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 day by day list of things to do this half term. Dont forget our 50 FREE things to do in Oxford post too.
Evenley Wood Garden Halloween Spooktacular Until 2nd 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 Until 31st October
Fun rather than frightening! One price, stay the whole day. And there really is enough to keep you and (most importantly!) the children entertained for the whole day. Here’s what you get for your dosh: spooky woodland trail, activity sheet, pumpkin patch, mud play, wooden games, bale play, tractor and a sweet treat for everyone! SEND sessions and late night Pumpkin Nights available too.
The Witch’s House at Cogges Until Sunday 2nd November
The Witch’s House theme this year the theme is Monstrous Movies! As well as the house there is also a free Halloween kids disco, all day, everyday, crafts, trail and you can also meet the animals in the farmyard at 10am and 2pm.
Waterperry Gardens Halloween Hunt in the Gardens Until Sunday 2nd November
A visit to Waterperry is always a pleasure! Find the spooky characters hidden around the garden and collect a scary prize at the end. Free play area by the café and short pushchair-friendly walk nearby.
Earth Trust Tales and Trails Until Friday 31st October
NEW from the Earth Trust! Follow the Enchanted Trail, wind your way around the giant maize maze, get hands on with autumn crafts, clamber over the hay bales and listen to seasonal storytelling. There’s marshmallow toasting and food and drink on offer too.
Rectory Farm Pumpkin Patch Until Friday 31st October
Rectory Farm isn’t just about strawberries! Their pumpkin patch is pretty good too – and it’s open now! Thousands of pumpkins, games and activities, ride-on tractors, face painting, sensory play areas, bale climbing, music, food and more!
Bunkers Hill Halloween Pumpkin Trail Until Friday 31st October
Big Bertha and Tiny Tim return, as well as the Ugly Mug (my fave!) & Handsome Hero Parade. A visit to the honesty tea-shop is a non-negotiable wins you parent of the year! Closed Tuesdays. We’ve been already this year and loved it. All the money raised goes to Mind and Restore. The trails are now in the meadow, which gives children more space to run around. See our visit here.
Millets Farm Halloween Spook-tacular Until 31st October
Loads going on at Millets, you can build your own adventure! From the pumpkin patch to pumpkin carving, spider hunt, pumpkins by night and goodie bags. Make it as spooky as you want!
Horspath Halloween Scarecrow Trail Until Sunday 2nd November
A fabulous local trail. This year they have 40 houses signed up displaying their pumpkin themed scarecrows. Always a fave for families and only £1! See your brilliant pictures of our recent visit in our Facebook post.
Oxford Science and Ideas Festival Until 2nd 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 Monday 27th October – Friday 31st October
Chuck A LOT of Lego and children together and you get Brick Madness! It’s a 90 minute free play vibe where children can unleash their creativity.
Templars Square Halloween Fun Until Sunday 2nd November
There’s loads going on at Templar’s Square this half term: meet the Gruffalo, pumpkin trail, crafts and face painting!
MONDAY 27th OCTOBER
🚀 BLAST! (Part of the Oxford Science and Ideas Festival)
Get hands-on with experiments and demonstrations, meeting friendly experts at this IF Oxford zone event. BLAST! is Blackbird Leys Awesome Science and Technology zone, where you can meet scientists and engineers finding solutions to our greatest challenges, on Earth, in your body and beyond!
📅 Monday 27th 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 27th October ⏰ 10.30am/ 1.30pm 💴 £4 per child 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Loads on at Banbury Museum over half term, check it all out here.
TUESDAY 28th OCTOBER
🎃 Rectory Farm Pumpkin Patch SEND session
Come on down to the Pumpkin Patch at Rectory Farm on their dedicated quieter morning designed for SEND visitors. All activities and experiences will be available, with with fewer tickets sold in these slots, the farm will be quieter and calmer. If you are a carer, choose the free carer ticket option.
📅 Tuesday 28th October ⏰ 8.30am – 10am 💴 SEND ticket: £8.50, Carer: Free, Additional tickets: £8.50 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ Book via the Rectory Farm website
⚽ Oxford United Fans Open Day at the Kassam Stadium
FREE tickets are now available for the Fans’ Open Day at the Kassam Stadium. Watch an open training session, meet the players and grab a selfie or an autograph, face painting and family activities and special guest appearances from Olly the Ox and Baxter the Dog. It promises to be a fun-filled, family-friendly experience. This was sold out but tickets are sometimes cancelled so worth checking if more are available.
📅 Tuesday 28th October ⏰ 10am – 1pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ Book via the Oxford United website.
🦖Oxford Museum of Natural History: Meet the Scientists – Try our Research!
Try a VR headset, listen to a story, or have a go a drawing different facial expressions. Taking part in these activities will help scientists discover more about children’s behaviour and how their brains work.
📅 Tuesday 28th October ⏰ 10.30am – 12.30pm 💴 Free 🎫 Drop-in event ℹ️ Check it out on the Oxford University Natural History Museum website.
