Planning a Halloween party for your children can be fun and an opportunity to exercise your creativity.  However, there are several things that should be planned ahead of time for the party to run smoothly.  Also remember that you will be holding a party for kids that are already extremely excited about the holiday and their attention span will most likely be shorter than normal

Rather than taking the militant approach and watching for infraction, a better way to maintain control is to provide plenty of distractions and to direct their attention to fun activities.   Party games are an excellent way of guiding the activies of your guests.

One tried and true Halloween party game is called Mummy Wrap.  Not only is it fun and easy, but it is also inexpensive.  Separate your guests into small groups with several rolls of toilet paper.  Have them designate one person in each group to be the “mummy.”  When you say, “Go,” the teams frantically begin to wrap their “mummy.”  The first group to completely wrap the mummy is the winner.

Even the most familiar party games, such as  musical chairs, can be given a spooky feel by turning of the lights and using candlelight and playing scary Halloween music.  The chairs can add to the theme by draping them with black cloth or spraying them with cobwebs.

And don’t forget the music. You can easily find Halloween music in the nearest record store or download mp3’s from the internet.   For more fun, you can ask the kids to dance in a “monstery” or ghoulish kind of way. You can even give a prize to the kid that will give the best monster dance.

Don’t forget to give prizes to your game winners. This will encourage them to participate in the next games.

Another popular game which is suitable for either a Halloween party or a Fall Festival theme is “Building a Scarecrow.”  Teams of children use pillow cases, rope, old clothes, newspaper, cardboard and markers to create their own scarecrow.  If you have enough teams, you can give several prizes such as “Most Traditional,”  “Scariest,” and “Most Likely to Have a Brain” (think the Wizard of Oz.)

You can borrow an activity from Easter and turn it into your own haunted Halloween hunt by hiding candy around the house and letting the children search for it.  Hide special prizes as well.  Some can be “good” prizes, and others can be “bad,” such as candy eggs filled with play slime or other gag gifts.

A Halloween party wouldn’t be complete without a scary storytime.  If children are younger, it would probably be best to stick to a book that won’t give them nightmares.  If they are older, sit in a circle and let each of them have a turn at telling their own favorite scary story.

There are other ghoulish Halloween party games that can still do. Just remember that this is the children’s day and your objective is to have them enjoy the day.

By Joyce Calcano
www.mypartyplanningsecrets.com