Halloween Party Ideas

Halloween is fast approaching.  Nine helpful kids' Halloween Party ideas below -- chock full of Halloween invitations, games, and more -- on how to make your Halloween celebration a big, creepy, crawly success. 

Be sure to check out our main Halloween index for even more spooky fun.

Step 1 - Halloween Party Guest List
Step 2 - When, Where, and What Time?
Step 3 - Halloween Party Invitations
Step 4 - Halloween Party Food and Refreshments
Step 5 - Halloween Party Games/Activities
Step 6 - Halloween Party Decorations
Step 7 - Halloween Party Supplies
Step 8 - Halloween Costumes
Step 9 - Halloween Party Favors

Step 1 - Halloween Party Guest List

Everything you plan for your scary Halloween party -- from the date to the activities -- depends upon who you are inviting. Most likely not all your friends will be able to attend. When making your list make a side note of people you would like to come if some on your initial list cannot attend. When the guest list is complete you will probably already have a good idea of who will be able to come and who will not. With this knowledge you're ready to move to step two.

Step 2 - When, Where, and What Time?

Your first decision will be when to have your kids Halloween party. If Halloween falls on a weekday, consider scheduling the party for the weekend before or after so you have plenty of time to set up and your guests won’t have to worry about getting up early for school the next day. If Halloween is on a weekend, keep in mind that many children go trick-or-treating with family or friends on Halloween night. So, unless you plan to take your guests on their quest for candy, you should pick a night other than the 31st. 

Also keep in mind those things already going on in the community or elsewhere that may conflict. Cross off dates that will not work and go from there. Keep your guest list in mind and choose a date that should work for the majority.

Where to hold your party is often a matter of how many guests you plan on attending. If there are too many guests for your home, or parking is poor in your area, consider asking a friend if they would be interested in co-hosting a party with you. It's fun to plan with a friend and you usually get a wider variety of people that attend. Please make sure, if you do this, that you do not leave the clean-up to your friend. Follow through with the party from start to finish.

Timing is everything they say! If this is a kid or teen party make sure curfews are obeyed and parents are aware of when their youngster will be arriving home or should be picked up. If an adult party is the plan take into consideration the needs of your guests. Questions you may ask yourself are:

What time are most people home from work?
Will my guests need time to get a babysitter?
When will most of my guests need to take their sitters home?
Will I need to serve my guests a meal, or will they have time to eat before the party? (Be sure to let them know if you're planning on serving a meal)

Step 3 - Halloween Party Invitations

If your party has a theme, you may want to make a Halloween party invitation that goes with it. For example if you want all your guests to dress up as some kind of famous monster you are planning on being Dracula, your invitation could be in the shape of a Haunted House and the language of the invitation would be as if Dracula were speaking. You can also use some of our coloring pages as a start for making your own invitations. 

Some creative, homemade Halloween Party Invitation ideas include:

Halloween party invitations can be very simple or elaborate; the only limit is your imagination! If you have the time to make your own invitations, here are a few ideas you can try:

• Ghost Invitation – Place a white handkerchief out on a table, and write the invitation information in a spiral around the edges, making sure to leave the center white. When done, wrap the handkerchief around a lollipop (written side out). Fasten with a ribbon or rubber band at the neck of the lollipop, and dot two eyes with a black felt tip marker. Send your ghost invitation in a padded envelope.
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• Gravestone Invitation – Cut a gravestone shape out of grey construction paper. Write R.I.P in big letters at the top. Write your invitation information underneath. Fold your invitation in half lengthwise, sprinkle a little black and orange confetti in the middle, and mail your guests a fun surprise!
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• Pumpkin Invitation – Punch a hole in the corner of a card-style invitation, and tie it with black or orange string to a mini pumpkin (available at most grocery stores). Hand-deliver each guest’s invitation.
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• Candy Invitation – Hide card-style invitations in small jars filled with candy corn. (Pickle jars or small jelly jars work well.) Hand-deliver your invitations to each guest.

If you are mailing invitations send them out at least two weeks before the party. Hand delivery works well if you are planning last minute, or would like a quicker response on your RSVP. Follow-up with a phone call to those who have not RSVP'd you five days prior to the party. Address any concerns your friends have and try to get a commitment one way or the other. When a friend declines, politely express your disappointment AND understanding. Take note of that guest side list you made in the beginning and fill in the holes.

