The shows, festivals, workshops and outdoor events running this Saturday and Sunday, refreshed every week so the list is always the coming weekend.
Circo Atayde is a Mexican family circus, 138 years old and now run by its fourth and fifth generations. This is its first time in Europe. The show is a classic ring circus: high-flying acrobatics, a lovable clown and other circus acts, all played live by an orchestra instead of a recorded soundtrack. Best for kids who can sit through a long show.
Los Meñiques de la Casa is a kids' music project from Venezuela, created by Rossi and Luigi, with over 10 million YouTube subscribers. Here they team up with Saritah Bebé for a dance-along concert of their best-known songs on a neon stage. The songs are about feelings, moving your body and getting along. It is their first show in Spain. Best for preschoolers who already sing along at home.
The yearly pumpkin party at El Huerto del Retiro, the city's environmental education center and garden inside Retiro Park. Local growers sell food from their stalls, a singer plays a short set, and the municipal nursery hands out free plants. Older kids can join a booked workshop making decorative pumpkins from old fabric, and a contest crowns the biggest and rarest pumpkins of the year.
For Halloween, Parque de Atracciones de Madrid runs a gentle program for younger kids and a scary one for teens and adults. Kids walk through three haunted passages with laughs and small scares, including the new Un Laboratorio Muy Loco, and catch Nickelodeon shows and parades. The four terror passages and the Área 51 scare zone are built to frighten. Families with small kids can stick to the first half.
Parque Warner's Halloween season has a family side and a scary side. Younger kids get the new ACME Factory, a hands-on mission to help Wile E. Coyote find a lost candy recipe, plus Looney Tunes parades and a Día de los Muertos show. The four terror passages, based on films like IT and The Nun, are for older kids. Halloween Scary Nights are separate late-night events.
Hábitat Madrid is the city's season of nature activities, run from environmental centers in three big parks. Kids plant in a family vegetable garden, track animal prints, build bird feeders and join bird walks, all led by environmental educators. Each session has a set age range and needs booking, so it suits families who plan a few weeks ahead.
A certified organic family farm in the Jarama valley where kids push a wheelbarrow into the field and pick their own pumpkin. Between rounds there's a hay maze, a slide and hay-bale photo spots, plus a shop terrace where parents can sit. On workshop days a booked session adds a tractor ride, farm animals and hollowing out and decorating a pumpkin. Works well for toddlers and younger school kids.
This year's Day of the Dead altar at Casa de México honors the composer Agustín Lara, shown seated at his piano. The scene is a mountain cemetery in Michoacán on the night families visit their dead, with candles, orange marigolds, copal, food, music and monarch butterflies. Skeleton figures keep it colorful more than spooky, and it suits kids who like to look closely at small details.
Circo Alegría's first Madrid production turns a big top into an underwater world. International acrobats perform around synchronized dancing fountains, with 3D effects, mermaids, pirates, sharks and storms. Giant kinetic whales float over the audience. A story about caring for the oceans runs through it, with plenty of humor and music.
Titirimadroño is Madrid's international puppet theater festival, held each fall in Puente de Vallecas. Much of the week is for adults, but the closing weekend is made for families: puppet shows in a park and indoors, a hands-on puppet-making workshop, and play installations built from recycled materials.
Some shows add Spanish Sign Language or live audio description, and every space is wheelchair accessible.
Guided walks on the Segovia side of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, around the pine forests and rivers of Valsaín. Saturday walks go with a nature guide, and some Sundays bring themed outings led by specialists, from old drove roads to river wildlife.
Groups are small. Routes range from easy riverside strolls to longer hikes, so pick by distance and difficulty.
Faunia's Halloween puts the park's venomous and nocturnal animals up front: snakes, tarantulas, Komodo dragons, lemurs and bats. Educators give short themed talks in five zones about the threats facing the planet and how families can help. This year it doubles as a Superthings trick-or-treat: kids who catch the talks claim a Superthing toy at the entrance shop, and can meet the character Enigma for a free photo.
A pick-your-own pumpkin patch on a farm in the Aranjuez market gardens. Kids pull their pumpkin from the field and paint it, ride a tractor trailer and look for the way out of a big corn maze, while the smallest ones get a hay maze and a corn pit. Sack races run for kids and grown-ups.
The city's puppet theater sits inside El Retiro park: an outdoor stage with bleachers and floor space for kids up front. Each weekend a different company plays, from Madrid to Argentina, with marionettes, hand puppets and music. The Halloween weekend brings a variety show with a dancing skeleton and a skateboarding witch. Shows are short and in Spanish.
