Halloween party games for children
At toucanBox HQ we love Halloween! And there’s no better way to get into the spooky spirit (pun intended) than with uproarious Halloween games for kids, as well as adults. As is toucanBox tradition, we host a huge Halloween party. We always invite the team members’ kids to join the party, so we need to make sure that the games work well for all. At least up until the last child is standing. Afterwards we may go to some more adult-only games including a drink or two…
We’ve compiled a list of spooky Halloween party games suitable for kids. Halloween can include so much more than just trick-or-treating and costumes. So why not include some ghoulish games to your Halloween party this year?
How crafting helps your child's development
1) Candy Suck-it-up Game (with Mask!)
One of our most famous games, as it’s not only hilarious for the person taking part, but everyone watching it, too. The competitor steps up to their mark, places the scary mask over their face and positions the straw. When the timer starts they have to suck candy pieces from one container into the other. The one who transports the most candy pieces wins! And as an audience memer, if you’re feeling peckish you won’t have to wait long - and piece of candy that drops on the table can be snatched away and gobbled up. It makes clearing up afterwards easier, too!
You will need:
- Small candies like Smarties
- Two tall glasses (maybe you adjust the game according to the age of the child and rather use two plates for the younger ones)
- Straws
- A mask that covers the face but has a hole for the mouth for the extra fun
- A timer
Prepare the game:
- Pour about 40 Smarties or other candies into one glass
- Place the second glass next to the first
- Set the timer for one minute
Play the game:
- Pop on the mask
- Place a straw through the mask and into your mouth
- Use the straw to suck up a candy, then transfer it to the empty glass
- If you dropped a candy, you can try to pick it up with the straw before it ends up in somebody else’s mouth
You have one minute to transfer as many candies as you can!
2) Pin the smile on the Jack-O-Lantern
You probably know the kids game "Pin The Tail On The Donkey". How about changing it into the spirit of a Halloween game and use a pumpkin instead of a donkey and a mouth instead of the tail?
You will need:
- Large orange circle (if you make this out of paper, cover the front side with sticky back plastic so it doesn’t tear between turns)
- Black paper
- Blu-tack or tape
- Blindfold
Prepare the game:
- Hang the orange circle on a wall
- Cut out two eyes, one nose and a mouth from the black paper
- Tape the eyes and nose to the orange circle to create a grin-less Jack-o-Lantern
- Stick some blu-tack or tape onto the back of the mouth
Play the game:
- Blindfold one player so they can’t see
- Hand the player the sticky mouth
- Spin the player 3 times, then send the player off to try to pin the mouth on the Jack-o-Lantern
The person closest to the correct location wins.
3) Dangling Doughnuts
An especially popular Halloween party game for kids is the dangling doughnuts. Okay, who are we kidding: it’s especially popular for adults too. Every single year it reduces us all to tears, both watching and playing. Our top tip? Make sure that you don’t have a nice carpet under where you play the game. Maybe put some paper down. It’s going to get crumby.
You will need:
- String
- Doughnuts (you could buy mini-doughnuts for the kids to avoid a sugar overload)
- Rubber bands or another string to tie up the hands behind the player’s back
Prepare the game:
- Secure a long length of string between two trees if you play outside, or two stable objects like chairs if you’re indoors
- Ensure the string is above head height when the contestants are kneeling down
- Tie each doughnut to a piece of of string
- Using the string, tie each doughnut onto the main string. Make sure the doughnuts are dangling at the right height Space out the doughnuts so there is enough room for one person per doughnut
- Tie together the hands of the players behind their backs so that no one can touch the doughnuts.
Play the game:
- Each player gets underneath a doughnut
- On your marks, get set, eat! The first one to finish their doughnut wins
- If you want to make the game even harder (or more fun) you can set a penalty for doughnuts or pieces that dropped on the floor. How about picking up the pieces with the mouth performing press-ups?
- The person to eat the entire doughnut first wins the game
4) Fly Trap
Following the Halloween-mood you can set up a Fly Trap game where the players try to throw their “flies” through a scary spider’s web without getting caught.
You will need:
- A Hula-hoop
- Strong tape (masking tape, duct tape or packing tape will do)
- Cotton balls or pompoms (these will be your flies)
- Timer
Prepare the game:
- Wrap the tape onto the hula-hoop in a spider-web pattern leaving enough space to be able to throw a ball through the gaps. Try to make the sticky side of the tape face one way
- Hang the hoop with the sticky side of the tape facing out to the players
Play the game:
- Designate a spot for players to stand
- Set the timer for one minute Toss as many “flies” as you can through the spider web without sticking
- Make this more challenging by having one player guard the web by holding and moving it to try to catch the flies
5) Halloween cookie decoration
Another classic kid’s party game transformed into a Halloween game: cookie decoration! The good thing about it is, despite many other Halloween games and the overall sugar-load which comes with Halloween parties, the kids are very often keen to keep the decorated cookies to take them home, show them to their family and save them for the next day. It can be a great little alternative to party bags, particularly if you have little bags that they can be taken home in.
You will need:
- Plain digestive biscuits (or any plan cookies of your choice)
- Icing - in different colours
- Food colouring
- Halloween-style sprinkles
- A timer, aprons and a washable table cloth
- Paper and a pen if you want to make the game competitive and let everyone judge which cookie looks the best.
Prepare the game:
- Place the cookies and decoration tools out on a food-friendly surface
- If you have food colouring you could make some coloured icing. Add a few spoonfuls of icing sugar to a bowl, add a couple of drops of water and a couple of drops of food colouring. Mix it together. If it’s too runny add more icing sugar; if it’s too thick add a drop of water
Play the game:
- If you have enough space to get the kids round the decoration table, get everyone to decorate the Halloween cookies at the same time to prevent stealing ideas from each other. If that’s not possible, give everyone the same amount of time to finish their creations
- Set the timer to 3-5 minutes and let everyone - or the first group - start to decorate the cookies at the same time Put the finished cookies aside to set
- As soon as everyone has created their cookie, add a piece of paper with a number to each cookie and secretly ask each person to choose their favorite cookie. Of course, you’re not allowed to pick your own one.
When it's finally time to go out and do some trick or treating...
Download our instructions on how to craft a unique mummy holder for your sweets to round up your overall costume.
Safety Guide "Mummy Sweet Holder"
We have created a kid's friendly safety guide which you can print out and study with your child before the big Trick or Treating night. No matter how much fun Trick or Treating is: We all want our kids to come home safely.
Safety Guide "Trick or Treating"
SHARE YOUR CREATIONS WITH US
We’d love to see your creations, so why not share them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #toucanBox. Our favourite snaps could feature in the next issue of toucanBox Magazine!
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