simple halloween party ideas

Halloween is coming up soon! I volunteered to plan my son’s school Halloween party so I’ve been looking for simple crafts, snacks and games that can be done on a budget in a fairly short time frame.  Here are a few activities we’ve done in the past that were simple and fun.

Juice box mummies.  Just wrap up juice boxes in white crepe paper and add sticky googly eyes.  Most age groups can make this themselves but for the toddler set, I recommend making them ahead of time and just using them as a snack.

Play doh with Halloween cookie cutters.  This is such a simple one for young kids and something they can do on their own.  I’ve shared one of my favorite homemade scented play dough recipes before (here) and it’s super easy to make a bright orange play dough to keep with the Halloween theme.

Mummy wrap game.  There are multiple ways to play this game but the kids seems to have a blast with any variation!  This year, we are planning on a mummy race for my son’s 5th grade class.  Each group of 4 will have one “mummy” and three “wrappers”.  Each wrapper runs around the mummy with a roll of toilet paper until the toilet paper is gone.  Then the “mummy” has to race down the hall.  ***They must clean up before getting a prize:).  In the picture above, the toilet paper just needed to be gone–no racing necessary.

Push pin art. My preschool son LOVED doing this push pin art.  Use a pin or point of a paper clip and press into the dots to make a picture.  This is a great fine motor activity for preschoolers and they tend to love it.

I like to keep things fairly simple for party planning.  My biggest tip is to keep things age appropriate.  In the ideas here, I’d say the push pin art and play doh are best for preschoolers whereas the mummy wrap is better for older kids.  Juice boxes are good for anyone:)  And my favorite snacks for Halloween parties are donuts and cider–it’s simple for parents to pick up at the store and kids love it!  If you want to add something a bit healthier, apple slices or clementines with a jack-o-lantern face drawn on the peel are also easy and delicious!

Do you have any favorite tips or activities for Halloween parties?