A Halloween afternoon at the Museo de la Fresa, a working farm in the old market gardens of Aranjuez. Costumed characters have taken over the field: kids solve a clue game to get in, visit the farm's interpretation center, pick a pumpkin and decorate it, then make edible Halloween figures from donuts and cookies. Every child goes home with a pumpkin.
A morning in the woods of the Sierra Norte with a mycologist. It starts with a short talk on how to tell mushrooms apart and which ones to be careful with. Then the group walks the forest looking for fungi, and ends by sorting and naming what it found.
Run by the Asociación de Amigos de la Casa de Campo. Suits curious kids who are happy on a long walk.
The city's Christmas ice rink in the Plaza de Matadero, the open square of the old slaughterhouse that is now an arts center. Sessions are short, skate rental is included, and small kids can rent a skating walker, so it suits first-timers. It's part of the city's Christmas program, and Matadero runs other holiday shows and activities around the square.
Each Halloween, Madrid's district cultural centers, youth centers and libraries put on free activities for kids: costume contests, scary storytelling, craft workshops, face painting, sports gymkhanas and haunted passages for teens. Most are small and local, so check your own district first.
The city's Christmas bus, running every holiday season since 2006. An open-top bus loops past Puerta de Alcalá, Serrano and Plaza de Colón, all lit up for the holidays. Kids see the lights from the top deck without pushing through crowds on foot. Dress warm: there's no roof, and December evenings get cold once you're moving.
Every fall the Botánico's gardeners set out about 30 kinds of pumpkin from the garden's vegetable plot, outside the Santiago Castroviejo greenhouse. Kids spot giant Big Max pumpkins, sponge gourds and the bottle-shaped pilgrim's gourd that children nickname the "canteen". It's look, don't touch, so it suits a curious kid more than one who wants to pick a pumpkin. The plot where they grew is a short walk away.
A few days a year, Spain's parliament lets the public in for free. Visitors climb the steps between the bronze lions and follow a set route: an original copy of the 1812 Constitution, the domed Hall of Lost Steps, then the Hemicycle, where the 350 deputies debate and vote.
It suits school-age kids who have heard of parliament and want to see where it happens.
A Christmas ice rink set up at Atlético de Madrid's stadium, with more than 4,000 square meters of ice. A skating ticket also opens the food halls and the day's activities: workshops, face painting, Santa visits, a gaming zone and a Playmobil space. Weekend mornings bring kids' shows with characters they know; evenings switch to DJs and concerts aimed at teens and adults.
La Calbotada is Rozas de Puerto Real's chestnut festival, when the town roasts and tastes chestnuts from its own groves. They are the biggest chestnut woods in the Madrid region, with some trees over a century old. It is a village tradition rather than a big fair, so it suits families who will pair it with an autumn walk in the woods or around the Morales reservoir.
Madrid's main square fills with red wooden stalls every Christmas, a market that has run for more than a century. Families come for nativity figures, moss and tiny accessories for their home belén, plus ornaments and toys. Kids head straight for the joke-shop stalls, piled with wigs, masks and gag gifts. Just off the square, a vintage carousel turns in Plaza de Santa Cruz.
Madrid's big Christmas fair for kids, run by IFEMA with Productores de Sonrisas. The exhibition halls fill with theater, video games, robotics, traditional games, creative workshops, cooking demos, sports, magic, music and storytelling. Kids try things rather than watch: building with LEGO in one hall, meeting firefighters and police in the other. It suits families looking for a long indoor outing over the holidays.
A huge nativity scene inside the Real Casa de Correos, built every year by Madrid's volunteer nativity makers. Last year's walk-around version held about 500 figures under a ceiling of starry lights, and choirs sang live through December. Kids lean over the rails to spot scenes from shepherds to the Three Kings' parade.
Circo Price en Navidad has been Madrid's Christmas circus tradition since 2006. Each year the theater stages a new production made just for the season, with acrobats, clowns and circus artists performing in the round. Kids who have never seen circus up close will find it easy to follow.
Many of Madrid's districts hold their own Three Kings parade in the days around the big one on the Castellana: floats, the Kings waving from the top, and candy thrown to kids at the curb. Some end with a reception where children meet the Kings or hand over their letters. Crowds are usually smaller than downtown, so small kids get a front-row view closer to home.
