Children love Halloween, and they love parties, so why not throw a Halloween party for your little one and their friends? Organising a children’s Halloween party is easier than you think, and actually a lot of fun. It’s a perfect bonding experience for you and your child, so get them involved in lots of aspects of the party, and include a few surprises too!
Ask children to come in fancy dress if they’d like to, but you can still have lots of fun if not everyone is dressed up. I have a great fondness for Ceremony clothing as they have some lovely stuff for kids including for parties.
Here are some great tips to get the party started and make it a memorable occasion for everyone.
- Choose the venue. This is most likely to be your home, unless you’re thinking of a mega party for the whole class! Otherwise, home is the perfect place for about 10 – 15 childen, as long as it’s a completely safe environment, with no renovation works going on for example.
- Decorate. This could be done a week in advance so that you’re well prepared. This is some of the best fun to be had, as you can really go to town with spooky cobwebs, balloons and hanging decorations such as bats and other scary creatures. Fake spiders are a classic, must have decoration – try hiding some about the place to give the little ones an unexpected fright! I’ve always been a fan of people spooking up their houses on the outside but have never been brave enough to do it myself. If you’ve got more guts than me, then create a Halloween wreath for the door and a display of orange and purple lights – the best colours for the occasion.
- Spooky food. Party food always goes down well, but Halloween themed party food is even better. Always remember to cater for vegetarians and vegans, so that none of the children will feel excluded. You can always ask parents in advance, so that anyone with religious needs are considered as well as those with allergies. Ideas for food include:
Mini pizzas with cheese strips laid in such a way that they look like mummies. Include a small olive cut in half for the eyes.
Wrap sausage meat with pastry, leaving just a small bit poking out to make witches fingers.
Layer jelly in plastic cups – orange, blackcurrent and lime, to create a three tiered jelly in traditional Halloween colours. I’ve done this before, using pre-made jelly that I melted down and layered carefully. They just look amazing! - DVDs. Having a few short on-theme DVDs will make the party go even smoother. You’ll appreciate the break to tidy up a little bit after the kids have eaten and prepare other things for the day. Great titles include “Shrek Halloween” and “Snoopy and the Great Pumpkin”.
- Games. Just do a Google search and you’ll find hundreds of Halloween game ideas. There’s a simple ring toss game where you have five cardboard witches hats fixed to a board, and the kids have to throw as many rings onto the hats as they can for a prize. ‘Mystery bowls’ is another good one, where there are large covered bowls filled with anything like worms (beansprouts), eyeballs (fake ones, you could later use as lucky dip prizes) or brains (boiled spaghetti), to get the kids feeling really grossed out. Netmums have a great list of other game ideas for Halloween.
- Party Bags. These are a must, to give the children a lasting memory of the party and something nice to keep for themselves. The classic contents of a party bag are: sweets, stickers, badges and spooky toys like little spiders and bats. It’s also nice to include a small slice of the Halloween cake. The kids might be too full to eat cake at the party, so taking it back home with them gives them something to look forward to for the next day.
Throwing a Halloween party doesn’t have to be scary for you, but follow my tips and it should be scary enough for the children, and they won’t forget it!