Spooky Season Fun for Families in New Orleans

@magicmemoriesmayhem Our kid-friendly spooky weekend in New Orleans was a blast! 👻 I’m thinking this may become a new tradition! #neworleans #nola #HalloweenTrip #travelblogger #spookyszn #familytravel ♬ Spooky, Scary Skeletons (House VIP Remix) – Crystal Knives & Lex Allen

How did the luck of the Irish lead us to our first New Orleans Halloween?

Spring break 2023, as is somewhat typical for the MMM crew meant Walt Disney World! However, this year we just couldn’t swing the absolutely WILD airfare costs, so we decided to road trip it to the Most Magical Place on Earth from Oklahoma.

The halfway point-ish is New Orleans, which is usually out stop when we drive to Florida. We’ve been to the Big Easy several times and always enjoy the atmosphere, shopping and food. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon Irish Channel Parade weekend. We enjoyed the parade so much that we started to wonder what other holidays offered up similar celebrations. Short answer – all of them, at least in NoLA. Next thing we knew, we were booked for a spooky weekend!

The Parade

We initially booked our weekend around the Krewe of Boo Halloween Parade but found out, luckily, there were lots of other kid-friendly spooky spots throughout the city.

Over an hour long, the parade is filled with dance groups, car clubs, kids’ groups, motorcycles, bikes, floats and, of course, throws! My kids were eating Chee-Wees in their lunchboxes until almost Thanksgiving! It being New Orleans, some of it may be a little risqué, but none if it was enough to make my littles or I uncomfortable. I’d say it’s still a family friendly event.

Parade Route

• Assemble at Elysian Fields Avenue
• Parade Down Elysian Fields Avenue to North Peters Street
• North Peters Street to Decatur Street
• Decatur Street past Jackson Square to North Peters Street
• North Peters Street to Canal Street
• Up Canal to Burgundy then U-turn
• Down Canal Street to Tchoupitoulas Street
• Tchoupitoulas Street to Andrew Higgins Drive

Sheraton Four Points New Orleans French Quarter (6)

@magicmemoriesmayhem We had so much fun at Krewe of Boo in the French Quarter! 👻🎃💀 #kreweofboo #neworleans #frenchquarter #halloweenparade #nola ♬ original sound – Jess Noël ✨ Mom🩷Travel🩷Teach

Boo Carré Halloween Haunt

Also happening in the French Quarter on parade day was the Boo Carré Halloween Haunt stretching from the Dutch Alley and winding through the French Market. The Dutch Alley offered free activities from magic to face painting to balloon animals and more! The end of the alley offered live performances from local groups.

As we headed toward the French Market, the trick-or-treating started! Many of the vendors offered up candy or other small treats to costumed and uncostumed kids alike so no one felt left out.

@magicmemoriesmayhem A little not-so-spooky fun in the French Quarter 👻 The Boo Carré Halloween Haunt in the Dutch Alley and French Market was a lovely slice of Halloween treats! #neworleans #frenchquarter #boocarre #Frenchmarket #dutchalley #nola ♬ Halloween ・ cute horror song – PeriTune

The Court of Two Sisters

Located in the heart of the French Quarter, this iconic restaurant is home to the largest courtyard in the quarter, as well as a legendary jazz brunch daily. Reservations are not required but highly recommended, especially if you want to be seated in the picturesque courtyard.

But why include it in our spooky weekend? According to legend, the Devil’s Wishing Well in the courtyard was a site of neighbor VooDoo Queen Marie Laveau’s magical doings. In addition, the spirits of Pirate LaFitte’s victims may also be roaming the property.

@magicmemoriesmayhem Looking for a classic option during a trip to New Orleans? Find the perfect mix of jazz, history and New Orleans menu toppers at The Court of Two Sisters in the French Quarter. 👯‍♀️ #neworleans #nola #frenchquarter #courtoftwosisters #travel #jazzbrunch ♬ New Orleans style Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street(1379702) – ricca

French Quarter

Of course, we took some time to wander the quarter in our costumes!

Glitter Boots on Royal

Halloween Decor

Chapel Hats

Erielle G. Perry

Jada was so excited to buy some of her very own art from Jackson Sqaure artist @studiorelleart

Spiderman

Creepy Doll

Spiderman

Creepy Doll

Spiderman

Creepy Doll

Halloween Decor

American Horror Story: Coven

This one is a bit outside the quarter.

The Skeleton House

All. The. Puns! Each year the Berger family, owners of The Skeleton House at 6000 St. Charles Ave., bring out all the puns in the form of dozens upon dozens of skeletons in their front yard. Their neighbors on each side, a church and another private home, get in on the fun, too. Definitely worth the detour!

@magicmemoriesmayhem This was with the little detour on our way out of town. ☠️🩷 The New Orleans Skeleton House is an icon! #neworleans #nola #skeletonhouseofnola #skeletonhouse #Halloweenhouse ♬ Fall October Halloween horror classic(177261) – rareNote

Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter

Our home base for the weekend was the Sheraton Four Points on the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse. Right in the middle of the action, this is the place to be if you want to be able to watch the shenanigans from the your balcony or want to be close to iconic Bourbon Street.

The rooms were adequate, aside from the noise issue in the balcony rooms. To be fair, the room does come with ear plugs, so it shouldn’t come as a shock. I will say most of the noise we heard was from cars blasting music and/or revving engine, not from the crowds in the street. That said, we’d stay here again, especially if it were more of an adult trip.

@magicmemoriesmayhem Four Points Sheraton Bourbon Street for a Spooky Season getaway with gamgam and the babes! 👻👻👻👻 @Marriott Bonvoy @Sheraton Hotels #BourbonStreet #NewOrleans, #NewOrleansHotel #FourPointsSheratonBourbonStreet #Frenchquarter ♬ Jazz masterpiece "As time goes by" covered by a Jazz violinist by profession(962408) – ricca