Help with a Halloween party?

Bobbing for donuts worked great for my fifth grader’s class. I hung a glazed donut on string, held it up, had the kids put their hands behind their backs and try to get the donut! Of course I did not let them get it until I had bopped them on the nose with the donut a couple of times. We also broke the kids out in groups and had them use toilet paper to make one of the students a mummy.

Costume contest, maybe some crafts.

Are they coming pre-costumed or could you do face painting? I’m no expert but kids seem to like that and it seems very Halloweeny.

I went to lots of Hallowe’en parties as a youngster and played all the traditional games, from bobbing for apples to the dismembering of the witch and passing her parts along in the dark (“Here is her finger” [a stick] ” . . . “here is her eye” [a grape] . . . “here are her brains” [cold spaghetti]). I know, probably not politically correct any more, and we don’t want to encourage kids to dismember their neighbors the Wiccans, right? Gee, it did seem harmless enough, though good and scary. Everyone knew it was make-believe.

Well, I don’t think there was ever anything better than a haunted house—someone’s garage or basement made up as a maze with spooky lights and sounds, creepy hanging things and wet goblin hands and cobwebs and everything else you can cram into a small, dark passageway. Ah, the fright and the thrill.

If you have a 2nd story, whether or not there’s a balcony or a part that hangs over the ground floor, use it with creativity and surprise in mind.

I use a pair of walkie-talkies, one in my hand in my bedroom (which faces towards the front entrance) and the other outside, in visible range from my window, on a stool, with instructions to press the “ringer” button. Most kids have been able to follow the instructions last year and the year before, but at least you can hear if they are having trouble and either talk to them on the device or just throw the damn candy already.

There’s always a group of kids that remembers the house that throws candy out the 2nd story window, or the same group comes around several times, each trip being another kid or three heavy.

Just don’t throw Jolly Ranchers directly at the smaller children; lob it off to the side and let the parents be excited for the now-quite-confused toddler.

@Jeruba Bobbing for pippins? Maybe that’s what you should do with them. :-)

Uhh.

Graveyard Blitz – (Musical Chairs) You must use either “Monster Mash” or “Ballroom Blitz”.

Igor’s Horrifying Radioactive Poisonous Swamp – Basically, you set a designated area across the floor to be the “swamp” and they must make it from one side to the other… without stepping in the swamp. They are to use a few items as stepping stones/rafts (for instance, a skateboard, a book, a rug, a chair, etc.).

Ghoul’s Night Out – The girls play the ghouls, who have to run around with candy in a bag (probably strapped around the back or waist) and the boys must chase in them, in an attempt to steal as much candy as they can from the “ghouls” while they’re enjoying their night out. Candy ingestion recommended only after the game.

Dr. Zombart’s Crazzzy Zombie Lab Infestation – Basically tag with a team of “Zombies” and a team of… lab technicians? Start with one zombie and as it tags technicians, they’ll be recruited onto the zombie squad. Ohh, lord.

Mr. Skeleton’s Catastrophic Skeletal System Dismemberment – Mr. Skeleton’s bones have been dismembered and misplaced around the building! Basically a scavenger hunt involving finding all of the pieces to Mr. Skeleton and placing him back together. Teams may have to do objective in order to obtain the parts from various people (and undead).

The Story-Time Troll – When all else fails, you get yourself a troll costume, serve some popcorn, candy, apple cider and hot chocolate, bust out the book and start reading some petrifying scary stories. You must disguise your voice as a troll (to the best of your ability) and read with a deep, loud and striking pitch.

All of these games are to be played while wearing costumes only. Bring a few dollar-store masks for those who forgot theirs.

Man, my childhood would’ve been so much more awesome if I got to plan the activities/events every Halloween.