Halloween is rapidly approaching! Whether you’ve got plans for the neighborhood to eat, drink, and be scary at your house, or you plan to keep it low key with your closest family members, you’ve probably begun to question how you will keep them entertained. Good party games are always a crowd pleaser, but it can be difficult to keep your mix of games from growing stale. If you can’t stand to spend another year dumping cold spaghetti into buckets and pretending it’s worms, or submerging your face in water while trying to sink your teeth in an apple, I have some suggestions for you! These fun games are great for several age groups and can easily be modified to fit your particular crowd. We’re hosting some family from out of town this year and we will be playing most, if not all, of these silly games!
GHOST HUNT
To play this game you will need to trace and cut out several simple ghost shapes out of poster board or craft foam. You can draw on a little face, but not necessary. Hide the little ghosts all throughout a space. If you’re really comfortable with your party guests, you can stash the ghosts in closets and under furniture (the more dust, the creepier). Divide guests up in singles or small teams and pass out flashlights. Turn off the lights and send everyone off into the dark to look for ghosts. Award a small prize for the person or team who spots the most.
HALLOWEEN CHARADES
Charades is a classic party game! You can keep this one really simple for younger kids by having them act out characters like a mummy or werewolf. Up the ante to make things way more interesting for adults and teens by having players act out more complex scenarios. For example, a witch getting a pedicure, a mummy eating potato chips, a zombie bowling, Frankenstein on a plane, etc. Let the laughter ensue!
KAZOO THAT TUNE
This is seriously one of the best party games for any occasion! Before the party, write down a list of songs on small pieces of paper and put them in a jar or bowl. A few Halloween themed songs are plenty to keep it with the theme without going overboard. Think Monster Mash, Thriller, etc. If playing with young children, try to pick enough kid-friendly songs to keep them interested. The theme song to their favorite cartoon, or Disney tunes are great for this. Each player takes turns drawing a song out of the hat. They then have to play it on the kazoo and get their team to guess the right song. For each correct guess the team is awarded a point. The team with the most points wins! I had an extra kazoo that I covered in gold spray paint as a trophy to give the winning team. Bragging rights works just as well!
SCARECROW STUFF-A-THON
What you will need:
2 button down long sleeve shirts the same size (boys’ juniors are a nice size)
2 pairs of jeans the same size
2 hats
2 plastic jack o lanterns (for the head)
2 chairs
2 boxes, crates or containers roughly the same size
A whole bunch of other distractions
Bales of hay or old newspapers
6-10 players divided into 2 teams
The object of the game is for your teams to race to stuff and assemble a scarecrow. To do this you will need to set up stations for each team with all of the supplies they will need. To make things more challenging stuff all of the supplies they will need in a big box of other items they won’t need like scarves, ribbons, old shoes, fabric scraps, recycled material, etc. Participants will have to dig through the boxes to find what they need. The first team to assemble their scarecrow wins. The scarecrow must have jeans and shirt with stuffing plus the jack o lantern head with a hat to be considered complete. To make it easier, have guests prop their scarecrow up in a lawn chair. As an alternative to racing, give a set time limit like 20 minutes and have teams try to build the most creative scarecrow with whatever supplies are in their box.
THE WITCHY 500
Basically, participants are going to race while riding a broom and wearing a witch hat. The track can be whatever you’d like it to be (ex: across the backyard, around the oak tree twice and back to the starting line). Participants MUST cross the finish line still wearing their hat and riding their broom. If you have enough people, you can play this relay style where players pass off the broom and hat to their teammates. I’d suggest hitting up the dollar tree for the hats. They are really light weight and will probably fly off a few times before your players finish the race, which adds to the excitement!
FEED THE PUMPKIN
What would Halloween be without candy? Instead of just giving it away, make a game of it! You will need a large pumpkin with a mouth cut toward the bottom. You’ll want the opening to be fairly large. Have players pick 3-5 pieces of candy of their choice out of a bucket. Tell them that they can keep however many pieces they can successfully toss into the pumpkin’s mouth. Adjust the length of the toss for varying age groups. Toddlers can be less than a couple feet away, older kids 3-4 feet back and adults maybe 5 feet away. Let all players walk away with one piece of candy for trying, or they can try again! This is a great small game for trick-or-treating kiddos that come knocking at your door as well!
Does your family have a fun, festive game you play every year? Please share it with me! I’d love to hear about it!
Wishing everyone a very happy and safe Halloween!
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