With Halloween right around the corner, it’s time to decide what delightfully devilish things to do for the upcoming holiday. You may enjoy trying something new this year instead of the standard costume party. Whether you’re inviting toddlers, teens, or in-betweens, you can create a fun alternative Halloween party. Choose one of these clever ideas to throw a unique and memorable holiday party your guests won’t forget.
Themed Party
Photo by Bekir Dönmez on Unsplash
Host a themed party that’s not Halloween-related. A themed party can be a lot of fun because it adds a twist to the challenge of coming up with a costume. It also makes menu planning more fun since you can unleash your creativity in coming up with dishes and food ideas. If you love the sunshine and beach, throw a luau and make bright punch and fruit dishes. You could have a themed costume party, such as heroes vs. villains, or invite guests to come as their favorite book or cartoon character.
Kids will be excited to help with the planning and decorating for the party, allowing them to get involved with the preparation and exercise their creativity. Choose a specific theme for toddlers and young children, such as a favorite animated movie or an imaginary animal party where kids come dressed as fantastic creatures like fairies, mermaids, unicorns, or dragons. Middle schoolers might enjoy an outer space, fairy tale, or circus party instead of the traditional Halloween party.
Scary Movie Night
Host a scary movie night instead of a Halloween party, and feature one or two age-appropriate scary films. Prepare small bags of popcorn and a selection of fun-size candy, and let the kids pick their snacks like they would in a movie theater. If you have children in two distinct age groups, you could choose to set up two separate movie rooms. Play movies appropriate for the younger group in one room and feature scarier flicks suitable for teenagers in the other room.
Pumpkin Decorating Party
Kids of all ages can enjoy a pumpkin decorating party. A pumpkin decorating party could especially work for younger children who might struggle with sharp objects. They will love painting a pumpkin or decorating mini pumpkins or gourds. Provide sequins, googly eyes felt, pipe cleaners, pompoms, and other craft supplies kids can use to decorate small pumpkins.
Throw a pumpkin carving party for older kids who can handle knives and sharp tools. Craft stores sell stencil carving kits, or you could browse online sites and print out several design ideas. Collect the seeds after the kids scoop them out of the pumpkins, rinse and lightly salt them, and bake them while the guests carve their pumpkins. Everybody can nibble on warm, freshly roasted pumpkin seeds when they’ve finished carving. Have small candles ready to place inside the jack-o’-lanterns.
Halloween Pumpkin Hunt
Model the concept of an Easter egg hunt, but instead hide mini pumpkins. You can prepare the hunt in an outdoor space, like the backyard, or indoors in a large family room or basement. You might want to host a party like this at one of Plano’s 85 parks and set it up shortly before the guests arrive. The kids can decorate the pumpkins after the hunt and take them home.
Spooky Scavenger Hunt
You may have participated in a scavenger hunt as a child, and kids today enjoy them just as much. Search online for a scavenger hunt example, purchase a scavenger hunt kit from a craft or party store, or create your own. For younger children, print out pictures or cut photos from magazines for clues about the items they need to find. For older kids, make a scavenger hunt checklist, set up teams, and let them compete to see who can be the first to find all the items on the list.
Backyard Bonfires, Ghost Stories, and S’mores
Invite guests over for a backyard bonfire, snacks, and ghost stories. Provide graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate squares, and let the kids and adults toast marshmallows and make s’mores. Have plenty of wet wipes ready to clean up sticky fingers, serve some hot apple cider, gather around the bonfire, and tell spooky stories.
Dance Party (With Glow Sticks)
Have a dance party and play songs like “Monster Mash” and “Ghostbusters.” You could also find a Halloween playlist or let the guests pick their favorite dance songs. Provide glow sticks and turn off the lights for the Halloween songs. Record videos of the party-goers having fun. After the dancing, provide snacks and share videos of the party highlights. The kids will love viewing their antics afterward.
Rock Painting Party
Instead of decorating pumpkins, host a rock painting party. Find smooth, flat rocks, clean them well, or buy stones from a craft shop or home improvement store. Prepare the rocks with sealer or white primer before painting. Use oil-based paints to decorate the rocks and add details with permanent markers. After the rocks dry, let the children take them home.
Alternatively, hide the painted rocks in a local park for others to find, or head over to the Grapevine Rock Art Trail and add your stones to the trail’s record-setting collection of rocks from around the world.
Family and Friends Game Night
Invite family and friends over for a game night instead of a Halloween party. Play your favorite board games, or try an old-fashioned game of charades. If you enjoy playing cards, you can play hearts, rummy, or the classic game of spoons with a standard deck of cards. To provide a large selection of games, request that each guest bring their favorite one. Your family and friends can discover new favorite games. You might have so much fun you’ll want to host this activity regularly.
The team at Huffines Chevrolet Plano is happy to be a part of the Plano community. Whether you throw a themed party, go on a scavenger hunt, or host a game night, we hope these fun party ideas help you plan an entertaining get-together. Let us know if you choose one of these suggestions for your alternative Halloween party.