It’s that time of year again. When children of all ages can transform into there alter-ego’s and be the person they always wanted to be. A super hero to a Barbie princess, no one could deny how cute they all look on Halloween night. The world however is not what it use to be and the dangers of "Trick-O-Treating" are widely known, this may be why many parents are resorting to Halloween parties instead of sending their kids out to harvest candy from strangers. If you have very young children a Halloween party might be the right way to go for you.

You have completed your checklist of things you need, food, drinks, decorations, party favors, costumes and guests. The question at hand is now “What will I do to keep these kids entertained”. No one wants a gathering of children to be bored and restless, that is a recipe for disaster.

Older children and Teens typically can keep themselves busy. Its younger children that demand large amounts of time and creativity from you. Many run of the mill party games are not suitable or appropriate for children under six since most require thought beyond their capability, which would just bore them, or are too dangerous. Here are a few ideas to keep your youngsters happily entertained as well as safe.

Fact: young children like to dress up, make messes and play the “look at me game”. So what would they love more then to combine all three of those things. Here is a fun way to do that step by step.

1. You will need face paint, lots of mirrors, old clothes and bits and pieces of costumes. When you invite your guests ask them to come without costumes, it helps if their parents donate supplies as well.

2. Set enough themes so that everyone can win such as scariest, funniest, cutest, most creative, most colorful, prettiest or best theme. That way no one can lose, at that age no one likes to be the loser.

3. Set a time limit, and rules about fighting over things unless you want it to turn hectic, then let them have at it. Be there to offer a helping hand with all of the kids because they could possibly become frustrated due to it being somewhat of a race.

4. Finally, when the time is up start to judge. Make sure to praise all the costumes you see before you in different ways. Kids are smart, they will catch on if you keep telling them all the same things. Hand out prizes and let them stay in there homemade costumes for the rest of the party.

This one is great for all ages, even adults. The best part? All you need are a few rolls of cheap toilet paper. Separate the kids into groups with at least three people. You can have more per group but will need one person to be the Mummy and at least two people to wrap the Mummy. The more you have the more hectic it can get so it’s best to keep it simple with kids. The rest is self explanatory, have the kids wrap the Mummy and the group that does the best in the quickest time wins. Kids love this one because it allows them to make a mess and go wild in a constructive way. You can take this a few steps further as well, see which group can rip the paper off their Mummy, and throw it all away the fastest!

We all know how to play this game and anyone who has knows how unbelievably hard it is to be spun around in a circle and toddle your way to a poster on the wall, only to embarrass yourself when you are way off the mark. Why would you do this at a kids party? Put a new spin on it. For young children it will be fun just to stick that sticker in the right spot. Don’t spin the child around and don’t blindfold them. Try just giving them a sticker and letting them try to do it on their own. Instead of laughing at who messes up the worst, praise the kids for how well the have done. They will have a feeling of accomplishment as well as a prize! You can make your own giant pumpkin out of poster board or buy a generic one at the store. The kids won’t care either way and it will be a fun time had by all.

Plan an Easter egg hunt with pumpkin eggs. Take orange eggs and draw faces on them with permanent marker. Place them around your home or, if you live in warmer climates, outdoors. Set a time limit or a limit on the amount of eggs the kids can find individually. You can also make it a group effort and have two sets of eggs, white (ghosts) and orange. Separate the kids into teams and when all the eggs have been found split them evenly. This is the best way to go if you don’t want to hear “They got more then me!” Young children are more worried about how much they get instead of how they get it, so splitting the goods evenly amongst them all is always a good way to go.