Halloween Party

Ages:

5-12

Invitations:

Cut out pumpkin shapes from orange construction paper. Write the party information on the pumpkins. Add small packages of candy corn, mail or hand deliver. You can also make bat shapes out of black construction paper. Write the party information on white paper and glue on the bat.

Make up a haunted rhyme or poem with the party details included. Go to www.rosebriar.uk.com for some fun Halloween poems, rhymes and jokes.

Here’s a ghostly invite: Write the party information on a piece of paper. Crumble the paper invitations into a ball. Cover the ball with 2 squares of tissue paper. Tie orange and black yarn around the base of the ball and attach a tag that says, “Untie Me!” Draw a face on the tissue paper to make a ghost.

Decorations:

You can use traditional Halloween decorations, such as, store bought cobwebs and spiders. Use festive plates, cups, napkins and utensils or stick with Halloween colors like black and orange. Cover tables with plastic tablecloths and add plastic spiders on the tables.

Make some monster footprints. Using a Sharpie, draw a footprint on a large sponge and cut out. Using washable paint, paint the sponge and press the footprints on the concrete leading up to your house. Flip the sponge over to do the other foot.

If you’re setting out jack o’ lanterns, use battery operated candles. It’s much safer. Although, you can display black and orange votive or tapered candles, just don’t light them.

Make scarecrows out of old clothes and stuff them with newspaper. Use a pumpkin as the head. Have the scarecrows sitting in a chair greeting guests outside or by the front door.

Make tombstones out of cardboard boxes. Paint the cardboard with gray paint and write epitaphs in purple or black paint. Some examples of Halloween epitaphs are: Al B. Rightback, Barry M. Alyve, C.U. Sune, I.M. Gone, Ima Ghost, Justin Piece, M.T. Tomb, Myra Mains, U.R. Next, Will B. Back, Yul B. Next, Dracula – Fangs for the memories, Rob R. Duckie – You’re the one, A.O. Elle – 1985-2005 Connection Terminated. You can go to www.all-about-halloween.com for more

Halloween epitaph ideas.

You can also make tombstone slip covers for chairs out of poster board and attach them to the backs of the chairs using black yarn or fishing wire.

Activities:

On the invitations, suggest that each guest bring a carved pumpkin to display at the

party. Have a contest for the funniest, scariest, most creative and best overall pumpkin.

Purchase or download Halloween songs and sound effects. Some Halloween cd’s may

include, Kidz Bop Halloween and The Monster Mash Rock n’ Roll Party cd. You can purchase these at www.amazon.com.

Have a costume parade for young children. You can parade up and down your street while playing The Monster Mash.

Make masks or flying bats out of construction paper. You can print out masks online.

Go to www.familyeducation.com for some mask ideas.

Make a Halloween leaf wreath. You need white paper plates, black and orange construction paper, crayons or markers, scissors and glue or glue sticks. Cut the center out of white paper plates. Cut out different shaped leaves from orange and black construction paper. Have the children glue the leaves around the rim of the paper plate and hang with black yarn.

At the beginning or at the end of the party you can introduce a Halloween book. If you choose to read the story at the beginning of the party you can then have the children go on a mini pumpkin hunt. Then they can decorate the pumpkins that they find and take them home. At the end of the party, read a story to the children while they are waiting for their parents. Some suggested books are: Five Little Pumpkins (any version), Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa, My Working Mom by Peter Glassman, Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, Inside A House That Is Haunted by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. There are many other books you can find at your local book store or library. Disney has a Halloween sing a long DVD called Happy Haunting which you can purchase at www.amazon.com.

Have a costume contest for scariest, cutest, ugliest, gutsiest, most original and best overall costume.

For older kids, play a game of Trick and Treats. Give each player a bag of candy with 10 pieces in each bag. Put their name on the bag. The object of this game is to catch people saying any of these words: Halloween, candy, witch, party, ghost and pumpkin. If you catch someone saying any one of these words then they give you a piece of their candy. The person who has the most candy at the end of the game wins.

Play a game of find the pumpkin. Have guests find mini pumpkins. Once found, have them decorate them. Provide foam or felt shapes, googly eyes, markers, sequins, jewels, feathers, anything you can find to use as decorations.

Here’s a fun game for young children. Pin the wart on the witch! Purchase or make a large witch with a wart on her face. Out of construction paper, make a wart for each guest. Apply tape on the wart, blindfold each player and have them try to place the paper wart on the witch’s wart. The player who has the wart closest to the witch’s wart wins! Another version is pin the stem on the pumpkin. You can also use jack o lantern faces on the pumpkin.

