’s very best breathtaking hilltop views included in the price!
Rectory Farm Pumpkin Patch Weekends until half term then every day until 31st October
Rectory Farm isn’t just about strawberries! Their pumpkin patch is pretty good too – and it’s open now! THOUSANDS of pumpkins to pick, face painting, tractor rides (£), garden games, food and coffee trucks and some harvest characters: Patch, Farmer Sprout and Hazel the Harvest Queen. Booking recommended.
Bunkers Hill Halloween Pumpkin Trail Until 31st October
As sweet as ever! Race around the plant nursery finding the letters on the pumpkins and unscramble to win a prize – a potted pansy and a gift voucher for free drinks from the Tea Shed. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! Book for weekends and half term.
Oxford Science and Ideas Festival Until the 3rd November
The festival continues throughout half term! So many events to choose from across the city and many are free or PWYD for the whole family.
Brick Madness at Banbury Museum 28th October – Friday 1st November
Chuck A LOT of Lego and children together and you get Brick Madness! It’s a free play vibe where children can unleash their creativity. Sounds like a lot of fun! Morning and afternoon sessions (10.30am/ 1.30pm – lasts for 90 minutes) each day. Booking essential.
Family Dance Festival Until 30th November
This is one big dance festival from Dancin’ Oxford and designed to take dancing to the community! There’s old favourites like Fam Jam and exciting events which incorporate breakdancing, interactive performances, ballet ,immersive experiences and more. Check out the website and get your dancing shoes on because if you’re askin’ then I’m dancin’. See the full line-up here.
Templars Square Halloween Pumpkin Trail Saturday 26th November – Sunday 3rd November
There’s six pumpkins hiding around the shopping centre – can you find them all? Grab your trail map from the customer service area and get hunting!
For Your Tomorrow at Stowe Gardens (NT) Until the 11th November
This deeply moving art installation is a tribute to soldiers killed in the D-Day landing on the 17th June 1944. The installation consists of 1475 silhouettes of military personnel and the sheer scale of it, and their positioning in the Grecian Valley, is so powerful. If you have one of the free tickets from the National Trust autumn offer then you can use it her until the 18th October when the offer runs out. Read about our recent visit here.
SATURDAY 26th OCTOBER
🎇Thomley Reduced Sound Fireworks
A great option if your little one isn’t keen on the loud bangs of fireworks but loves the excitement of seeing them. And this is what we love about Thomley: ear defenders to lend to anyone who may need them and the option to watch the fireworks from inside the pavilion. My little one is terrified of the sound but loves the sight. Thomley has got us covered! Set on a beautiful 9 acre site, fully enclosed, Thomley is safe, fun and inclusive.
📅 Saturday 26th October ⏰ 5 – 8pm 💴 £9 per ticket or £26 per family (2A, 2C) 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Thomley website
🪩Dancin’ Oxford, Body Politic and The North Wall: Halloween Family Dance Party
A Family Dance Party with a Halloween Twist – in conjunction with The Northwall Arts Centre and Body Politic. It’s a ‘hip-hopping, toe-tapping’ daytime disco for all of the family. Featuring a live DJ, party games, bubbles and disco lights and more! Part of the Dancin’ Oxford Family Dance Festival.
📅 Saturday 26th October ⏰ 10.30am or 1pm 💴 £5 per ticket 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via The North Wall website
🚂Carteton Library: Abingdon & District Model Railway Club
Have a train fan? Visit Carteton Library to see the Model Railway Displays from the Abingdon & District Model Railway Club. Talk to the team to find out more about model railway layouts – these are the experts!
📅 Saturday 26th October ⏰ 10am – 1pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ Loads on at Carteton Library over half term, check it all out on their Facebook page.
✏️South Oxford Community Centre: The Big Draw
‘Drawing in Motion’ invites everyone to participate – from seasoned artists to those who believe they ‘can’t draw’. This theme is about letting go of perfection and embracing the process! It will be a ‘Cosmic Drawing Extravaganza’ with a focus on the cosmos, space and the constantly moving planets and stars. All workshops are FREE and led by local artists and open to all abilities and ages
📅 Saturday 26th October ⏰ 10am – 4pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ Follow the South Oxford Community Centre Facebook page for more details
📚 Weston Library: Words of Wonder
Lots going on for children and grown-ups in this drop-in and hands-on event at which celebrates the wonder of words. Storytelling, reading, collage, writing, games and printing. A lot of the talks look fascinating too but these are aimed more towards adults.