Step 4 - Halloween Party Food and Refreshments

What would a party be without food? Check out our Revolting Recipes to get some great ideas for things like Spider Cakes, Dracula's Blood Pudding, and Halloween Hand Treats. You might even let the guests make some of their treats... Unless your party is formal, paper and plastic are probably preferential for easy clean up. Don't forget to have plenty of party ice on hand.

Here are some other icky Halloween party recipes and food ideas:

• Serve finger foods that come in Halloween colors, such as orange slices, Cheetos, baby carrots, cheddar cheese cubes, Ho-Hos, black licorice, and blackberries. Make fruit kabobs by alternating purple grapes and cantaloupe on wooden skewers.
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• Use your favorite Halloween cookie cutters to cut soft sandwiches, such as peanut butter & jelly or tuna fish, into spooky shapes, like ghosts, bats, and pumpkins. You can also use mini cookie cutters to cut pumpkins out of orange cheese slices and ghosts and skulls out of white cheese slices to serve with Ritz crackers.
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• Create spider treats by inserting eight pretzel sticks (four on each side) into the filling of Ritz peanut butter crackers. With a dab of peanut butter, set two raisin “eyes” on top. (To accommodate children with peanut allergies, make your own cracker sandwiches using plain or flavored cream cheese as the filling.)
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• Prepare chocolate pudding in clear plastic cups. Stick a vanilla wafer “gravestone” in each cup, with one half beneath the pudding surface and the other half sticking up, and draw an outline of the grave in green cake decorating gel.
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• Place chips and dips like salsa and guacamole in bowls on the food table. Prop small plastic spiders and rats up on the bowls.
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• Wrap one half of cocktail sausages in thin strips of a four tortilla. Place a dab of ketchup on the other end to look like a toenail. Call these “monster toes”.
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• Serve a spooky punch like Swamp Juice. Empty a 13-oz. package of Kool-Aid into a punch bowl. Add 1 cup sugar and 8 cups water, and stir until dissolved. Stir in 1 can frozen orange juice concentrate. Just before serving, add 4 cups ginger ale and 3 scoops orange sherbet. This will create a putrid green color that will look awful but taste delicious! Add small plastic spiders or raisins to serve as “bugs” for an extra creepy effect!

For an extra special treat, make each guest a creepy, crawly cupcake! What you will need:

• 1 chocolate cupcake per guest
• Canned chocolate icing
• Chocolate sprinkles
• Red skittles
• Black string lace licorice

To assemble:

1. Frost the cupcakes with chocolate icing.
2. Roll the tops of the cupcakes in chocolate sprinkles to create a “hairy” look.
3. Press two red skittles in the center of the cupcake to serve as eyes.
4. Cut eight 4-inch pieces of licorice per cupcake for the legs. Bend each “leg” in half and crease. Push the end of each leg into the cupcake (four on each side).
5. Serve!

Check out these other fun Halloween recipes:

• Ghost on a Stick
• Ghosts in the Graveyard Cake
• Fudge Spiders
• Orange Ice Cream Jack O’Lanterns

For more spooky treats kids love to eat, check out these great kid's Halloween recipes from our sister site AmazingMoms.com

Step 5 - Halloween Party Games and Activities

Games and activities are the key to a fun Halloween party. You can put out some printable activities and pencils and crayons for young guests, or might want to supply them with their own Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe Game to customize and play.

Maybe some ghoulish games would keep things moving - if so, check out our page of putrid party games.

You could have everyone gather round in a circle, darken the room, and read them a spooky story, like One Halloween Night (complete with gross props to pass around).

Or maybe you'd like to set up some simple crafts projects - like letting folks make their own ghosts, spider bracelets, or more.... here are some super easy to make crafts just for you...

Here are some more Halloween party games and activities:

Feed the Monster
Your guests try to toss bean bags into the monster’s mouth in this popular game.

Mummy Wrapping Game
Watch as your little monsters turn a guest into a mummy!

Kitty Costume Activity
With simple craft supplies, your guests can create their own cat mask, collar, and tail…

Pirate Hat Craft
Have your guests create pirate hats to wear during the party and take home as favors…

Monster Dash
Your little monsters will love our version of Red Light/Green Light…

Bobbing for Apples
A classic Halloween favorite!

