When throwing a Halloween party, it’s smart to consider all the details ahead of time. This includes ideas for food, decorations and activities. Some families will throw a simple Halloween party as a way to keep the kids entertained without trick-or-treating, but other families go all-out with realistic–and scary–costumes, foods and decorations. If you plan everything properly, you may even be able to have some fun yourself.
Function
When you have a group of kids at your home, you need to give them something to do, or they are likely to leave the place looking like a hurricane hit it. If you plan fun games or other activities like crafts, you’ll keep their attention focused instead of wandering toward the toy box–or your antique figurine collection.
Types
Generate several ideas for your kids’ Halloween party. You’ll want to start with decorations, especially for the main room of the party. Halloween games–like racing to see which team can wrap a child in toilet paper to look like a mummy the fastest–will keep the children entertained, as will craft projects, like decorating pumpkins. You may also want to incorporate the Halloween theme into the foods that you serve, by making cookies that look like fingers or floating plastic spiders in a bowl of “blood” punch.
Time Frame
Depending on your child’s age, you could have a longer or shorter time frame that’s about 90 minutes long, while older children can stay at a party for two hours or more. You should make sure to plan enough ideas to last the duration of the party. Schedule time for eating, games, crafts and socializing.
Preparation
No matter which ideas you choose to incorporate into your party, you’ll want to prepare things ahead of time. If you’re not ready to jump right into the game or craft, the kids will start to lose interest and turn toward other things in your home. Having the snacks prepared ahead of time allows you to interact with the children and be the leader of the party.
Considerations
For very young children, some of the ideas that you use might be a little too scary. For example, a popular Halloween party game activity is to have children touch eyeballs (peeled grapes), brains (cooked and cooled spaghetti) and teeth (peanuts). Older children will recognize that this is just a game, but the younger ones may think it’s real. If you are having a party for young children, plan activities that aren’t so scare, such as Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin.
Photo Credit
- halloween image by Freddy Smeets from Fotolia.com