📅 Saturday 26th October ⏰ 11am – 4pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More info on the Bodleian Library website
SUNDAY 27th OCTOBER
🚌 Oxford Bus Museum: Halloween bus rides and Owl Display
The Oxford Bus Museum is going spooky again this Halloween! Expect cobwebs and skeletons and a trip to Scaresville on the FREE bus at 12.15pm,1pm and 2.15pm. Plus this year there will be a display of real owls! There are also special Night Rider bus rides (David Hasselhoff not included) on Wednesday 30th October only at 6pm and 6.45pm.
📅 Sunday 27th October ⏰ 10am – 4pm 💴 Adults: £8, Children (5 – 15 years old): £5, Under 5: Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ See Oxford Bus Museum website for more info.
MONDAY 28th OCTOBER
🦖Oxford Museum of Natural History: Megalosaurus Unearthed
Did you know that the world’s first known dinosaur was found right here in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire in 1824? Take part in fun Megalosaurus-themed craft activities and get hands-on with dinosaur specimens and celebrate 200 years of dinosaur science!
📅 Monday 28th October ⏰ 1 – 4pm 💴 Free 🎫 Drop-in event ℹ️ Check it out on the Oxford University Natural History Museum website.
🚀 BLAST! (Part of the Oxford Science and Ideas Festival)
Meet scientists who are finding solutions to our greatest challenges, on Earth and beyond!! Get close to outer space with telescopes and satellites that spot distant worlds amid our own solar wind. Get involved with hands on experiments and demos and have a go at building an electric circuit. Or maybe create your very own vehicle and then race to explore forces and trajectories.
📅 Monday 28th October ⏰ 11am – 5pm 💴 PWYD 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Oxford IF website
🏮Banbury Museum: Halloween Lanterns
Get messy – somewhere other than home! Yay! Decorate your own spooky Halloween lantern. Spooky.
📅 Monday 28th October ⏰ 1.30pm 💴 £4 per child 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Loads on at Banbury Museum over half term, check it all out here.
TUESDAY 29th OCTOBER
🦔The Earth Trust: Little Acorns on Tour at Abbey Fishponds
Little Acorns on Tour! This autumn, Little Acorns is on tour with a special free event at Abbey Fishponds, the community reserve in Abingdon that Earth Trust cares for. There will be a variety of activities for children to discover, from minibeast IDs, a sensory scavenger hunt and a wild nature trail. For children aged 2-6 years old.
📅 Tuesday 29th October ⏰ 10am – 12 noon💴 Free 🎫 Book your ticket and drop in anytime you like ℹ️ More info on the Earth Trust website.
😀The Oxfordshire Museum: Fantastic Faces
The Open Art Exhibition at the museum is ‘Representations of People’ and this is the theme for this craft activity in which anything goes – make amazing faces from card and coloured paper.
📅 Tuesday 29th October ⏰ 10.30am – 12.30pm / 2pm – 4pm 💴 Free, donations welcome🎫 No booking required ℹ️ Check out this – and more – on the Oxfordshire Museum website.
🦖Oxford Museum of Natural History: Megalosaurus Unearthed
Did you know that the world’s first known dinosaur was found right here in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire in 1824? Take part in fun Megalosaurus-themed craft activities and get hands-on with dinosaur specimens and celebrate 200 years of dinosaur science!
📅 Tuesday 29th October ⏰ 1 – 4pm 💴 Free 🎫 Drop-in event ℹ️ Check it out on the Oxford University Museum of Natural History website.
💦Radley Pool Fun Sessions
Two large inflatable assault courses, pool toys and two diving boards! These pool sessions area whole lot of fun. These sessions are for children aged 8-12 years old and parents are not permitted in the pool with the children. The session is fully lifeguarded.
📅 Tuesday 29th October⏰ 2pm – 3.30pm 💴 £8 per person 🎫 Pre booking required ℹ️ Book on the Radley website.
🏮Banbury Museum: Halloween Hanger
Make a creepy Halloween hangar to decorate your home with. Sounds frightfully good fun. Free crayons and paper for younger siblings who aren’t taking part in the activity.
📅 Tuesday 29th October ⏰ 10.30am/ 1.30pm 💴 £3 per child 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Loads on at Banbury Museum over half term, check it all out here.
WEDNESDAY 30th OCTOBER
🍂Harcourt Arboretum : Spooktacular Family Day
Hands-on activities for all ages using natural materials collected on site. Nature crafts include a pinecone bat, a clay monster, or a magic potion. There’s also the huge 130 acre site to enjoy and run wild in all its autumn glory.
📅Wednesday 30th October ⏰11am – 3pm 💴 Child/ concession: £3, Adult: £9 (normal entry fee) Under 3: Free 🎫 Drop-in ℹ️ See the Harcourt Arboretum website for more details.