The Warner Bros. theme park south of the city decks its streets with lights, trees and snow for Christmas. Looney Tunes characters turn up in holiday outfits, there are Christmas shows and street acts through the day, and a parade aimed at small kids. Bring the letter for Santa and the Three Kings. The regular rides stay open, so older kids still get their coasters.
Madrid, Navidad de Encuentro turns Matadero, the old slaughterhouse arts center by Madrid Río, into a Christmas village. The hook for kids is the fake snow that falls on Plaza Matadero every evening. Around it sit an ice rink, play installations by street-theater companies, craft workshops, storytelling and classic Christmas films at Cineteca.
Each edition picks a theme. Last year's was books and storytelling.
City Hall turns its own building into a Christmas stop. Under the glass roof of the Galería de Cristal there's an ice rink, with skates in the ticket and walkers for kids finding their feet. In the old post office hall next door, the city's big nativity runs from the cave to a waterfall and lake. Both are indoors, so it holds up on a cold or rainy day.
Plaza de España turns into a Christmas village each winter: a 600 m² rink of natural ice under the Edificio España, about 40 wooden stalls of handmade gifts, and a food corner with chocolate con churros and German mulled wine. Families often browse and snack first, then decide on a skating turn. Double-blade skates strap onto small kids' shoes, so even preschoolers can try the ice.
Imagina, the Alcobendas town hall's youth center, puts on a Halloween afternoon for kids. In 2025 that meant craft workshops by age group, face painting, a costume photocall and a kids' Halloween disco, plus a separate witch story time for babies and toddlers. Most of it was drop-in, so it suits kids who want to wear a costume and try a bit of everything.
Every Christmas since 1979, the facade of El Corte Inglés on Calle Preciados has turned into a giant animated set: more than 25 moving characters, lights, and the Cortylandia song most Madrid parents can still sing. The story and characters change every year. You watch from the street, so it fits easily into a walk past the lights around Sol, and toddlers on shoulders get the best view.
Millions of LED lights turn streets, plazas and buildings across Madrid into one big Christmas trail. Designer displays, giant fir trees, glowing nativity scenes and bulbs drawn by first and second graders in a school contest give kids plenty to hunt for. Gran Vía, Calle Alcalá and Plaza Mayor are the classics.
Belenes, the nativity scenes Spanish families build every Christmas, turn up all over the city in museums, palaces, convents and public buildings. The big ones are whole miniature towns, with rivers, mills and market stalls around the stable and hundreds of handmade figures. Kids get absorbed hunting for small scenes, like the washerwoman at the river. One or two in an afternoon is plenty.
The city's classic amusement park, in the Casa de Campo, dresses up for Christmas. Kids can hand their letters to Santa and, after Christmas Day, to the Three Kings. Winterland, a themed world of ice, light and fantasy creatures, reopens, the Gran Teatro Auditorio puts on holiday shows, and there's a tree lighting. The regular rides stay open too, from Nickelodeon Land for small kids to Abismo for teens.
A Christmas theme park set up in the Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII, the Complutense university's garden. It has three shows: Hontana, El Gran Libro Mágico; the Three Kings' Royal Camp; and Santa's Village. Between them, kids find an ice rink, street parades, a fairy path and a Christmas market. Most of it is outdoors on sand and gravel, so dress warm and bring a sturdy stroller.
Mi Jardín Ibérico is an eco garden and plant nursery on the edge of San Agustín del Guadalix that runs a Halloween pumpkin carving workshop most falls. Families get a pumpkin, carving tools and face templates, carve it together and take it home. Between turns there are garden paths to wander and a hen house to visit.
Each fall Mercado de Prosperidad, a neighborhood food market, dresses up for Mexico's Day of the Dead with papel picado, an altar, mariachis and a photocall. Last year the stalls also ran a tapa-and-drink route, and the nights brought a DJ and a Ramones tribute band. Daytime is the gentler slot for kids; late evenings lean toward a grown-up party.
Madrid's feast of Saint Anthony, patron saint of animals. Neighbors bring their pets to the Iglesia de San Antón to be blessed, then the Vueltas parade loops the nearby streets with police dog units and mounted Guardia Civil.
Kids also come for the panecillos, small saint's buns sold at the church. It suits animal-loving kids of any age, with or without a pet.
Every fall, Zoo Aquarium de Madrid in Casa de Campo runs a Halloween season. Some animals get their food inside pumpkins, an enrichment trick that makes them work for the treat, and educators give themed talks on the creatures behind spooky legends and the threats they face in the wild. It is about animals, not frights, so it suits animal lovers more than kids chasing scares.