🐉 The Story Museum: Dragon Puppetry Workshop
This looks interesting! In this hands-on, story-led workshop, young creators will explore the natural history of dragons guided by puppet maker and storyteller Oliver Bishop from the League of Curiosity. Participants and their grown-ups will bring their very own dragon to life using paper, scrap materials, and found objects. For 7+ years.
Never visited the Story Museum before? It’s a wonderfully unique and interactive hub of storytelling magic. See our visit to the Galleries and Small Worlds (for the youngest visitors). I defy you not to visit and be amazed!
📅 Tuesday 28th October ⏰ 11am – 12pm 💴 £10 per ticket, accompanying grown-ups need a ticket too 🎫 Pre-booking requires ℹ️ Check it out on the Story Museum website.
WEDNESDAY 29th 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, which you can hold for a small fee. There are also special Night Rider bus rides (David Hasselhoff not included) on Wednesday 29th October only at 6pm
📅 Wednesday 29th 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.
📚 Wild Boar Ideas: Supermarket Scrooge at Blackbird Leys Library and Barton Library
Free half-term workshop in partnership with Oxfordshire Libraries. Story time, song and puppet making sessions for 2-7 year olds!
📅 Wednesday 29th October ⏰ 10.30am at BBL/ 2pm at Barton 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ Call the library to book a place, call 01865 815116 (BBL) or 01865 815112 (Barton). See Wild Boar website for more times and locations.
🌕 Weston Library: Hevelius activity day
Enjoy a special day of family-friendly activities and hands-on astronomy workshops. Explore the wonders of the universe together with fun for all ages – from space-themed crafts to interactive sessions with astronomy experts. Learn, play, and discover the cosmos!
📅 Wednesday 29th October ⏰ 11am – 2pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More info on the Bodleian Library website.
💫 Museum of Oxford: Aspiration Station (part of the Festival of Social Science)
Spin the Careers Wheel to uncover surprising jobs you never knew existed. Collect stickers, complete activities and build your Dream Role Passport. Strike a pose in our Future Me photo booth! Whether you’re 5 or 15 (or just young at heart), there’s something to spark your curiosity and you might just discover the perfect job you’ve never heard of!
📅 Wednesday 29th October ⏰ 10am – 3pm 💷 Free 🎫 Drop-in ℹ️ More info on Festival of Social Science website.
🍂Harcourt Arboretum: Magical autumn family day
Explore tree magic and the myths surrounding different trees. Find out which tree was supposed to help you find water, what tree helped witches fly and the tree that kept witches away? Create your own natural crafts, make a magical potion and cast your own tree spell. There will be activities for all the whole family.
📅 Wednesday 29th October ⏰ 11am – 3pm 💷 Children: £3, Adults: £9 (normal entry fee) 🎫 Drop-in ℹ️ More info on Harcourt Arboretum website.
🧱Cowley Library: Lego and Duplo Club
Get building at Cowley Library! What will you create? For builders of all ages with Duplo available too!
📅 Wednesday 29th October ⏰ 2pm – 4pm 💷 Free 🎫 Drop-in ℹ️ More info on library website.
🚂 Pendon Museum: All Hallows’ Eve Family Activities
Family friendly seasonal activities including a special museum trail and drop in pumpkin decorating. Junior Model Making is also running, and included in admission fee.
📅 Wednesday 29th October ⏰ 10am – 3pm 💷 Adults: £8, Children: £6 🎫 Drop-in ℹ️ More info on Pendon Museum website.
THURSDAY 30th OCTOBER
🌳Hill End: Autumnal Spooky Family Day
A fun day themed around autumn and halloween with games, toasting marshmallows on a campfire, and natural crafts…something for everyone, of all ages! Halloween jokes trail, willow weaving and whittling, autumn seeds crafts and games. Lunch included.
📅 Thursday 30th October and Thursday 31st October ⏰ 10am – 2pm 💴 Adults: £11.50, Children: £9.50, Under 3: Free 🎫 Booking required ℹ️ Book via the Hill End website.
🌕 Weston Library: Hevelius activity day
Enjoy a special day of family-friendly activities and hands-on astronomy workshops. Explore the wonders of the universe together with fun for all ages – from space-themed crafts to interactive sessions with astronomy experts. Learn, play, and discover the cosmos!
📅 Thursday 30th October ⏰ 11am – 2pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More info on the Bodleian Library website.
🕷️ The Oxfordshire Museum: Creepy cobwebs
Join for some creative fun making your own cobweb and insects to go onto it. What spookily brilliant Halloween fun.
📅 Thursday 30th October ⏰ 2pm – 4pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More info on the Oxfordshire Museum website.
FRIDAY 31st October
🎃OVADA Pumpkin Party
Family Fun Afternoon full of free activities including: trick-or-treat bub, costume contest, face painting, family games, arts & crafts workshops, free pumpkin soup. Also activities in the evening for grown-ups from 6pm – 9pm. OVADA (Oxford Visual Arts Development Agency) is a welcoming artist-led arts centre in Oxford that engages communities through exhibitions, workshops, and creative projects.