🌳Hill End: Autumnal Spooky Family Day
We love these Family Days at Hill End. In fact we love everything about Hill End! Join for autumn and Halloween fun with games, toasting marshmallows on a campfire, and natural crafts. Lunch is included in the ticket price and the Waterside Café (Farmoor) and their café trailer will be there too. No dogs at Hill End.
📅 Wednesday 30th October and Thursday 31st October ⏰ 10am – 2pm 💴 Adults: £11, Children: £9. Under 3: Free 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Hill End website.
🎃 Orchard Centre Didcot: Halloween Make and Take at the Sparkle Play Café
Free craft sessions! Head to the Sparke Play Café and get crafty making Halloween masks, banners, or puppets. All event materials are designed to be child-friendly, with washable paints and biodegradable paper straws, cups, glitter, and table covers. Where possible, recycled/reused products are used for decoration 🙌🏽
📅 Wednesday 30th October and Thursday 31st October ⏰11am – 3pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking required to secure your slot time ℹ️ Book via the Orchard Centre website.
🚌 Oxford Bus Museum: Halloween bus rides and Owl Display
The Oxford Bus Museum is going spooky again this Halloween! Expect cobwebs and skeletons and a trip to Scaresville on the FREE bus at 12.15pm,1pm and 2.15pm. Plus this year there will be a display of real owls! There are also special Night Rider bus rides (David Hasselhoff not included) on Wednesday 30th October only at 6pm and 6.45pm.
📅 Wednesday 30th October ⏰ 10am – 4pm 💴 Adults: £8, Children (5 – 15 years old): £5, Under 5: Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ See Oxford Bus Museum website for more info.
🦉Abingdon Museum Crafting session: Tu-whit-tu-woo
Make your won owl using a range of materials and have a go at making a bird feeder for your garden too. Abingdon Museum’s crafting crew creates live sessions for children to make art & fun objects from recycling and bits and bobs around the house.
📅 Wednesday 30th October ⏰ 10.30am – 12.30pm/ 1.30pm – 3.30pm 💴 Free with a suggested donation of £1 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ See Abingdon Museum website for more info.
THURSDAY 31st OCTOBER
💦Radley Pool Fun Sessions
Two large inflatable assault courses, pool toys and two diving boards! These pool sessions area whole lot of fun. These sessions are for children aged 8-12 years old and parents are not permitted in the pool with the children. The session is fully lifeguarded.
📅 Thursday 31st October⏰ 2pm – 3.30pm 💴 £8 per person 🎫 Pre booking required ℹ️ Book on the Radley website.
🌳Hill End: Autumnal Spooky Family Day
Join for autumn and Halloween fun with games, toasting marshmallows on a campfire, and natural crafts. Lunch is included in the ticket price and the Waterside Café (Farmoor) and their café trailer will be there too. Explore the 67 acre site, build dens, play in the Early Years garden and Junior Challenge Zone. Lunch included in the price. No dogs allowed at Hill End.
📅 Wednesday 30th October and Thursday 31st October ⏰ 10am – 2pm 💴 Adults: £11, Children: £9. Under 3: Free 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Hill End website.
🥄Harcourt Arboretum: Family Green Woodwork Sessions
This is for older children (8+ and accompanied by an adult) but I couldn’t not include as for so many of us this is right up our street. Find out how to carve green wood and use a knife safely. Whittling fun with an object to take home.
📅 Thursday 31st October ⏰ 1 hour sessions between 10am – 4pm 💴 £15 per ticket, includes an accompanying adult 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Harcourt Arboretum website.
🦖Museum of Natural History: Autism Friendly opening
A relaxed morning opening to explore the Museum collections in a quiet environment for families with members on the autism spectrum.
📅 Thursday 31st October ⏰ 9am – 10am 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential via email: [email protected] ℹ️ More details on their website. Never visited the museum? See one of our many visits here.
🎃 Orchard Centre Didcot: Halloween Make and Take at the Sparkle Play Café
Free craft sessions! Head to the Sparke Play Café in the Orchard Shopping Centre and get crafty making Halloween masks, banners, or puppets. All event materials are designed to be child-friendly, with washable paints and biodegradable paper straws, cups, glitter, and table covers. Where possible, recycled/reused products are used for decoration 🙌🏽
📅 Wednesday 30th October and Thursday 31st October ⏰11am – 3pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking required to secure your slot time ℹ️ Book via the Orchard Centre website.
😀The Oxfordshire Museum: Spiders, bats and spooky hats
It’s Halloween craft activities galore! Make something spooky to take home.
