Halloween Party Games

• Dried Feed Corn
• A kiddie pool or several large, clear Rubbermaid containers
• Prizes: Halloween candy and dollar store toys
• Sand box shovels and buckets

• Fill a kiddie pool or several Rubbermaid containers with dried corn.  
• Hide prizes in the corn, including individually wrapped Halloween candy and small dollar store toys.  
• Allow the kiddos to dig in the corn like a sandbox, finding the prizes as they go along.  Make the improvised sandbox even more fun by providing shovels and buckets to play with.
• This tactile activity is great for toddlers and young children who will love the feel of the corn.

bobbing for apples/dangling donuts

Ingredients

• Apples
• A large plastic container
• Water
• Powdered Donuts
• String

• Fill a plastic container with water and fill with apples.  Have participants try to pick the apple out of the water using only their mouths. For a variation on this game, try hanging the apples instead from a clothesline.  This dry version of the game may be more suitable for a cold afternoon or evening.
• Pair bobbing for apples with a fun variation of the game, Dangling Donuts.  Use string to dangle powdered donuts from a clothesline. Friends and family must eat the donut from the string without using their hands. This game makes for some messy fun!

musical pumpkins

Ingredients

• Orange/Green/Black Construction Paper
• Black Markers
• Scissors and glue sticks
• Fun Halloween Music (like "Monster Mash" by Bobby Picket)

• This game mixes crafting and a fun group game!  Before starting the game, have your participants make construction paper jack-o-lanterns.  Encourage them to make their pumpkin unique, but consider using a basic template for younger children.  Make sure to have glue sticks on hand, too, so the pumpkins dry in time for the game.
• Have players set their finished pumpkins in a circle on the floor. Play this game exactly the same as musical chairs, but use the pumpkins instead of chairs.  Make sure to play fun Halloween music to set the mood!

• Printer and Paper
• Halloween Clipart
• Candy Corn or Reese’s Pieces

• Make a bingo sheet using Microsoft Word and Halloween clipart. (You can also find Halloween Bingo Boards to download for free online.)
• When playing the game, have participants use candy corn or Reese's Pieces. (They're in Halloween colors!)
• Award small, Halloween-themed prizes to winners, like tattoos, keychains, or fake vampire teeth.

bowling for ghosts

Ingredients

• 6 paper towel rolls
• Black construction paper and scissors
• Scotch Tape/Masking Tape
• A medium-sized orange ball or a small pumpkin (no stem)

• Add some Halloween fun to bowling with this easy-to-make kids' game!  Cut out 12 small circles and six large circles from the black construction paper.  Using Scotch tape, attach two small circles (eyes) and one large circle (mouth) to each paper towel roll, making six ghost bowling pins.
• For the bowling ball, use a small pumpkin (make sure to remove the stem), or an orange ball. If using a ball, draw a jack-o-lantern face on it with a black permanent marker.
• Set up a "bowling alley" across a long room or on a driveway or sidewalk.  Mark where the participants must bowl from with masking tape.  Have fun with this silly game!

spider racing

Ingredients

• Black spider rings
• Straws
• Masking tape
• Table

• On either end of a long table, mark a start and finish line with masking tape.
• Participants must blow a spider ring from one side of the table to the other using only their straws.  
• Add difficulty by setting a time limit to the race!  Watch as friends and family frantically try to push their spiders to the finish line!
• Don't forget to have an award for the winner, and if you have many participants, try organizing the games in heats with a final match where the heat winners face off.

guess how many: halloween version

Ingredients

• A large jar with lid
• Halloween candy
• Scrap paper and pencils
• Basket

• Fill a jar with Halloween candy, but count and mark down the number of pieces before putting them in the jar.  You can use the same kind of candy (like candy corn or bubblegum) or a variety (Kit Kats, Milky Ways, Twix).
• Place the jar in an easily accessible site, like the sign-in table. Have players guess the number of candies in the jar, writing their names and guess on scrap paper and putting them in the basket.
• The guess that is closest to the number of candies in the jar wins!  They can take the jar home, and, if they're feeling generous, they can share the booty with family and friends at the party.

pumpkin tic tac toe

Ingredients

• Masking or duct tape
• 5 medium sized orange pumpkins
• 5 medium sized pumpkins of a different color (green, white, etc.)