🗓 Friday 31st October ⏰ 3pm – 6pm 💴 Free 🎫 No pre-booking required ℹ️ Details on the OVADA website.
📚 Caper Bookshop: Crafty workshop with Anna Kemp – Moggie McFlea: The Witch’s Cat
Join children’s author Anna Kemp for tricks, treats and spooky storytelling! Anna will be sharing her picture book Moggie McFlea: The Witch’s Cat – a wickedly funny story about the baddest cat in history who’s taken in by the nicest witch in town. The reading will be followed by Halloween crafts and the chance to get books dedicated and signed by the author.
🗓 Friday 31st October ⏰ 11am – 12 noon 💴 £3 per ticket, includes one adult 🎫 Pre-booking required ℹ️ Details on the Caper website.
🪩Dancin’ Oxford: Halloween FamJam at the Oxford Museum
Are you asking? Cos I’m dancing! A rave up like no other! Come dressed as your favourite spooky character for Halloween themed games, creative activities and dancing for you and your little ones in a Halloween party atmosphere.
🗓 Friday 31st October ⏰ 11am – 12 noon/ 2pm – 3pm 💴 £3 .96 per ticket, includes one adult 🎫 Pre-booking required ℹ️ Details on the Oxford Museum website.
🤖 Carteton Library: Lego robots
Using coding and Lego Spike Prime and Spheros robots, children can create their own designs with help from the STEM volunteers.
📅 Friday 31st October ⏰ 11am – 1pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ To book a place, call 01865 815125 or DM on Carteton Library Facebook page.
📚 Wild Boar Ideas: Supermarket Scrooge at Westgate Library and Kennington Library
Free half-term workshop in partnership with Oxfordshire Libraries. Story time, song and puppet making sessions for 2-7 year olds!
📅 Friday 31st October ⏰ 10.30am at Westgate Library / 2pm at Kennington Library 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ To book a place, call 01865 815509 (Westgate) or 01865 815167 (Kennington) . See Wild Boar website for more times and locations.
SATURDAY 1st NOVEMBER
🎆 Brill Fireworks
The fireworks display in Brill is legendary! The fun starts before the fireworks with a lantern parade beginning from The Pheasant Inn. There’s family amusements and loads of food stalls too.
📅 Saturday 1st November ⏰ 7pm (gates open at 5pm) 💴 £7.50 per person, £25 for a family of four 🎫 No pre-booking required ℹ️ Info on Thame Hub website.
🎆Standlake Village Fireworks
This event is run by volunteer from the local Scout Group, 1st Standlake and Cokethorpe Sea Scouts, and raises money for them. As well as fireworks and bonfire there are food stalls and a bar.
📅 Saturday 1st November ⏰ 7pm (gates open at 6pm) 💴 Adults: £10, Under 16: Free 🎫 No pre-booking required ℹ️ Info on Sea Scout website.
📚 Wild Boar Ideas: Supermarket Scrooge at Cowley Library
Free half-term workshop in partnership with Oxfordshire Libraries. Story time, song and puppet making sessions for 2-7 year olds!
📅 Saturday 1st November ⏰ 2pm – 3pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ To book a place, call 01865 815137 or email. [email protected] See Wild Boar website for more times and locations.
✂️ Ashmolean Museum: Family arts and Crafts
Create your own paper monocle, a pair of cardboard glasses, or newsprint binoculars, and use your invention to explore the Museum in a whole new way. All materials are provided. Look closely, peek around corners of the galleries and see what hidden surprises you can spot with your brand-new point of view. The lunch room is open between 12pm – 2pm every weekend and also every day of the school holidays and they also have free nappies available at the Welcome Desk, if needed. This October half term, the café is offering a free Babyccino with an adult drink purchase.
📅 Saturday 1st November ⏰ 2pm – 3pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ See Ashmolean website for more info.
SUNDAY 2nd 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 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 there enjoying the outdoors.
📅 Sunday 2nd November ⏰ 2pm – 6pm 💴 Free 🎫 No booking required ℹ️ More info on the Barracks Lane website Facebook page.
✂️ Ashmolean Museum: Family arts and Crafts
Create your own paper monocle, a pair of cardboard glasses, or newsprint binoculars, and use your invention to explore the Museum in a whole new way. All materials are provided. Look closely, peek around corners of the galleries and see what hidden surprises you can spot with your brand-new point of view. The lunch room is open between 12pm – 2pm every weekend and also every day of the school holidays and they also have free nappies available at the Welcome Desk, if needed. This October half term, the café is offering a free Babyccino with an adult drink purchase.
📅 Sunday 2nd November ⏰ 2pm – 3pm 💴 Free 🎫 Booking essential ℹ️ See Ashmolean website for more info.
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
Also…
50 FREE things to do in Oxford and beyond!
Top 5 mud-free pushchair walks in Oxford