The shows, festivals, workshops and outdoor events running this Saturday and Sunday, refreshed every week so the list is always the coming weekend.
Circo Atayde is a Mexican family circus, 138 years old and now run by its fourth and fifth generations. This is its first time in Europe. The show is a classic ring circus: high-flying acrobatics, a lovable clown and other circus acts, all played live by an orchestra instead of a recorded soundtrack. Best for kids who can sit through a long show.
Los Meñiques de la Casa is a kids' music project from Venezuela, created by Rossi and Luigi, with over 10 million YouTube subscribers. Here they team up with Saritah Bebé for a dance-along concert of their best-known songs on a neon stage. The songs are about feelings, moving your body and getting along. It is their first show in Spain. Best for preschoolers who already sing along at home.
The yearly pumpkin party at El Huerto del Retiro, the city's environmental education center and garden inside Retiro Park. Local growers sell food from their stalls, a singer plays a short set, and the municipal nursery hands out free plants. Older kids can join a booked workshop making decorative pumpkins from old fabric, and a contest crowns the biggest and rarest pumpkins of the year.
For Halloween, Parque de Atracciones de Madrid runs a gentle program for younger kids and a scary one for teens and adults. Kids walk through three haunted passages with laughs and small scares, including the new Un Laboratorio Muy Loco, and catch Nickelodeon shows and parades. The four terror passages and the Área 51 scare zone are built to frighten. Families with small kids can stick to the first half.
Parque Warner's Halloween season has a family side and a scary side. Younger kids get the new ACME Factory, a hands-on mission to help Wile E. Coyote find a lost candy recipe, plus Looney Tunes parades and a Día de los Muertos show. The four terror passages, based on films like IT and The Nun, are for older kids. Halloween Scary Nights are separate late-night events.
Hábitat Madrid is the city's season of nature activities, run from environmental centers in three big parks. Kids plant in a family vegetable garden, track animal prints, build bird feeders and join bird walks, all led by environmental educators. Each session has a set age range and needs booking, so it suits families who plan a few weeks ahead.
A certified organic family farm in the Jarama valley where kids push a wheelbarrow into the field and pick their own pumpkin. Between rounds there's a hay maze, a slide and hay-bale photo spots, plus a shop terrace where parents can sit. On workshop days a booked session adds a tractor ride, farm animals and hollowing out and decorating a pumpkin. Works well for toddlers and younger school kids.
This year's Day of the Dead altar at Casa de México honors the composer Agustín Lara, shown seated at his piano. The scene is a mountain cemetery in Michoacán on the night families visit their dead, with candles, orange marigolds, copal, food, music and monarch butterflies. Skeleton figures keep it colorful more than spooky, and it suits kids who like to look closely at small details.
Circo Alegría's first Madrid production turns a big top into an underwater world. International acrobats perform around synchronized dancing fountains, with 3D effects, mermaids, pirates, sharks and storms. Giant kinetic whales float over the audience. A story about caring for the oceans runs through it, with plenty of humor and music.
Titirimadroño is Madrid's international puppet theater festival, held each fall in Puente de Vallecas. Much of the week is for adults, but the closing weekend is made for families: puppet shows in a park and indoors, a hands-on puppet-making workshop, and play installations built from recycled materials.
Some shows add Spanish Sign Language or live audio description, and every space is wheelchair accessible.
Guided walks on the Segovia side of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, around the pine forests and rivers of Valsaín. Saturday walks go with a nature guide, and some Sundays bring themed outings led by specialists, from old drove roads to river wildlife.
Groups are small. Routes range from easy riverside strolls to longer hikes, so pick by distance and difficulty.
Faunia's Halloween puts the park's venomous and nocturnal animals up front: snakes, tarantulas, Komodo dragons, lemurs and bats. Educators give short themed talks in five zones about the threats facing the planet and how families can help. This year it doubles as a Superthings trick-or-treat: kids who catch the talks claim a Superthing toy at the entrance shop, and can meet the character Enigma for a free photo.
A pick-your-own pumpkin patch on a farm in the Aranjuez market gardens. Kids pull their pumpkin from the field and paint it, ride a tractor trailer and look for the way out of a big corn maze, while the smallest ones get a hay maze and a corn pit. Sack races run for kids and grown-ups.
The city's puppet theater sits inside El Retiro park: an outdoor stage with bleachers and floor space for kids up front. Each weekend a different company plays, from Madrid to Argentina, with marionettes, hand puppets and music. The Halloween weekend brings a variety show with a dancing skeleton and a skateboarding witch. Shows are short and in Spanish.
