How to Plan a Kids' Halloween Party

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Categories: Holidays | Halloween | How Tos

  • Throwing your kids a Halloween-themed party is a guaranteed safe alternative to trick or treating, and it's not as hard to plan as you might think! This guide will show you how to prepare for and successfully run your children's party with the greatest of ease. And when it's time to reward yourself, don't forget to check out Mahalo's guide on planning an adult's Halloween party too!

  • Kids' Party Tips

    1. Prepare properly for the amount of children you expect-- and don't forget any other parents!
    2. Plan plenty of activities, but don't overload the children.
    3. Quick craft projects can be an easy and involving group activity.
    4. See what household supplies you can use before you go out and buy decorations or materials from a store.

  • Introduction

    • What's not great about Halloween when you're a kid? You get to dress up like your favorite superhero, down untold amounts of candy and scare the pants off your friends. Throwing a Halloween party is a great way to help your resident ghouls and goblins celebrate the holiday. All it takes is a little bit of planning and a crafty idea or two.

  • Step 2: Send Out Invitations

    1. Purchase inexpensive Halloween invitations at the drug store, create your own from construction paper or choose a Halloween-themed Evite.
    2. Send your invitations two weeks in advance of the party.
    3. Request RSVPs within the week.
    4. Include the start and end time of the party on the invitation.
    5. Specify whether or not this is costumed Halloween party. If the kids are going to be playing active games include a note saying that the kids should be dressed to play.

  • Step 1: Before You Get Started

    • Planning a party for kids requires a few special considerations. Here are some the things you'll need to keep in mind while planning your Halloween spooktacular:
    1. Number of Children: Keep your party manageable. Your child's age can be a good guide. If your child is 7, invite 7 kids. If you have more than one child, let them each invite a couple of their friends. If your guests are toddler-aged, invite a parent along with each child.
    2. Age of Children: The age of your guests will determine the types of crafts and games you plan for your party. Remember small children want to have fun, not be scared.
    3. Length of the Party: Keep it short. Two hours is more than enough time for a couple of games, a costume parade and treats.
    4. Size of the Party Area: The amount of space you have for the party will help you determine the types of games to plan for the kids. Relay races require more space than pin the nose on the pumpkin.

  • Step 3: Decorate

    1. Purchase butcher paper at your local craft or art supply store. Hang it on the wall, and let the kids decorate their own Haunted House or graveyard scene.
    2. Have a part of the house that's off limits? Why shut the door when you can cover the doorway with spooky criss-crossed streamers, a cobweb or a sign that says "Haunted!"
    3. You can never go wrong with streamers in the Halloween colors of orange, black and purple. Twist the streamers together, and hang some extra long strips from doorways to give your little goblins a curtain to pass through.
    4. Draw ghost faces on white balloons and pumpkin faces on orange balloons.
    5. Purchase synthetic spider webs from a Halloween specialty store or the Halloween aisle at the drug store. Hang them everywhere - outside your front door, on tables and in the windows.
    6. Serve treats out of plastic cauldrons or jack-o-lantern buckets. Throw a few plastic spiders in the mix.

  • Step 4: Get Crafty

    • The golden rule of kids party planning is keep it simple. You don't want crafts that are too tricky for little hands, and steer clear of any kind of goopy material that can wind up on clothes and in hair. Create just one or two craft stations to keep the little ones occupied between games and treats. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Mini Jack-O-Lanterns

    • Ages: 3 & Up
    • What You'll Need: One small pumpkin for each guest, Markers, Googly Eyes, Glue
    1. Set up a station with pumpkins, markers, googly eyes and glue.
    2. Give each child a pumpkin to decorate with markers. It's like making a Jack-O-Lantern without the carving.