• This fun version of a classic game takes tic-tac-toe to a whole new size!  Like giant chess boards, pumpkin tic-tac-toe is larger-than life! Create a tic-tac-toe board on an open floor, table, sidewalk, or driveway using masking tape or duct tape.
• Have players use two different colored pumpkins, such as orange and white, for the "Xs and Os". (Make sure to have at least five of each kind.)  Kids especially will enjoy moving around these giant game pieces!

spider web obstacle course

Ingredients

• Black and white crepe paper
• Tape
• Tissue Paper Spiders 
• A hallway

• Inspired by several different spy movies, this game asks players to weave their way through a hallway of dangerous spider webs!
• To make this obstacle course, string black and white crepe paper, the "web", along a hallway.  Use heavy duty tape to secure the crepe paper to walls, and dangle tissue paper spiders from the ceiling for extra effect. Encourage the kiddos at your party to make it through the web without touching the crepe paper!

pumpkin hunt

Ingredients

• 30-40 miniature pumpkins
• An assortment of Halloween buckets for players
• Prizes

• Just like a traditional Easter egg hunt, hide a bunch of miniature pumpkins in your home or backyard.  
• Instead of having the kids use Easter baskets, give them Halloween trick-or-treat buckets you can find at any drug or dollar store.
• Be sure to hand out prizes for the participants who find the most pumpkins! Think about awarding prizes for different age groups, too, so the little ones aren’t left out!  
• Let each player take home one of the pumpkins, too.  They are great themed favors!

impossible pumpkin drawing

Ingredients

• Orange Balloons
• Tape
• Black Markers
• Timer

• Set the timer for five minutes, and Ready, Set, Go!
• In five minutes, each player must blow up their balloon (and tie it), tape the balloon to a hard surface (like a table or wall), and draw a jack-o-lantern face on the balloon with a black marker using only their mouths!
• The race to finish this game will produce some very silly balloons!  Make sure to award prizes for Silliest and Scariest Faces as well as Best Overall.

glow in the dark spider search

Ingredients

• Several bags of glow in the dark spiders
• Baskets or plastic bags

• In a closed room (such as a basement or playroom), hide glow in the dark spiders much like an Easter egg hunt.  Make sure that each spider is at least partially visible.
• Have the players come in the room, and turn out the lights!  They have to hunt down all the creepy crawlies, which is made much easier because they’ll be glowing, and the participant with the most spiders at the end wins!
• TIP: Make sure to make the room a safe place for this game by removing anything players might trip over.

there's a snake in this parachute!

Ingredients

• Play Parachute
• Timer
• Several bags of fake snakes

• Many adults look back and think fondly of the days when the play parachute made its appearance during elementary gym class.  Add an element of fear and danger (not really) to a parachute game with this Halloween twist!
• Have one participant stand on the parachute (in the center) while all the other players hold the edges.  Put several bags of snakes in the parachute with the participant.  
• Have the other players shake the parachute edges, causing the snakes to fly up in the air.  The participant needs to catch as many snakes as they can in 30 seconds.  The player that catches the most snakes wins!
• Consider adapting this game by having people team up. This works especially well if you have many players.

pumpkin pinata with balloons

Ingredients

• Halloween Candy
• Orange and Black Balloons
• Tape
• Straight Pins

• Make your own twist on a piñata with balloons!  Much like how players pop balloons with darts like at a carnival, you’ll be making a wall of balloons filled with candy!
• Put 2-3 pieces of candy in 20-25 orange balloons and 5-10 green balloons, and then blow the balloons up and tie them off.
• Tape the balloons to a bare wall in the shape of a pumpkin (use the green balloons for the stem).  
• Give each player a straight pin, and allow them to pop several balloons for candy prizes!   
• Consider placing higher level prizes (like a five dollar bill) in one or two of the balloons, so players try to win the “Grand Prize”.
• Try making other shapes as well, like a bat with black balloons (and two red ones for eyes!), or a ghost with white balloons (and two black ones for eyes!).
• Too much work to make your own?  Try a traditional Halloween pinata instead!

halloween face painting

Ingredients

• Face painting kit
• Free Halloween Stencils

• Help your guests and family members get ready for Halloween by dressing them up from head to toe, literally! Set up a face painting station (manned by an adult) at the entrance of your party.  
• Offer full face painting with Halloween stencils (see above) as well as smaller works of art, like pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, and bats.