BOBBING FOR APPLES

Float apples in a large wash tub filled with water.
The object of this game is to grab one of the apples
and remove it from the water without using your
hands. You must use only your mouth. This is a very
messy, very wet, and very fun game. It is even more
FUN if the stems are removed from the apples.

APPLE SNAPPING

Push a dime or other coin into the side of an apple.
Hang the apple by string from the ceiling. Without
using your hands try to bite the dime from the apple.
This can also be played with two people trying to
bite the dime at the same time. The one who does,
gets to keep the coin.
 

THE BAT CAVE

Divide the Children into Two groups. Select one Contestant
from each of the sides.  Each contestant is given a fan and
a black paper BAT. At the signal to start, each player must
blow the BAT from the fan and then keep it fanned in the
air until they reach the goal line, which is the BAT Cave.
If convenient to provide, a paper homemade bat cave
maybe suspended in one corner of the room or from a
tree if it is a outdoor party. Award goodies to the Side
that gets the most BATS fanned into the Cave.
 

BROOMSTICK JUMP 

Wrap strands of string through the hole in small powdered sugar
donuts or mini bagels and tie in a knot. You need one per player.
Using no more then six donuts at a time, tie the opposite end of each
string to a broomstick.  Vary the length of the strings slightly to
accommodate taller and shorter children.  Have a TALL adult hold the
broomstick parallel to the floor, so that the donuts dangle slightly
above their mouths, without using their hands, Players must jump up and
take bites out of their donut.  First one to eat most of their donut
without letting to much fall on the floor is the winner.

For OLDER Children you can mount it high and place a Fan by it
so they sway.

BUILD A MONSTER

Children are divided randomly into groups of 3 or 4.
Each team gets a large grocery bag of various things.  Throw in
some odd fabric scraps, paper clips, empty egg cartons, foam trays,
spools , craft sticks, bottle caps etc.... Have handy a stack of old
newspapers, tape, safety pins, or a low temperature glue gun if the
children are older for everyone's use.  Each team must create
a monster from the contents of their bag.  After a set amount of time;
20-30 minutes, everyone then votes by screaming for the
BEST monster.
 

COFFIN-TRATION

Place about 20-30 small Halloween Theme items plastic spiders ,
candy corn ,rubber mouse, pumpkin seeds, etc. into a coffin shaped tray
(you can use a basket & line it with a piece of white cloth) OR use a
oval baking dish covered with brown construction paper.  As the children
arrive show them the contents allow them to study it for 10-20 seconds.
Later on give them PAPER and have them list what they saw in the
coffin. The child that guesses the most WINS tray contents.

For smaller children this can be played using a Plastic pumpkin as to not
scare them.
 

GHOST HUNT

     First design a GHOST on a piece of paper as a template.
Trace it onto construction   paper. Cut out 50 or more
(they can be various sizes) and then hide them all over your house,
outdoors or where ever the party is. For the party have everyone
either individually or in pairs go in search of the GHOST.
Turns off the lights!  Make   sure everyone or pairs have a flashlight.
The person or persons returning with the most GHOST wins.
HUMAN SPIDER WEB

Roll up a small ball of black yarn, one for each child, the size of a golf ball.
Have the children stand in a   circle holding their ball.
Tie the yarn around each child's waist and give that
     child the rest of the ball to hold.
Each child, taking turns around the circle, tosses the ball of
yarn to  someone across from him. That child then wraps the yarn
once around him and tosses it to another child
     and so on and so on. When they are done tossing and wrapping
they must now get themselves out of the
     spider web they have made.The first person to unweb him/herself
is the WINNER..
 
 

MONSTER MASH WALK

This game is PLAYED like the Traditional Cake Walk,
This needs to be done in a  large room. Cut out Pictures of Monsters, ghost
or even pumpkins for the younger crowd; Allow the children
to decorate them if they are not colored already. Place the shapes on the floor,
in a huge circle or oval. Ask   everyone ahead of time not to scoot across
these as it will dislodge them. (you may wish to secure them to
the floor with tape) Then put the same shapes in a bowl. Have everyone
line up in a long line and start  playing some eerie Halloween music and have
them walk until music stops. The one on or nearest the  symbol that
     you pull out of the bowl wins  a goodie bag , a decorated pumpkin
or some sort of Halloween goodie. SEE MUSICAL TOMBSTONES
For a VARIATION OF THIS GAME!

