Halloween parties are almost always fun … there's something about dressing up that makes you want to let your hair down and have a good time. And it's one of the few parties you can throw with games that are fun for kids and grownups alike!
Bobbing for apples and feeling gross stuff can get a little old, though. Here's a bunch of fresh ideas for games that will be fun for all ages.
Spiderweb tangle: In one room close to the opening of the party, or maybe where you're putting coats, get as many lengths of string or yarn as you have guests and attach a treat or take-home favor to one end. Wind the strings around the furniture, tape to the ceiling or walls, etc. until you have a scary-looking spiderweb. When guests arrive, hand them the free end of one of the pieces and have them follow it to the treat at the end.
Shrunken head bobbing for apples: Instead of plain apples, carve faces in peeled apples so they look like shrunken heads. You can dry them to look even creepier or use as-is.
Pin the face on the pumpkin: Cut out face parts for several pumpkins from sticky-backed paper, line them up, and send your blindfolded guests to make a jack-o-lantern face. Take a picture of each guest with their handiwork after.
Owl beanbag toss: Cover paint cans or buckets with this cute owl design, and have guests try to get beanbags inside. You can also assign points to each one and award prizes for the highest number of points.
Mummy wrap: Divide guests into teams and have each one choose the person to be "mummified." Hand each team a roll of toilet paper. The first one to wrap their mummy wins!
Murder mystery: For older kids or adults, you can play a spooky murder mystery game … you can buy murder mystery kits to make it easier. There are also non-murder mystery games for younger kids or tamer crowds.
Squash bowling: This is a fun outdoor game. Replace the pins with butternut squash and the ball with a small round pie pumpkin. You can applique numbers or just leave them be.
Hay bale maze: If you have room outside this is fun and not scary for little kids in the way a big maze can be. Create an easy maze course out of hay bales stacked one or two high, so kids can see where they are if they get lost. Prizes can be given for the fastest one through the maze. You can also use sidewalk chalk or rope to lay out the course if hay makes you sneeze!
What's your favorite Halloween party game?
image via talese_estelle/Flickr