Play a game of musical chairs but use witch’s hats instead. Draw witches hats and tape them onto the floor. Have someone play and stop the music. Each time the music stops the players must sit on a witch’s hat. The player who is not on a witch’s hat is out and a witch hat is removed. This continues until there is one player left, who wins the game.

Play a game of hot potato, but use a mini pumpkin instead.

For older kids, provide some Halloween feel boxes around the party area. Use cardboard boxes or cereal boxes. Cut a hole in the box big enough for a hand to fit inside it. Cover the boxes with construction paper. Write the name of the item on the box. For example, brains, spiders, worms, etc. Here are some ideas to put in the feel boxes: Brains – damp, course sponge, Spiders – twisted chenille stems, Worms or Veins – cooked, cold spaghetti noodles, Eyeballs – peeled grapes, Guts and Blood – pumpkin guts, Cockroaches – popped popcorn, Fingers – 5 baby carrots, Vampire Teeth – tines of a plastic fork, Bones - small sticks, Skin – soft flour tortilla with a little oil rubbed on it. You can find more ideas at www.about.com.

For young children make noodle bat necklaces. You can find the instructions at www.about.com.

Decorate Halloween bags. You can use orange, black or purple party bags with handles or use canvas bags that you can purchase at a craft store. Have children at the party decorate their bags and write their names on all the guests’ bags and what they were wearing at the party.

Make Halloween sugar cookies and have the children decorate and take them home.

Have a Halloween freeze dance for young children.

Make Halloween masks out of paper plates and attach popsicle sticks to the bottom of the plate. Cut two eye holes in the middle of the plate and have the children decorate them. Use a cut up egg carton for noses, feathers or yarn for hair, provide markers, foam cut outs, construction paper, scissors and glue.

Here’s a game called with sticks that would be fun for young children. Purchase or save a large canning jar. Buy popsicle or craft sticks and print out the witch pictures from www.billybear4kids.com. Print and cut out 12 witch pictures. Glue each picture to the top of the popsicle sticks. Have each child drop in 3 witch sticks into the jar. Give them a piece of candy for each one dropped in. For older kids, the person who gets the most in out of 12 wins a prize.

Candy corn guessing game: Fill a jar with candy corn and have each guest guess how many are in the jar. The person closest to the exact amount wins the jar of candy.

Zombie game: Here’s a fun game for older kids to play. One person is chosen to be “it”. The other players lay on the floor as still as Zombie’s. The person who was chosen to be “it” must try to get the Zombie’s to move, without touching them. He/she can laugh at them, make faces and say funny things. When the person who is “it” gets someone to move then that person joins him/her and tries to get the other Zombie’s to move. The last Zombie wins the game!

Halloween memory game: Set out different Halloween or fall related items on a tray. Have the party guests study them for 30 seconds, longer for younger children. Take the tray away and have everyone write down on a sheet of paper as many items as they can remember. You can use items such as, an apple, leaf, mini pumpkin, plastic spider, Halloween cd, a movie, candy bar and a mask. The person who has the most written down, wins!

Play a game of ghost bingo. Print out on orange cardstock. Have the word GHOST written at the top instead of BINGO. Use a pumpkin clip art for the free space and use candy corn as markers. The child who wins yells, “BOO!”

Food:

There are so many fun Halloween food recipes, so I have posted them under recipes.

Prizes/Goody Bags:

Prizes can consist of candy, small packaged Halloween toys, pencils, stickers and small toys. You can also purchase Halloween items at www.orientaltrading.com,

Make a handy Halloween treat. Purchase clear plastic food gloves, fill each finger tip with a piece of candy corn or hot tamale to resemble fingertips. Fill the glove with popcorn and tie at the wrist with black and orange curling ribbon or raffia. Place a plastic spider ring on one of the fingers. Attach a thank you tag.

You can make a surprise Halloween tube. Fill empty toilet paper rolls with Halloween treats. Wrap black, orange or purple tissue paper around the toilet paper roll and tie the ends with yarn or curling ribbon.

Purchase miniature Hershey bars and hot glue 3 pipe cleaners to the bottom of the Hershey bar and glue on some googly eyes to make a spider. For more Hershey’s Halloween ideas go to their website at www.hersheys.com.

You can purchase white fabric and fill it with candy and small toys. Bunch the fabric at the top and tie with black yarn. Draw a ghost face with black Sharpie on the fabric.

Thank You Cards:

Attach thank you cards to the goody bags or take pictures during the party and send them out

with the cards