I’m here with some good news: Halloween fun is just moments away. You have all the ingredients to make Halloween bubble foam, and it’s the sensory play moment your October absolutely needs.
The magic in Halloween bubble foam
There is nothing I hate more than seeing an great activity online and realizing I can’t do it because it needs really special supplies, 5 hours to prep, or extra adult hands to put together….
Which is maybe why I love bubble foam so much. It’s the exact opposite.
This is a “see and do” activity: you can see it and do it.
RELATED: Ready for more Halloween Activities for Kids? Check out this fantastic list.
The Supply List
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- Bubble bath/body wash/head to toe wash (tear free): Basically, any soap works in bubble foam but when working with little kids, always use tear free
- Water
- Optional: food coloring. I used neon green for “witchy lime.”
- Random kitchen utensils
- Random Halloween supplies (like these supplies)
How to make Halloween bubble foam
There’s a basic recipe for making bubble foam (no matter if it’s Halloween themed or for day to day play).
- Combine water and tear-free soap
- Use a ratio of 2:1 water to soap
- Optional: dye the water green with food coloring
- Mix with a hand mixer, blender, and stand mixer until “stiff peaks” form.
I put all my bubble foam into a sensory bin (I used my beloved 28 qt sensory bin (affiliate link). I used 2 cup of water and 1 cup of soap for this bin.
Next, I set in a few Halloween trinkets (cauldrons and eye balls mostly) and kitchen utensils. And that was it: the Halloween bubble foam was officially ready.
What kids are learning with bubble foam
It may look like “just” a Halloween sensory activity: but this set up is magical for children, their learning, their development.
In this activity, the child is:
- Exploring with their sense of touch
- Interacting with the environment
- Using their imagination
- Engaging in science exploration
This is not just a fun activity (which of course, it is!). This is a moment of learning for a child.
How to clean up this messy activity
Activity clean up can be a burden… but not when it comes to bubble foam.
This activity is built around kid-soap: which means it’s ready for a bath time clean up.
Expert tip: When your child is done with this sensory bin, take it to the bathtub. Plug the drain, dump the bubble foam and the Halloween toys into it and let phase 2 of this activity commence.
Yes. There is a phase two.
Your child and the bubble foam are now in an epic bubble bath. It’ll be similar to this Halloween bath we did, but an epic (truly epic) amount of bubbles.
Tips for messy play success
I get it: this activity can look a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Remember, it’s just soap and waters… fancy bubbles. But it does have the aura of mess.
If messy activities give you the shivers, try moving this activity to the bath tub (like I did here) or to the water table (it’s always fun outside).
I also give my kids towels with an activity like this so they can wipe their hands as they need. Somehow, that little step goes a long way in managing the mess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! Food coloring is water soluble – and heavily diluted in this activity.
Food coloring will rinse of little hands (if any gets on) and come out of clothing easily (just set the clothing is cold water for a few hours).
Absolutely (in fact, that’s the first recipe I ever tried from Fun at Home with Kids), but it’s risky with littles. After my then-22 month old got dish soap bubble foam in his eyes, I switched to tear-free only.
You can’t store it for tomorrow, but, you can whip it back up into stiff peaks. Bubble foam usually last about 45 minutes. When it starts to go back to a liquid, I grab my hand mixer and whip it back up.
Susie Allison, M. Ed
Owner, Creator
Susie Allison is the creator of Busy Toddler and has more than 2.3 million followers on Instagram. A former teacher and early childhood education advocate, Susie’s parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon.
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Marguerite says
What wonderful easy activities for a one year old. I am amazed and in awe of your creativity and how the activites can keep a child entertained, developmentally stimulating and education. Plus your ideas are budget friendly and many activities are made from what is around the home already. You rock!!!