Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. When else can you run around at night dressed up with your kiddos asking for candy from strangers? And the decorating possibilities can range from cute and sweet to downright scary!
With my nephew’s birthday and my parent’s anniversary both at the end of October, I know a thing or two about throwing a spooktacular Halloween party for kids of all ages.
Read on for things to keep in mind to ensure your Halloween festivities are a hit.
Things to Keep in Mind for a Festive Halloween Bash
Picking a Theme
With so many possibilities, choosing a theme can be a bit overwhelming. The main thing to keep in mind when choosing a theme is your guests’ age.
For little ones, a Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin, Casper the Friendly Ghost, or cute monster, witches, mummy, or vampire theme can be great.
Teenagers will enjoy more gory or creepy themes, such as zombies or The Walking Dead, vampires, and monsters. For bookworms, a Harry Potter, Goosebumps, or Wizard of Oz theme would be a great choice.
If ever in doubt, a classic orange and black or Jack o’lantern theme can be festive enough.
Halloween Munchies
Food can be a fun way to continue with your party’s theme. You know all those gingerbread man cookies you like baking for Christmas? Well, you can turn them into spooky treats by decorating them into skeletons, mummies, or vampires! I made mummy gingerbread cookies with white icing and black candy for eyes one year and they were a hit!
Grab some lollipops and wrap black construction or crepe paper for capes on spooky vampires or wrap with white crepe paper and color eyes with black marker for fun little ghosts.
We all know Halloween and candy go hand-in-hand. For a healthy snack option, carve out a pumpkin, place a large bowl in it, and fill it with dip for veggie sticks or chips. You can also place a punch bowl in a pumpkin to serve your favorite drink for a festive look. Food coloring can also turn an ordinary beverage into an eerie one!
Mummy dogs or severed finger dogs can be a spooky twist on pigs in a blanket. Homemade pizzas with cheese made to look like a spiderweb and black olives as spiders can be eerily fun.
And what birthday party can be complete without a birthday cake? Bake a cake, (click here for an awesome chocolate spiderweb recipe) or order one from your favorite bakery in your party’s theme.
If a large cake is not your thing, individual cupcakes or cake pops can be a fun take and easy to customize to your spooky theme. I love the idea of a large cupcake for the birthday kiddo and smaller cupcakes for the rest of the guests. It makes it more sanitary for those worried about the sniffles and such.
Spooky Fun Games and Activities
Games and activities can be a great way to keep your guests occupied and can be customized to your bash’s theme. Broom limbo and witches’ hat ring toss can be great for a witchy theme. A mouth toss game made out of a cardboard box can be decorated into a ghost, monster, mummy, witch, or zombie for a fun activity.
One year, I saved a bunch of tin cans and decorated them with my little guy into Frankenstein, mummy, and zombie faces for a spooky fun stackable tin can bowling game! You can have a pumpkin carving or decorating station and make a contest out of it. A dance party or contest can also be great fun!
No halloween birthday bash is complete without face-painting. Bring the spookiness to life by hiring a face-painter to turn the little guests into Zombies, Witches, Ghouls, Ghosts and more.. If you live in one of the Cities Yombu operates in you can easily book a talented artist on our site.
Eerie Ambience (Halloween Party Decor)
I love decorating with twinkle lights! There are so many great options for Halloween, from purple to orange to toxic green to candy corn and even character-themed, the possibilities a so fun! Dim the lights for the best glowy effect.
Try matching your outdoor decorations to your party’s theme for a cohesive look. Paper lanterns can be very versatile. You can make orange jack o’lanterns, white spooky ghosts, black cats or bats, or green zombies or Frankensteins.
Battery-operated candles can also add an eerie glow indoors and out without worrying about the fire hazard.And don’t forget about creating a ghostly fun playlist. You can even have different lists for when guests arrive and the different activities throughout the party.
If you can’t think of any Halloween-themed tracks, Spotify or YouTube have many great lists to choose from.
Final Thoughts
Birthday parties are great fun, but adding a Halloween twist can add so many spooky options to the mix. Choose an eerie theme based on age and have fun creating your spooktacular bash!
Some crazy Halloween stats:
- Billions in Candy Sales: It’s no surprise that we spend billions of dollars on Halloween candy each year. In 2021, the National Retail Federation estimated that total spending on Halloween candy in the U.S. would reach $3 billion.
- Pumpkin Production: The United States produces around 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins each year, with a significant portion of them being carved into jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween.
- Pet Costumes: The trend of dressing up pets for Halloween has been growing, with millions of Americans purchasing costumes for their furry friends. In 2020, the National Retail Federation estimated that about 10% of pet owners would dress up their pets for Halloween.
- Haunted Houses: There are estimated to be over 1,200 professional haunted houses, 300 theme parks with horror-focused events, and 3,000 charity-run haunted houses in the United States.
- Most Popular Costumes: In recent years, characters from movies and TV shows like “Squid Game,” “Money Heist,” and “Stranger Things” have been popular choices. Classic costumes like witches, vampires, and superheroes consistently remain top picks.
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Gave me exactly what I needed. Thanks!.
Glad you liked it. 🙂