A Halloween afternoon at the Museo de la Fresa, a working farm in the old market gardens of Aranjuez. Costumed characters have taken over the field: kids solve a clue game to get in, visit the farm's interpretation center, pick a pumpkin and decorate it, then make edible Halloween figures from donuts and cookies. Every child goes home with a pumpkin.
A morning in the woods of the Sierra Norte with a mycologist. It starts with a short talk on how to tell mushrooms apart and which ones to be careful with. Then the group walks the forest looking for fungi, and ends by sorting and naming what it found.
Run by the Asociación de Amigos de la Casa de Campo. Suits curious kids who are happy on a long walk.
The city's Christmas ice rink in the Plaza de Matadero, the open square of the old slaughterhouse that is now an arts center. Sessions are short, skate rental is included, and small kids can rent a skating walker, so it suits first-timers. It's part of the city's Christmas program, and Matadero runs other holiday shows and activities around the square.
Each Halloween, Madrid's district cultural centers, youth centers and libraries put on free activities for kids: costume contests, scary storytelling, craft workshops, face painting, sports gymkhanas and haunted passages for teens. Most are small and local, so check your own district first.
The city's Christmas bus, running every holiday season since 2006. An open-top bus loops past Puerta de Alcalá, Serrano and Plaza de Colón, all lit up for the holidays. Kids see the lights from the top deck without pushing through crowds on foot. Dress warm: there's no roof, and December evenings get cold once you're moving.
Every fall the Botánico's gardeners set out about 30 kinds of pumpkin from the garden's vegetable plot, outside the Santiago Castroviejo greenhouse. Kids spot giant Big Max pumpkins, sponge gourds and the bottle-shaped pilgrim's gourd that children nickname the "canteen". It's look, don't touch, so it suits a curious kid more than one who wants to pick a pumpkin. The plot where they grew is a short walk away.
A few days a year, Spain's parliament lets the public in for free. Visitors climb the steps between the bronze lions and follow a set route: an original copy of the 1812 Constitution, the domed Hall of Lost Steps, then the Hemicycle, where the 350 deputies debate and vote.
It suits school-age kids who have heard of parliament and want to see where it happens.
A Christmas ice rink set up at Atlético de Madrid's stadium, with more than 4,000 square meters of ice. A skating ticket also opens the food halls and the day's activities: workshops, face painting, Santa visits, a gaming zone and a Playmobil space. Weekend mornings bring kids' shows with characters they know; evenings switch to DJs and concerts aimed at teens and adults.
La Calbotada is Rozas de Puerto Real's chestnut festival, when the town roasts and tastes chestnuts from its own groves. They are the biggest chestnut woods in the Madrid region, with some trees over a century old. It is a village tradition rather than a big fair, so it suits families who will pair it with an autumn walk in the woods or around the Morales reservoir.
Madrid's main square fills with red wooden stalls every Christmas, a market that has run for more than a century. Families come for nativity figures, moss and tiny accessories for their home belén, plus ornaments and toys. Kids head straight for the joke-shop stalls, piled with wigs, masks and gag gifts. Just off the square, a vintage carousel turns in Plaza de Santa Cruz.
Madrid's big Christmas fair for kids, run by IFEMA with Productores de Sonrisas. The exhibition halls fill with theater, video games, robotics, traditional games, creative workshops, cooking demos, sports, magic, music and storytelling. Kids try things rather than watch: building with LEGO in one hall, meeting firefighters and police in the other. It suits families looking for a long indoor outing over the holidays.
A huge nativity scene inside the Real Casa de Correos, built every year by Madrid's volunteer nativity makers. Last year's walk-around version held about 500 figures under a ceiling of starry lights, and choirs sang live through December. Kids lean over the rails to spot scenes from shepherds to the Three Kings' parade.
Circo Price en Navidad has been Madrid's Christmas circus tradition since 2006. Each year the theater stages a new production made just for the season, with acrobats, clowns and circus artists performing in the round. Kids who have never seen circus up close will find it easy to follow.
Many of Madrid's districts hold their own Three Kings parade in the days around the big one on the Castellana: floats, the Kings waving from the top, and candy thrown to kids at the curb. Some end with a reception where children meet the Kings or hand over their letters. Crowds are usually smaller than downtown, so small kids get a front-row view closer to home.
