Halloween parties can be great fun with a minimum of effort, so this is the perfect holiday to practice simplifying your life! Remember what you loved about Halloween as a kid and use that image to create a fun night for your kids and their friends. Bet there were no strobe lights, fog machines or electronic monsters — probably just costumes, fun food and jack-o-lanterns. Here are a few ideas to help get your party started.
Decorations
Forgo the expensive decorations. Go for simplicity and let the kids help. The place will still look festive, and the kids will feel so proud that they contributed.
You can’t get more basic than black and orange balloons and crepe paper. Let the kids help decide where to hang everything, and if they are old enough, let them help blow up the balloons.
Pull pages from a Halloween coloring book and glue to construction paper. Have the kids color and cut out the figures. Punch a hole in the top for a small loop of string and hang.
Give older kids a variety of craft supplies and ask them to make decorations. They may need a little help getting started, but then let their imaginations take over.
Use the party favors (see ideas below) as additional decorations, but don’t forget to let the guests take them home afterward!
Activities
Let the guests decorate the ghost cookies (see recipe) with black and orange gel icing in tubes. They can give the ghosts grins, curly locks, shades, mohawks, etc. The best art is edible art!
Costume contests are always a winner. Give awards for cutest, scariest and most creative. For young children, awards can be as simple as plastic spiders or a page of Halloween stickers.
Ask party guests to bring a decorated or carved pumpkin and give an award to the best. OR provide guests with miniature pumpkins, markers and paint. After they have embellished their pumpkins, award the best effort.
Other Tips
Add to the festive mood by putting in a Halloween CD. They are inexpensive and readily available. And dancing will most likely become a bonus activity.
Kids love it when you show your fun side! Don a costume and join the party!
The dollar stores are a great place to save money on party favors, awards, decorations, tablecloths, plates, cups, etc.
Let older kids search the web for party ideas and help with the planning process. You may be surprised by their creativity.
Party Favors
Ghost Lollipops
Wrap a lollipop with a 6-8” square of white fabric. Use white thread or a rubber band to secure. Add eyes with a black marker.
Spider Pops
Wrap four black pipe cleaners around the base of a Tootsie Pop. Bend ends to create “feet.” You could also add stick-on googley eyes. For smaller spiders, use Dum Dums and cut two pipe cleaners in half for smaller legs.
Recipes
Easy Ghost Cookies
Ingredients:
Nutter Butter cookies
White Chocolate
Black gel icing
Greased cookie sheet
Directions:
Melt white chocolate in microwave, stirring often.
Using tongs, dip cookies into chocolate until covered.
Place on greased cookie sheet and pour chocolate over any bare spots.
Chill until set.
Put two dots of black icing on each for eyes.
Easy Caramel Apples
Ingredients:
4 Granny Smith apples, stems removed
4 popsicle sticks
14-oz. bag caramels
2 tbsp. water
Greased cookie sheet
Chopped nuts (optional)
Milk or dark chocolate squares (optional)
Directions:
Push stick into top of clean dry apple, from stem base to center.
Microwave caramels and water in large bowl on high, stirring often.
Dip apples into hot caramel, turning to coat thoroughly.
Nut lovers: roll coated apples in chopped nuts before caramel has set.
Chocolate lovers: melt chocolate in small bowl (a Pyrex measuring cup works great), stirring often. Pour thin lines of chocolate onto coated apples as caramel begins to set.
Place coated apples on greased cookie sheet and chill in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes until set. Store in refrigerator.