Create a Scarecrow Contest
Test your guests' speed and creativity with this timed contest.

Haunted Halloween Walk
Guests will love this chilling twist on the traditional cake walk.

Spider Web
Test the players' teamwork as they try to untangle their strands of yarn to get to their prizes.

Paper Plate Mask
Have your guests use their creativity to create masks of their favorite silly or spooky characters.

Witch Hunt
Send your guests out on a scavenger hunt to find as many witch hats as they can.

Printable Halloween Coloring Page
Your guests will love decorating our Printable Halloween Coloring Page.

Kids will also love these great Halloween party ideas from our sister site AmazingMoms.com!

Step 6 - Halloween Party Decorations

Turn your home into the spookiest place ever! Here are some creative ideas for Halloween party decorations:

• Create artificial mist! Fill buckets halfway with water, and add dry ice. There should be enough water to cover the dry ice, and the proportions should be 2 parts water to 1 part dry ice. Warmer water will create thicker smoke, but it will disappear quickly. Cooler water will create thinner smoke, but it will linger longer. Place the buckets around the party area, but make sure the children can’t get into them. Dry ice is dangerous when touched.
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• Inflate a variety of white balloons with helium. Cover each balloon with a small white sheet or square cut from an old sheet, and draw eyes and a mouth on each with a black marker. Float the ghosts around the party area. For extra eeriness, insert a glow stick in each balloon before inflating.
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• Cover the party food table with a black or orange tablecloth and a selection of scary items such as plastic bugs, rats, and skulls.
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• Drape orange and black streamers from the ceiling in the party area.
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• Cover shoeboxes with brown or black construction paper, and line the inside of each with red felt. Lay plastic or rubber skeletons inside, and set the “coffins” around the party area.
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• Make your own window coverings by cutting silhouettes of cats, bats, pumpkins and spiders out of black construction paper or felt. Tape the cutouts to your window, and then cover the entire window with white paper or a sheet. Make sure the white covering fits the window exactly. Place a light source behind the window to make the scary silhouettes visible from the street.
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• Purchase neon black lights, and place them in the party area. This will create an eerie glow and make all the white items in the room – like the mist and ‘ghosts’ – really stand out.
  
  
• Keep it simple with crepe paper and balloons or go all out and create your own Haunted House. For an easy Haunted House get some blank newsprint/butcher paper and hang from ceiling to floor in the party room, hallways and kitchen. Now your walls are your canvas! Before you hang it, paint the paper in dark colors, with creepy scenes. Add cobwebs in the corners that stretch across the ceiling, complete with spiders. Hang bats from the ceiling. Paint a skeleton onto a wall with glow-in-the-dark paint.
  
• Turn your kitchen into a mad scientist's laboratory. Perhaps you'd like to have some mystery drawers guests can reach into and be surprised. Don't forget the scary music and sound effects.

Step 7 - Halloween Party Supplies

Stock up on Halloween party supplies, including plates, silverware, tableware and more in a Halloween design. Our Suggested Party Supply List may be helpful when placing an order. Please note that you may not need everything on the list; it is only intended as a guide.

You also may want to pick up a movie or two in case you need a calming activity to help overly-rowdy kids settle down a bit. Some excellent child-friendly Halloween movies include:

• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966, unrated)
• E.T. (1982, rated PG)
• Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005, rated G)
• Casper (1995, rated PG)
• Monster House (2006, rated PG)
• Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005, rated G)
• Hocus Pocus (1993, rated PG)
• Ghostbusters (1984, rated PG)
• Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh (1996, unrated)
• The Little Vampire (2000, rated PG)

Step 8 - Halloween Costumes

Buy them at the store or make your own costume creation. Visit our Halloween Costumes for lots of spooktacular ideas that are easy and inexpensive to make, there's currently over 40 costume ideas there.

Step 9 - Halloween Party Favors

Thank your guests for coming with fun Halloween favors like plastic pumpkins filled with candy, spider rings, and glow sticks. Or, let each guest choose their own Halloween headwear to take home, such as a cowboy hat, firefighter helmet, princess headband, or other hats and headbands. 

Above all we hope you have a safe, happy Halloween!!!