The Warner Bros. theme park south of the city decks its streets with lights, trees and snow for Christmas. Looney Tunes characters turn up in holiday outfits, there are Christmas shows and street acts through the day, and a parade aimed at small kids. Bring the letter for Santa and the Three Kings. The regular rides stay open, so older kids still get their coasters.
Madrid, Navidad de Encuentro turns Matadero, the old slaughterhouse arts center by Madrid Río, into a Christmas village. The hook for kids is the fake snow that falls on Plaza Matadero every evening. Around it sit an ice rink, play installations by street-theater companies, craft workshops, storytelling and classic Christmas films at Cineteca.
Each edition picks a theme. Last year's was books and storytelling.
City Hall turns its own building into a Christmas stop. Under the glass roof of the Galería de Cristal there's an ice rink, with skates in the ticket and walkers for kids finding their feet. In the old post office hall next door, the city's big nativity runs from the cave to a waterfall and lake. Both are indoors, so it holds up on a cold or rainy day.
Plaza de España turns into a Christmas village each winter: a 600 m² rink of natural ice under the Edificio España, about 40 wooden stalls of handmade gifts, and a food corner with chocolate con churros and German mulled wine. Families often browse and snack first, then decide on a skating turn. Double-blade skates strap onto small kids' shoes, so even preschoolers can try the ice.
Imagina, the Alcobendas town hall's youth center, puts on a Halloween afternoon for kids. In 2025 that meant craft workshops by age group, face painting, a costume photocall and a kids' Halloween disco, plus a separate witch story time for babies and toddlers. Most of it was drop-in, so it suits kids who want to wear a costume and try a bit of everything.
Every Christmas since 1979, the facade of El Corte Inglés on Calle Preciados has turned into a giant animated set: more than 25 moving characters, lights, and the Cortylandia song most Madrid parents can still sing. The story and characters change every year. You watch from the street, so it fits easily into a walk past the lights around Sol, and toddlers on shoulders get the best view.
Millions of LED lights turn streets, plazas and buildings across Madrid into one big Christmas trail. Designer displays, giant fir trees, glowing nativity scenes and bulbs drawn by first and second graders in a school contest give kids plenty to hunt for. Gran Vía, Calle Alcalá and Plaza Mayor are the classics.
Belenes, the nativity scenes Spanish families build every Christmas, turn up all over the city in museums, palaces, convents and public buildings. The big ones are whole miniature towns, with rivers, mills and market stalls around the stable and hundreds of handmade figures. Kids get absorbed hunting for small scenes, like the washerwoman at the river. One or two in an afternoon is plenty.
The city's classic amusement park, in the Casa de Campo, dresses up for Christmas. Kids can hand their letters to Santa and, after Christmas Day, to the Three Kings. Winterland, a themed world of ice, light and fantasy creatures, reopens, the Gran Teatro Auditorio puts on holiday shows, and there's a tree lighting. The regular rides stay open too, from Nickelodeon Land for small kids to Abismo for teens.
A Christmas theme park set up in the Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII, the Complutense university's garden. It has three shows: Hontana, El Gran Libro Mágico; the Three Kings' Royal Camp; and Santa's Village. Between them, kids find an ice rink, street parades, a fairy path and a Christmas market. Most of it is outdoors on sand and gravel, so dress warm and bring a sturdy stroller.
Mi Jardín Ibérico is an eco garden and plant nursery on the edge of San Agustín del Guadalix that runs a Halloween pumpkin carving workshop most falls. Families get a pumpkin, carving tools and face templates, carve it together and take it home. Between turns there are garden paths to wander and a hen house to visit.
Each fall Mercado de Prosperidad, a neighborhood food market, dresses up for Mexico's Day of the Dead with papel picado, an altar, mariachis and a photocall. Last year the stalls also ran a tapa-and-drink route, and the nights brought a DJ and a Ramones tribute band. Daytime is the gentler slot for kids; late evenings lean toward a grown-up party.
Madrid's feast of Saint Anthony, patron saint of animals. Neighbors bring their pets to the Iglesia de San Antón to be blessed, then the Vueltas parade loops the nearby streets with police dog units and mounted Guardia Civil.
Kids also come for the panecillos, small saint's buns sold at the church. It suits animal-loving kids of any age, with or without a pet.
Every fall, Zoo Aquarium de Madrid in Casa de Campo runs a Halloween season. Some animals get their food inside pumpkins, an enrichment trick that makes them work for the treat, and educators give themed talks on the creatures behind spooky legends and the threats they face in the wild. It is about animals, not frights, so it suits animal lovers more than kids chasing scares.