So you showed up late for the event planning meeting at your child’s school all to discover you’ve been nominated chairperson of the costume party. YIKES!!! No worries, we have some great game and craft ideas to help make all the ghouls and goblins squeal with delight.
Having four children myself I have hosted and helped at my fair share of school parties and the Halloween event was always one of my favorites. Many of the games we discussed in Clown Carnival Fun can be used at this event but we have some more specific spooky ideas.
Cake Walk: The cake walk is similar to musical chairs but replace the chairs with monster pictures on the floor. The cardboard Halloween decorations like Frankenstein’s Monster, Skulls, Ghost etc. are taped to the floor in a large circle, while music plays the children walk around the circle, when the music stops certain kids will be standing on one of the monster faces. To make the event more interesting and the goodies last longer we have the names of the monsters pictures in a bowl and draw one out, whoever is standing on the monster that was pulled gets the cake. Lighting the room dimly and adding black lights really make this game fun. Little treats like cupcakes and frosted cookies work well for this game.
Crafts: Having craft tables is always a great way to add to the festivities, keeps the kids busy and they have a decoration to take home. Making a Halloween votive is really a clever little decoration. Use a glass jar or a plain votive, school glue and tissue paper. Decorate by gluing the tissue paper around the jar, tear bits of tissue paper into small pieces to look like leaves or parts to a jack o lantern and glue these in place, add an additional layer of glue over the finished design sealing the paper. Craft stores are chocked full of other little decoration crafts that are very affordable and east to do.
Pumpkin carving or decorating: Carving a Jack O Lantern is always a blast for the kids, having the pumpkins pre- gutted is a good idea as a time and mess saver. If you fear that sharp objects are not a for your group, decorating pumpkins with poster paints is a safer alternative.
Prizes: At my children’s school we give options of receiving candy as a prize for the games or the can choose to collect tokens which later they can trade in for toy prizes. We will have a variety of items like spider rings, skeleton bracelets, temporary tattoos, plastic bugs and similar items.
Gross grabbers: No Halloween party would be complete without the box of mysterious slimy items you have to touch and feel and try not to get freaked out. This is an easy display to make with just a large box set on it’s side and holes cut into the end, write the various items over the holes like goblin eyeballs, mummy guts and zombie brains. On the opposite side you have things like boiled spaghetti noodles*jello with grapes and cooked macaroni all representing some horrific item.
Costume parade: Holding a costume parade is a great way to wrap up the evening. As the kids parade around showing off their clever costumes, the helpers can begin to close down the games and get ready for cleanup. If you wish, prizes can be handed out for cutest costume, most original, funniest, scariest….you get the idea.
Putting together a Halloween party should not give you the heebie geebies, asking for the help of other parents along with donations for candy and prizes should make your Halloween party a real hoot!