Halloween parties make a great alternative to Trick or Treating and can be fabulous fun for all ages. We have put together 8 easy Halloween Party games for school aged kids to really get the ghosts, witches and zombies in the party spirit!
Donut chomp
Hang round donuts from tree branches or beams, children must try and eat them with their hands behind their back.
Scary story relay
Have the start of a scary story ready to tell to the children, set the scene (eg it was a dark moonless night…) then each child in the circle takes a turn to add to the next part of the story.
Ghouly guessing
Set up 4 bowls and put a t-towel or dark cloth over each, so the children can’t’ see the contents. Label each bowl and insert the following contents. Eyeballs (peeled grapes), brains (damp coarse sponge), veins (cold cooked spaghetti) and cut off fingers (cocktail sausages). Each child should write down what they think is really in the bowls after they feel it– compare answers at the end. The fun is seeing their faces as they touch the contents of the bowls!!
Spider tag
This game is all about that feeling that you get when you think a spider has just crawled on your back. Stick some plastic spiders to some wooden clothes pegs. Each guest gets one as they walk in. During the party each guest has to try and put the spider on someone without them knowing. If they get caught doing it they have to do a dare from the ‘dare bucket’ but if not, they call out “SPIDER TAG” and start counting down from 5. Everyone has to check their clothes for the spider, if they can’t find it before the countdown ends then the one who has been ‘tagged’ has to do the dare!
Wink Murder
Sounds horrible but is a lot of fun for groups of kids. All the children sit in the circle and one child, the ‘detective’, leaves the room. While the detective is gone one of the other guests is chosen as the ‘murderer’. When the detective is called back in to the room, the murderer starts to ‘murder’ the other guests by winking at them. If they are winked at the children must pretend to die (brings out all budding actors and actresses). The detective has to guess who is the murderer before all the children are ‘murdered’. Get this game even more into the Halloween spirit by turning out the lights and having each child shine a torch up form under their chin!
Mummy Wrap
Buy the bulk pack of toilet paper for this one! Divide guests into 2 teams and each one has to wrap one of their team members in the toilet paper - there doesn’t have to be a winner just great fun trying!
Pickup
This is great fun with older kids. All the guests stand in a circle with their back facing into the centre of the circle. They then link arms. Drop the ‘prize’ in the middle of the circle – the winner is whoever can pick up the prize – but arms must stay linked!
Bobbing for apples
Perhaps one of the most traditional Halloween games, but probably better suited to our (almost) summer weather in the southern hemisphere! Put stemmed apples into a large bucket (it has to have a wide opening) of cold water. Children take turns trying to get apples with their teeth, while their hands are behind their back – anyone who gets one deserves a prize! Need it a little yuckier?? Use Brussel sprouts in red cordial!!!