  • Spider Bracelet

    • Ages: 4 & Up
    • What You'll Need: Black Construction Paper, Googly Eyes, Scissors, Tape, White Crayon, Glue, Pencil
    1. Fold a piece of black construction paper in half.
    2. Have the child lay his or her palm down along the folded edge of the paper.
    3. Trace the child's four fingers with the white crayon.
    4. Cut around the fingers, and unfold the paper. You have your spider.
    5. Glue googly eyes onto your spider.
    6. Roll the spider's legs around a pencil to make the legs curl under.
    7. Attach a strip of black paper from the remaining scraps to the underside of the spider with tape.
    8. Tape the ends of the strip together to form the bracelet.
    9. Place the spider bracelet on the child's wrist.http://crafts.kaboose.com/creepy-crawly-spider-bracelet.html

  • Creep-a-licious Cupcakes

    • Ages: 3 & Up
    • What You'll Need: Cupcakes with frosting, Assorted Candies (gumdrops, licorice, candy corns, M&Ms, etc.), Bowls
    1. Set up a station with a cupcake for each child.
    2. Place bowls filled with the various candies at the station.
    3. Allow the kids to decorate their own cupcakes.

  • Step 5: Play Games

    Bobbing for apples is a Halloween classic. (Creative Commons photo by Caleb Zahnd)
    • There are dozens of fun Halloween games for kids of all ages. You can update a classic like bobbing for apples, or throw an icky twist on a relay race with the help of some homemade eyeballs. So long as you keep the age of the kids in mind, they're bound to have a spooky good time. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

  • Mummy Wrap

    • Ages: 4 & Up
    • What You'll Need: 2-4 Rolls of Toilet Paper
    1. Divide the children into teams of three or four.
    2. Have each team select a teammate to be the mummy.
    3. When you say "go," each team races to wrap their mummy with the toilet paper. (No wrapping eyes, noses or mouths!)
    4. The first team to use all of the toilet paper wins.
    There's always room for eyeballs! (Creative Commons photo by Zac Greant)

  • Eyeball Relay Race

    • Ages: 4 & Up
    • What You'll Need: 2 Ping Pong Balls or Hard-Boiled Eggs, 2 Spoons, 1 Marker
    1. Before the party begins, draw a veiny eye on each ping pong ball or egg with a marker.
    2. Divide the children into two teams. (If you have an odd number, one child will need to run the race twice.)
    3. Have the children line up to run a relay race. Indicate the goal line with a piece of masking tape or string.
    4. Give the first child in each line a spoon with an "eyeball" balanced on it.
    5. When you say "go," each child must race to the goal line, turn around, race back and hand the eyeball in the spoon off to the next child.
    6. If a player drops the eyeball, he or she must start over.
    7. The first team to have all its players successfully carry the eyeball on the spoon down the course and back wins.http://party.kaboose.com/holidays/halloween/games/halloween-partygames.html
    Use trick-or-treat containers for Jack-O-Lantern Skee-Ball. (Photo by Mahalo)

  • Jack-O-Lantern Skee-Ball

    • Age: 3 & Up
    • What You'll Need: 4 Plastic Jack-O-Lantern Buckets, 1 Marker, Bag of Marshmallows
    1. Label the buckets 5, 10, 15 and 20.
    2. Place the buckets in a line, spaced a foot or so away from each other with the numbers getting larger the further away they are from the kids.
    3. Indicate a line for the kids to throw from with a piece of masking tape or string.
    4. Have the kids take turns throwing marshmallows into the buckets.
    5. Keep track of their scores. After everyone's had a couple of chances to throw, the highest total score wins.http://www.birthdayinabox.com/party-ideas/guides.asp-bgs-21

  • Pumpkin Bowling

    • Ages: 5 & Up
    • What You'll Need: 4-6 Empty 2 Liter Plastic Bottles, Water, 1 Small Pumpkin
    1. Fill the plastic bottles with a little bit of water to add some weight.
    2. Line the bottles up like bowling pins.
    3. Indicate a line for the kids to roll from with a piece of masking tape or string.
    4. Let each child roll the pumpkin and knock over as many pins as he or she can.
    5. Each pin knocked over equals one point.
    6. After everyone's had a chance to bowl, the highest score wins.http://www.partygameideas.com/halloween-game-ideas-2.htm
    Have a prize for everyone so no one feels left out. (Creative Commons photo by T Chu)

