Be the most popular parents on the block by hosting a Halloween party for your kids. And you can incorporate mask-making activities and games into the fun event so the little goblins and ghosts don’t overdo the sweet stuff. Six or eight participants makes for a nice number.
For decorations, you can go shopping to a dollar store or if you want to spend a little more, there are many stores that specialize in hanging spiders, balloons in pumpkin and bat shapes, and witch brooms to tape to the wall. But it’s fun to make your own too, and it can be a family activity in the days leading up to the party. Cut pumpkins, bats, and witch hats out of orange and black construction paper and mount on the walls and doors of your house along with some colourful streamers. Use your creativity and draw a couple of gravestones to add some extra ambience. Fabric stores often have great Halloween-inspired material that you can use to cover your table or drape over chairs and sofas.
Pick up a few pumpkins of various sizes and group in threes, one bigger and two smaller ones, by the door and in the centre of your table. And spend a pleasant afternoon making pumpkin-shaped cookies, decorated with orange M & Ms, or cupcakes with orange frosting.
The children will love individualized brown bags with their names on them. Go to the craft store and purchase Halloween-inspired stamps to decorate them, then fill with novelty items such as orange play doh, glow sticks and small toys. The kids will receive plenty of candy and sugary treats while they are trick or treating in the neighbourhood so the parents will appreciate more wholesome goodies.
One of the activities your children will enjoy at the party is mask-making. Use paper plates, a hole punch, glitter, glue sticks, markers, and other odds and ends. Another nice addition requires a trip to your nearest thrift store to pick up discarded hats and scarves.
Mix popcorn, chocolate chips and gummy worms in a bowl, and call it Bugs in a Bowl. Here’s a beverage recipe your guests will love:
Halloween Ghoul Punch
- surgical glove
- Your favorite juice
- Red colored punch
Pour the juice into the glove, tie shut and freeze. Place, still frozen, into the punch bowl at serving time and watch the kids when they see a hand floating in the punch! And try this recipe for delicious and amusing treats.
Halloween Spider Cookies
- Oreo cookies
- frosting mix, purchased or your own
- red licorice ropes
- chocolate chips
Split the cookies and put three short lengths of red rope licorice across the frosting, letting about 2 inches hang out both sides for legs. Add a little frosting and put the cookies back together. Put two small dollops of frosting on edge of cookie and add two chips for eyes.
With the addition of a few games, you will have made a wonderful party. Easy and simple activities are best, as the children will be very excited. Try filling a jar with treats and have everyone write their guess and name on a piece of paper. The winner is announced at the end of the party and gets to take the jar home. Splitting the participants into two groups and giving each a roll of toilet paper to wrap a one of them, with a prize for the first successfully-wrapped “mummy,” provides lots of fun too. Filling a jar with strips of paper, each labelled “trick” or “treat” will give each a chance to draw and perform. Tricks should be easy, such as singing a simple song, hopping on one foot, or rubbing the tummy with one hand while patting the head with the other. Those who draw a “treat” will receive a pencil or stickers.
With a little planning and a lot of imagination, you can host a children’s party that’s as much fun for you to prepare, as the children will have when they arrive. Your family will love you for it.
