Wacky Witch Relay
Give each child something they can use as a broomstick – you can pick up toy broomsticks in most pound shops around Halloween, or use what you have to hand – a sweeping brush, wrapping paper roll, even a plastic lightsabre would work. In a large space, set up a relay track with a few obstacles, such as chairs, buckets and cones. Split the kids into two teams with a ball each. The teams have to ride their brooms while pushing the ball around the obstacles from one end of the track to the other and back again to let the next team mate go. The first team with all children back to the start wins.
Mummy Wrap
Split your guests into groups of three or four. The teams are given a roll of toilet paper each, and they have to ‘mummify’ a team member as fast as possible.
Wriggly Worm Hunt
This is a slightly more gruesome version of bobbing for apples. Fill the biggest container you can find with slimy green jelly, and pack the jelly with Halloween themed sweets like gummy worms and chocolate frogs or some creepy plastic toys such as fingers, bats and eyeballs. With their hands behind their backs, kids have to dive face first into the jelly – if they retrieve something, they get a prize.
NB Do not use any small plastic toys in the Wriggly Worm Hunt that could potentially be swallowed by small children.
Guess the Ghostie
Arrange the kids sitting in a big circle. Put some music on, blindfold one child who goes around the circle touching the other children’s heads. When the music stops, the child that the person has their hands on must let out a ghostly wail. The blindfolded person must try and guess who it is. If they guess correctly, they swap around. If not they go around the circle again.
Mr Skeleton
This game takes a bit of prep work before your party begins. Buy (or draw) a simple skeleton on sturdy poster board or cardboard, and cut out each of the bones separately. Make enough so each relay team has a full set of skeleton parts.
Divide your players into teams. Place each set of bones at the opposite end of the room or yard. Have the first member from each team line up, and, at the whistle, race across to grab a piece of skeleton, race back, and tag the next team member. The first team to get every piece and assemble their skeleton together correctly wins.
Photo Booth Fun
Capture all of your guests’ creepy and creative costumes with a fun Halloween photo booth. On a clear wall, stick up sheets of black paper decorated with cats, spiders and pumpkins in coloured paper. If you like, you can provide props such as witches hats, googly eye glasses or signs that read ‘Boo’ and ‘Happy Halloween!’ Don’t forget to tell everyone to pull their scariest, craziest faces!
Wink Murder
No Halloween party is complete without a game of murder. Get the kids to sit in a circle with their eyes closed and touch the head of one child to mark them as the ‘murderer’. Once your killer knows who he or she is, the game can begin! The killer has to wink at the other children, one at a time to ‘murder’ them. If a child is winked at, they have to slump to the floor and play dead – the more dramatics the better! At any time, a player can guess who the killer is by saying, “I would like to make an accusation.” If they are wrong, they have to play dead, if they guess correctly, a new killer is chosen, all victims are revived, and a new game begins.
Sleeping Zombies
An easy take on the party game standard and a great method to get all your little monsters to calm down towards the end of the party. All the little zombies must lie down on the floor, as still as they possibly can. If someone moves so much as a zombie finger – they’re out!