  • Costume Parade

    • Ages: All Ages
    • What You'll Need: An inexpensive novelty prize for every child, Halloween-themed music (optional)
    1. Line the kids up.
    2. Play some Halloween-themed music.
    3. Have the kids conduct a parade around the neighborhood or around the house.
    4. Take pictures!
    5. Give each child a different award - prettiest princess, rootin'-tootin'-est cowboy, super-est Superman.http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/halloween_party.htm

  • Bobbing for Apples

    • Ages: 5 & Up
    • What You'll Need: 1 Tub, Water, 8 or More Small Apples, 2 or More Towels, 1 or 2 Ponytail Holders
    1. Fill a basin with water.
    2. Float 8 or more small apples in the tub. (If you're concerned about hygiene, put one apple in the tub at a time. Use a new apple with each child.)
    3. Let the kids take turns trying to pick up the apples with their teeth. No hands allowed. (Give with girls with long hair a ponytail holder to keep their hair out of the water.)
    4. If you have a younger child, hold the apple still in the water for them as they bob.
    5. Let the kids dry themselves off post-bobbing!http://www.wordconstructions.com/articles/family/bobapple.html

  • Step 6: Spooky Treats

    • There are lots of great Halloween recipes for kids online, but you don't have to slave away in the kitchen for the little ghouls and goblins. Here are a few simple ways to add some scary fun to your party eats:
    Freeze plastic spiders into ice cubes. (Photo by Sophie)
    1. Spooky Serving Containers: Serve chips out of plastic cauldrons and jack-o-lantern buckets. Both are available in the Halloween aisle of your local Wal-Mart or Target.
    2. Icky Ice Cubes: Put plastic spiders in ice trays and fill with water. Now everyone's got a Halloween visitor in their drink cup.
    3. Oreo Witch Hats: Put a Hersey's kiss on top of an Oreo cookie, pipe orange frosting around the kiss to make hat.
    4. Halloween Hand: Fill a latex glove with ginger ale, tie it at the wrist and freeze it. Let the frozen hand float in your punch bowl. Green or blue Kool-Aid ups the spooky factor.
    5. Worm Cupcakes: Top cupcakes with gummy worms and Oreo cookie crumbles for the dirt.
    6. Ghost Sandwiches: Use ghost, witch hat or other seasonal cookie cutters to cut soft sandwiches like PB&J into themed snacks.

  • Halloween Party Shopping Game Plan

    • A great party is all in the planning. Once you've decided on the crafts, games and recipes you'll be using, develop your shopping plan of attack.
    Check out the Halloween aisle of Wal-Mart or Target. (Photo by Mahalo)
    1. Create a List: Be prepared for your Halloween party shopping trip with a complete and thorough list. Organize your list by the stores you intend to go to or by item type.
    2. Check Your Cupboards: What do you already have at home. Plastic bottles for pumpkin bowling? Spoons for relay races? Cross those items off your list.
    3. Hit the Wal-Mart, Target or Drug Store: The seasonal aisle of your local big box is the best place to buy inexpensive plastic cauldrons, spider toys and other Halloween novelty items.
    4. Hit the Craft or Art Supply Store: While you may be able to finish your craft and game shopping at the drug store, you'll probably need to stop by the craft store to restock your googly eye and construction paper supply.
    5. Hit the Grocery Store: What you buy at the grocery store will depend on the types of refreshments you've decided to serve, but don't forget the apples for bobbing and little pumpkins for bowling or decorating.

  • Conclusion

    • Don't feel too overwhelmed by all the details that go into planning a children's Halloween party. After all, kids are pretty easily amused. If you keep the crafts simple, the kids active and the party short, your little ones and their friends are bound to have a spooktacularly good time.

  • Resources for How to Plan a Kids Halloween Party

  • How to Plan a Kids Halloween Party Recipes


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