Have your kids been wondering: Do they celebrate Halloween in Australia?
When you’re going to live in new country, it can be helpful to understand the traditions of that country so I thought it was worth writing a post about Halloween in Australia so you know what to expect from an Australian Halloween.
Halloween in Australia is not as widely celebrated or deeply rooted in tradition as it is in some other countries, particularly the United States, but it has definitely gained popularity over the last decade, and some suburbs really do go all in for Halloween in Australia!
So if you’re asking does Australia celebrate Halloween? The answer is most definitely YES – an Australia Halloween can be an awful lot of fun if you choose to celebrate it! (Equally, if you prefer not to celebrate Halloween, that’s fine too – you don’t feel pressure to celebrate here unless you live in a suburb that goes big for Halloween).
Want to learn about Christmas in Australia? Read this post!
Halloween date Australia | When is Halloween in Australia?
If you’re wondering what date is Halloween in Australia, of course, it is 31st October – the Halloween Australia date is no different to the rest of the world!
Australia celebrates Halloween on the same date as Halloween in the United States, the UK and everywhere else but what you might not have thought about is what the weather like on Halloween. Australia is in mid-spring when it’s our Halloween (our spring goes from September to November in Australia).
Knowing what the weather is going to be like can help you plan your Australian Halloween costumes as you definitely don’t want to be too wrapped up as it can get feel very warm on a spring evening (depending on where in the country you live!)
I definitely found it strange celebrating Halloween in Australia on a warm spring evening rather than on a freezing cold evening like we were used to in the UK. Having the Halloween date in Australia fall during warm weather felt very alien and it was our first taste of things being ‘backwards’! It didn’t take us too long to get used to it though – it’s actually a lot more fun celebrating when you aren’t freezing cold as you can enjoy being outside for a lot longer!
How do Australians celebrate Halloween?
Let’s give you the lowdown on Australian Halloween costumes, trick or treating, Halloween props and all the things to do with Halloween in Australia!
Trick-or-Treating in Australia
Just like many countries around the world, kids in Australia go trick or treating. Trick-or-treating is becoming more and more common in Australia, and some areas really do go all out for it!
Where I live (in a quiet outer suburb), it is usually pretty quiet with just a couple of small groups going around and knocking on the doors of homes that have Halloween decorations up (and sometimes they still knock on the doors of those that don’t).
There are nearby neighbourhoods where most houses are decorated for Halloween with coffins, cobwebs and skeletons. These are the neighbourhoods that kids gravitate towards, and usually groups of kids are driven to these spots to trick or treat so if you live in one of these areas, be prepared to stock up on Halloween lollies (Australia sweets are known as lollies even if they don’t have a stick!).
We arrived in Australia and moved into our first rental home in Australia just before Halloween so we had to figure everything out quickly as we had no idea how big the event would be or whether we needed to prepare much for it.
We received a poster in our mailbox that asked us to put it on our door if we were happy to take part in Halloween (and if we didn’t want trick or treaters, we should leave the poster down). I loved this idea as it gave us the choice about whether to participate or not.
That first year, I was really shocked by the number of people being driven around the neighbourhoods door knocking. We’d obviously moved to one of the popular trick or treating areas! In the UK, kids would only walk around their local streets. Having cars full of kids meant the huge tub of Halloween candy I’d bought was completely decimated within half an hour! It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.
We moved to a new home in a different suburb, and trick or treating is much quieter here. That made me realise that Halloween Aus is very different from suburb to suburb.
Australian Halloween costumes
The shops all begin to stock Halloween costumes and clothes ahead of the date so you can easily pick something up from Kmart, Big W, Target or Best and Less. You don’t have to spend a fortune on an expensive Halloween costume here.
It is worth buying your Australian Halloween costumes or t-shirts early though – the years I’ve left it til a few days before have ended up being quite stressful trying to find what the kids want (I may have visited about six shops last year trying to find one of my boys a Grim Reaper outfit!). So my advice to you is shop for your Halloween outfit early!
Halloween pumpkins Australia
Yes, we still have Halloween pumpkins in Australia! Again, leaving one of these outside (along with any Halloween props) is a sign that you’re open for trick or treaters to come by.
Outdoor Halloween decorations Australia
There are lots of homes that really go big for Halloween. Some people convert their whole garage into a cemetery complete with coffins, moving skeletons, mood lights and creepy smoke. It goes beyond the outside decorations I used to see in my local area in the UK.
Shops like Bunnings have some great Halloween inflatables, lights and home decor if you want to really get in the Halloween spirit. You can go big with your Halloween props! Australia really knows how to celebrate this spooky season!
Community Halloween events in Australia
There are lots of Halloween-themed events such as festivals, parades and markets and things like the local shopping centres often run trick or treat trails for the kids to enjoy. These events usually include Halloween costume, face painting and Halloween sweets.
We love going along to the Night at the Museum event at Queensland Museum every year (it’s usually held on the Friday near Halloween) – the kids get dressed up in their costumes and get their faces painted, plus they get to hold snakes and spiders and things at the event and see lots of live shows. It’s an absolute blast.
Enjoy Halloween in Australia!
So that is a roundup of what to expect from Halloween in Australia!
While Halloween is not as deeply ingrained in Australian culture as it is in some other countries, it has definitely been growing in popularity and it seems to get bigger every year. I like that you can go all in to celebrate Hallowee in Australia if you want, or you can choose to ignore the date if you prefer (just make sure if you’re a Halloween-hater that you avoid moving to an area where all of the streets take part!)
I hope you found this article about Halloween Australia useful!