📅 Thursday 31st October ⏰ 10.30am – 12.30pm / 2pm – 4pm 💴 Free, donations welcome🎫 No booking required ℹ️ Check out this – and more – on the Oxfordshire Museum website
FRIDAY 1st NOVEMBER
🧑🏽🦰Pitt Rivers Museum: Festival of Social Science
This looks fascinating! Explore our digital lives in mind opening ways: race against the clock to find out if you are cleverer than AI, discover what Paddington Bear and pizza delivery apps have in common and explore what bathroom graffiti can tell us about social media. Plus online challenges, family crafts and unusual objects to handle, there is something for curious minds of all ages.
📅 Friday 1st November ⏰10am – 5pm 💴 Free 🎫 Drop-in ℹ️ Read more on the Pitt Rivers website.
SATURDAY 2nd NOVEMBER
🗣️Fusion Arts Centre: Creative Multilingual Discovery Day for Families (Part of the Festival of Social Science)
Join applied linguistics researchers from the University of Oxford’s Department of Education, plus guests from World Kid Lit and the Queen’s College Translation Exchange/Stephen Spender Trust for a day of multilingual activities and fun with languages! There’s multilingual singalongs, and a reading tour of the globe, drama-based activities and a creative poetry translation workshop. Throughout the day there’s also multilingual craft-based activities and a story corner running alongside the workshops, so that you can bring your whole family. Parents and carers can have a cuppa and chat to the team members about raising children with multiple languages.
📅 Saturday 2nd November⏰ 11am – 4pm 💴 Free 🎫 Drop-in. Check the website for specific activity times ℹ️ More info on the Oxford University Social Sciences website.
🎆Oxford Round Table Charity Fireworks
20% discount for tickets purchased in October using the code: LITTLEOXPLORERS24. They are back with a spectacular display and funfair! Before this year’s fireworks licence for South Park was granted there was a thorough consultation process with Oxford Preservation Trust and the Friends of South Park group and there will be additional safety measures and strict vehicular access. Oxford Round Table supports local communities and charities and since their first fireworks event in 1967 they’ve raised and donated over £1m.
📅 Saturday 2nd November⏰ Gates open at 4.30pm. Fireworks start at 7.15pm 💴 Various prices – see website 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Oxford Round Table website.
SUNDAY 3rd NOVEMBER
🔥Barracks Lane Community Gardens: Festival of Fire and Light
This is a great one for children who don’t like the loud bangs and flashes of fireworks. Barracks Lane Community Gardens will be hosting an afternoon of fun and celebration; there will be lantern making, the chance to make your own pizza and eat some pumpkin soup which has been cooked over the fire, plus storytelling. Barracks Lane is a beautiful green space at the heart of a vibrant community and has charitable status. It is run by members of the local community who volunteer time and expertise. It’s a brilliant community asset and we have spent many hours here enjoying the outdoors.
📅 Sunday 3rd November⏰ 2pm – 6pm💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More info on the Barracks Lane website
🤖Robotic racing (part of the Oxford Science and Ideas Festival)
We went to this last year and it was brilliant! Cheer for your favourite robotic dog as they race around the Iffley Road Racetrack. Explore robotics, remote control, and automation with loads of machines to try out for yourself.
📅 Sunday 3rd November⏰11am – 3pm 💴 PWYD 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ More info on the Oxford IF Festival website
LOOKING and BOOKING (headings are clickable)
💥Modern Art Oxford re-opens: Saturday 2nd November
The £2 million refurbishment has finished and Modern Art Oxford is re-opening to the public on Saturday 2nd November. We are SO excited – this is a complete glow-up people! The Creative Space that we love has been extended and the café in the basement has been designed by British Artist Emma Hart. With that in mind, go go go for booking their Early Years offering: Make Play.
📚Caper: David Walliams book signing Friday 8th November
The man himself is coming to Caper in Oxford to sign copies of his new book Super Sleuth! Cameras at the ready for snaps with your fave author. Ticket includes book and signing.
🔭 Earth Trust: Stargazing at the Clumps Friday 29th November
Explore the dark skies above Wittenham Clumps at this stargazing event led by astronomers from Newbury Astronomical Society. Using the society’s telescopes, the team will help you look deep into space to view an array of stunning objects such as star clusters, planets, galaxies, and nebulae. The rural location at Wittenham Clumps is a great location for stargazing, away from the light-pollution of towns and cities.
Just want to freestyle? Here are some ideas:
🚶♂️Walks
Aynho Circular
Coombe Hill
Hailey and Ipsden Circular (with pub and playground!)
Beacon Hill
The Cheese Shed
Thrupp Lake
🛝Playgrounds
East Hanney Fox playground
Tackley playground
Ropes on the Rye
Brill playground
