Halloween Party Ideas for Kids

Halloween is such a fun time of year, especially for kids. They love to pick out their costume and look forward to collecting all sorts of free candy. Plus, theres usually a few Halloween parties where they get to have fun and, of course, get even more candy.

Are you thinking of throwing a Halloween party for your child, but you arent sure where to start? Here's some basics to get your going and make sure you give a great Halloween party!

Image by Cindy CC

Games are perhaps the most important part of any Halloween party for kids. Without games, there wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. There’s tons of Halloween party games for kids, but here’s a few of my favourites.

Pumpkin Carving

This is a must for any kids’s Halloween party. You don’t need to get big pumpkins—just small pumpkins will do nicely. But having their own hand carved pumpkin to take home is a great party favour and is an activity all kids are sure to love. If you have younger kids and are worried about safety, you can have them draw on the faces and take the pumpkins home like that. Or, depending on how many kids and how many parents are present, you can have them draw on the faces, then the adults can carve out the Jack-o-lanterns. If you’re throwing a party for really young children, get some large drawings of pumpkins or Jack-o-lanterns and have the kids colour and decorate them. Make sure you include lots of art supplies (glitter, stickers, felt, pom-poms, etc.) so they’re sure to have fun.

Pin the Tail on the Cat OR Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin

A spooky twist on a party classic, this game is a variation of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. All you need is a cut out of a big black cat or a pumpkin. You can cut the tail or stem off yourself. Blindfold each child in turn, spin them around, and have them try to tape the tail or the stem to the cat or pumpkin.

Bob for Apples

Fill a large tub with water and toss in a dozen or so apples. Each child gets a turn to try to catch an apple with just their mouth. It’s a classic Halloween party game that is sure to get a lot of laughs. Or, if you’re concerned about germs, you can skip this game and have the kids make their own caramel apples. They’ll love making them and love eating them even more.

Mummy Wrap

For this game you’ll need lots of toilet paper or white crepe paper. Kids can play this either in two teams or teams of two. In teams, one person is chosen to be the mummy. The rest of the team wraps the toilet paper or crepe paper all around the person in order to create a mummy. Make sure the person’s arms are free, though! When the team has completed their mummy, the mummy has to run to the other side of the room and cross the finish line before the other mummies. This is when it’s important to make sure their arms are free, so they can catch themselves if they fall.

Food and Guts

I remember playing this game every year at Halloween parties and it was always a lot of fun. Find different food in your kitchen that can substitute as parts of the body.

• peeled grapes or olives are eyeballs
• cold spaghetti are the intestines
• marshmallows covered in oil are guts
• peeled tomatoes are the heart

Get creative and see how disgusting you can make it. Put the food into a dark box so the kids have to reach in without being able to see what they’re touching. You can either label the “body parts” or have the kids guess what part of the body they think it is.

Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt

This is a great game for young kids (but also for any age, depending how hard you make it). Hide a bunch of pumpkins all around the room, house, or yard and have the kids search for them. They can be real mini pumpkins, plastic pumpkins, or even chocolate pumpkins.

Image by Silar CC

Decorations are key to having the right Halloween atmosphere. If you’re throwing a party for really young kids, you should keep the decorations light and fun. Have some spookiness (it is Halloween after all), but don’t make it too scary. Lots of cute ghosts, black cats, and Jack-o-lanterns are great. Plus, you can add in black and orange streamers. If your party is for older kids, consider making the party into a huge haunted house. Add lots of cobwebs, mummies and ghouls, and creepy spiders. There’s no shortage of scary Halloween decorations out there.

Costumes are a must for a kid’s (or adult’s) Halloween party. For younger kids especially, a costume contest is a great idea. But, make sure every child gets a prize. Here’s some ideas for “categories”

Best overall costume

Scariest costume

Prettiest costume (ex. Princess)

Best superhero

Cutest animal

Most creative costume

A good idea is to check with parents beforehand about what their child will be dressing up as so you can have some categories ready.

Image by Tifany12 CC

Cupcakes are a great treat to serve at a kid`s Halloween party. One ideas is to bake cupcakes ahead of time and have the kids decorate them themselves. But, if you don't want to try this (especially with really young children), this video gives you some fantastic and easy to follow instructions of how to decorate your own spooky cupcakes.

A great addition to a kid's Halloween party is a spooky movie. There's an endless list to choose from, but here's a few classics. A movie lets kids to bring their energy levels down a bit if they're getting too wound up and gives the adults a bit of a break, too.