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Twin Cities Mom Collective

Games & Activities for the Perfect Halloween Party for Little Kids

One of my favorite parts of being a mom is making the holidays a bit more magical for my kids. This can be as simple as reading holiday-themed books or as grand as throwing a party filled with age-appropriate activities and games. In this post, I want to focus on the latter by sharing some of my favorite ideas for planning a perfect Halloween party for little kids.

Activities

Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is a great way to entertain kids of all ages for a while and requires minimal prep. A quick Google, Pinterest, or Etsy search will bring up a ton of printable clues you can print and cut at home, or take it a step further and create your own using Canva. Grab some extra candy and little toys to hide and enjoy the fun as your kids search the house to find their prizes.

“Monster” Cookie Decorating

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of Halloween-shaped cutouts, this is the perfect idea for you! Prepare or purchase your favorite sugar cookie dough, roll into a ball, flatten with the bottom of a cup, and bake according to the directions. While your cookies are baking, prepare your frosting by separating them into multiple bowls and adding food coloring in desired colors (e.g., orange, purple, green). Set out sprinkles and candy eyeballs and let each child decorate their own monsters.

Create a Witches Wand

This is a fun little DIY that only needs a few supplies but has endless potential. First, search your yard for some straight-ish sticks or grab some wood dowels at your local craft store. Next, set out some paint, sequins, glitter, ribbon, or yarn and encourage kids to decorate their own witch wands.

Pro-mom tip: grab a plastic table cloth at your local dollar store to keep the paint and glitter contained for easy cleanup!

Halloween-Themed Sensory Bin

Sensory bins are a great way to keep kids entertained and encourages the use of fine motor skills. My favorite base for sensory bins for littles (who still tend to put things in their mouths) is Jello. Add in some little toys (e.g., mini bats, eyeballs, bones, etc.) and scoops, and let your young kids squish, scoop and dig to their hearts’ content.

For slightly older kids, create a little science experiment with a witches brew/potion sensory bin. I love the idea of using a cauldron, but any bowl or dish should work.

Start by adding some baking soda to the bottom of your dish. Next, fill some glasses or containers with vinegar and add a few drops of food coloring to each. Set out additional containers with different “ingredients” the kids can add to their brew (little eyeballs, fingers, bats, bones, glitter, sequins, etc.). Now let the experience begin! Grab some droppers and have the kids make the magic happen by squirting the colored vinegar into the baking soda mixture for a fun, bubbly surprise!

You can also do this the opposite way but adding the vinegar to your dish first and adding in the baking soda with little spoons. I guarantee they’ll love the reaction they get either way!

Pumpkin decorating

A classic Halloween activity that requires minimal effort. I think the easiest way to decorate pumpkins with little kids is with paint. Pick up some acrylic paint in the spookiest colors and let the kids go to it. Then, step it up by laying out some glue and sequins for older kids to use as decoration.

Pro-mom tip 1: Search for glow-in-the-dark paint for a fun nighttime surprise!

Pro-mom tip 2: If you don’t want to deal with paint, check your local craft store for DIY decorating kits. This option allows kids to turn their pumpkins into unicorns, cats, witches, etc., with a lot less mess.

Games

Pumpkin Pong

This fun game allows kids to use their gross motor skills by tossing a ping pong ball into a pumpkin bucket. To set up, all you need is 4-6 pumpkin trick-or-treat buckets and a few ping pong balls. Depending on the kids’ ages, set up buckets in a line or in a triangle shape and see how many balls they can make in the buckets.

Roll & Draw a Monster

Encourage your kids to showcase their artistic abilities by drawing a monster based on rolling dice.

For this one, all you need is construction paper, markers or crayons, and a dice. You will also need a printable key that identifies what the kids should draw based on what face of the dice they roll (Pinterest and Etsy have tons of these templates). Have each child roll the dice and reference the template to draw their own monster.

Witches Hat Ring Toss

This game requires minimal prep and can be reused for years. First, you will need to purchase some sport training cones (like the smaller version of the orange traffic cones), black spray paint, and glow necklaces. To create your witch’s hat, spray paint your cones with the black paint. Once dried, use the glow stick necklaces to toss over the cones and see how many the kids can make.

Pro-mom tip: Make this educational for older kids by adding point values to the “hats.” Have them add up their score for each ring they land.

Halloween Bingo

I don’t know about you, but bingo is a game that I will never turn down when I have the opportunity to play. To make it more kid-friendly and Halloween-themed, find bingo boards that use photos instead of numbers. Search Amazon or Etsy for Halloween-themed boards (I’ve also seen Dollar Tree and Target carry holiday-themed bingo kits, too) and grab some candies to use as markers.

Pass a Treat Dice Game

This is a fun game for younger kids to practice counting and to learn their left from right. First, create a key with 6 instructions the kids need to follow (one for each dice side). Some ideas include having everyone pass a treat to the right, steal a piece from the person on your left and make two people swap.

To start the game, give each child a pile of candy and/or toys and have them sit in a circle (preferably at a table). Then, have each child roll the dice and figure out what they need to do with their treats. You can set a timer or have each child get a certain number of turns – it’s up to you on how you want to end!

I hope these activities and games have sparked some excitement for planning your next Halloween party for little kids. 

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