10 ways to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos with kids

Skulls, skeletons, graveyards—it might be easy to peg Dia de Los Muertos as a macabre holiday, but it’s anything but that. This ancient Mexican holiday dates back over 3,000 years and is a time for celebration and remembrance.

For many Mexican and Latinx people, Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a time to honor loved ones who have passed and celebrate their memory. It is a family holiday rooted in tradition where the realm of the living is reconnected with the past through food, song, entertainment, and culture.

“In Mexico, we have 32 states, and Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated a little bit differently in each,” says Elsa Aguilar-Rogers, a Spanish language educator at St. Brendan School in Los Angeles. “But in the end, we always seek to remember our loved ones who are no longer with us on this Earth.”

Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated on November 1 and 2, and it combines the Aztec tradition of celebrating ancestors and the Christian holiday of All Souls' Day, which was introduced to Mexico when the Spaniards invaded the region in the early 1500s. During the two-day celebration, participants build altars or ofrendas, decorate with marigolds, bake pan de muerto, and much more.

Aguilar, who is from Oaxaca, Mexico, loves this time of year when she can help her students learn about the holiday through games, activities, and projects. And you can do the same in your home to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos.

Here are 10 Dia de Los Muertos activities to share with your family.

1. Make a marigold necklace

Marigolds are a powerful Dia de Los Muertos symbol, thought to lead souls from their resting places back to their family homes during the two nights of the holiday. Their vibrant color symbolizes the connection between life and death. Make marigolds a part of your Dia de Los Muertos celebration by cutting off the stems and stringing the flowers together with thread and needle to create a fragrant necklace.

2. Build an altar

Altars, or ofrendas, are an important part of Dia de Los Muertos. Each family builds one to honor deceased family members. To make one in your home, gather pictures of your departed family members and place them on a small table with flowers and candles. Then, put some of their favorite foods on the altar. This symbolizes the food they would need after the long journey from the land of the dead to the living. Some people add their loved one’s favorite things like books or a personal object.

3. Learn about your ancestors

Since Dia de Los Muertos is a day to honor and ensure your ancestors aren't forgotten, why not introduce your kids to relatives that might have passed before they were born? Do you see any family resemblance? DNA kits like the ones from ancestryDNA can help make links to the past feel more tangible by providing details of your family history—including news articles, photos and even shared traits! Spending an evening sharing stories and memories can make it feel like relatives have almost returned to life.

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4. Recreate some of your loved one’s favorite dishes

Recreating some of their favorite dishes is one way to remember your loved ones who have passed. Perhaps your uncle was a big fan of enchiladas, or your grandmother really liked apple pie. Recreating family recipes is a great way to reconnect. Share memories about them while you sit down to a meal.

5. Make sugar skulls

Sugar skulls are another popular altar decoration, and they can be made at home with just a few ingredients and supplies. First, you’ll need a silicone skull mold to create your shape. While sugar is the main ingredient, you will also need food coloring to create colorful designs on each skull. You can get as creative as possible using edible glitter or candy sprinkles. This recipe from the blog Muy Bueno is a great one.

6. Cut papel picado

Papel Picado translates to cut paper. Artists take sheets of delicate tissue paper and cut intricate designs into each, stringing them together to make a festive banner. You can try your luck at making your own papel picado with tissue paper and safety scissors. The blog Mami Talks offers simple papel picado templates for first-time paper artists.

7. Make pan de muerto

Pan de Muerto, or bread of the dead, is a traditional Mexican sweet bread flavored with citrus and anise that you will find on many altars. It’s delicious and relatively easy to make. While many recipes are online, this one from King Arthur’s Flour is easy for anyone to follow, even if you aren’t a regular baker.

8. Watch a Dia de Los Muertos-themed movie

There are several Dia de Los Muertos movies that are excellent representations of what the holiday is all about. If you're looking for some shorts and films that your child may enjoy, try 2014’s Book of Life or 2017’s Salma’s Big Wish. And there's always Disney and Pixar's hit Coco, which is available to stream right on Disney+.

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9. Visit the graves of your loved ones

Going to a graveyard might seem like a spooky activity, especially after celebrating Halloween. But visiting a cemetery on Dia de Los Muertos is quite the opposite. Think of it as visiting with loved ones who’ve gone before you. Show respect by dusting off their gravestones, pulling weeds, and leaving fresh flowers.

10. Attend a local event

Many cities around the country hold Dia de Los Muertos events. There is an event for everyone, from parades and festivals to costume and altar-building contests. Aside from those held in Mexico City, one of the world’s largest Dia de Los Muertos celebrations is Albuquerque's Muertos y Marigold Parade. Other major cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami also have well-attended events.