MUSICAL TOMBSTONES

          Use spooky Halloween sounds for the music.

     Cut out tombstone shapes from construction paper.
Decorate these with sayings such as "Rest in
     Peace", and "Here lies a Good Man", and so on.
Each player needs a tombstone. Place the tombstones in
     a circle. Each player lies down with his head on the tombstone and his feet
facing out of the circle. When  the music starts, everyone stands up and walks
like a zombie around the circle. While they are walking,
     remove one tombstone. When the music stops, the players must
lie down again with their head on a
     tombstone. The player without a grave is out.

     Repeat the game until only one player remains.
 
 
 

PASS THE ORANGE

Line up in teams. The first person in each team is given an orange to place
under his chin. He must pass the orange to the next in line but
neither may use his hands. The first team to get the orange all the way
to the last person is the winner. If the orange drops, just pick it
up and continue from there.
 
 
 

PIN THE FACE ON THE PUMPKIN

     Using a large piece of orange poster board draw a pumpkin as big as
the poster board. Draw triangle eyes   and nose with a black magic marker.
Using material as a template draw a pumpkin mouth with teeth. Use
     the template to trace on construction paper as many mouths as you
think you will need.

     Blindfold the person playing giving them a pumpkin mouth with tape
on the back. Then spin him or her   around but facing the pumpkin at the end.
Have them try to stick the mouth onto the pumpkin where they
     think it should be. Have a big X marked where it should go.

     The person with the mouth closest to the X is the winner.
 

POISON APPLE 

Seat everyone in a circle and have them pass around a BIG, red apple,
chanting: " THE POISON APPLE GOES ROUND AND ROUND, TO PASS
IT QUICKLY YOU ARE BOUND.  IF YOU' RE THE ONE TO HOLD IT
LAST, I FEAR FOR YOU, THE GAME IS PAST: YOU-ARE-OUT!"
The person holding the apple on the last word "OUT" moves outside the
circle.  The game continues until only one person is left, and that person
is the winner.

To adapt this game for older Children, have them pass the apple
not using their hands! Tuck the apple under the chin and have them
pass it to the next person under their chin. This is so much fun you may
want to adapt the above chant to say...Who drop the Apple or touch it with
their hands, until only two people are left.

PUMPKIN PATCH 

Hide Little candy PUMPKINS all over an area.  Give
guests little TREAT bags and tell them to try to find
as many as they can.  They may keep their "harvest" as
their prizes.
 
 

PUMPKIN RELAY 

     Have one pumpkin for every four to five kids. Carve a face into
each pumpkin saving the pieces that make
     up the eyes, nose, and mouth. Mix up these pieces from the different
pumpkins in one pile. Have relay  teams send one person at a time
to obtain one piece to take back to their assigned pumpkin.
If the piece of  pumpkin they choose fits then the next person
on their team can go to the table, otherwise they have to go
     back and get another piece. Game is over when the first team has
all the right parts!
 
 

VAMPIRE GAME

Have one cup of equal amounts of a RED Jell-O & a Straw for each
participant. Tie each persons hands behind there backs and have
them suck the Jell-O through the straw on the count of GO.  The
first person to suck all the Blood (Jell-O) Wins a pair of
vampire fangs.
 

In addition to ALL the above other Great Party Ideas include
Hay Ride or Haunted Hay Ride for Older Children

Dress up costume Party awarding prizes in various categories

Halloween WORD games such finding words in a Picture.

Make your OWN mask Parties.
Bat Cave sleep over... Drape a black cloth over the

furniture and let the kids sleep in the cave or dress

a tent up to look like one, while enjoying a HALLOWEEN movie.
 
 

GAMES FOR PAIRS

HALLOWEEN "CHARADES"

One Person officiates the game (host) having thought up
some Halloween-related Movie, Play, Poem, Song or Historical
events. Guest are paired up and one person from each pair
agrees who will be the Person to act out the Charade and
which one will attempt to get it correct.
The pair the does it in the shortest amount of Time WINS.
 

MUMMY WRAP 

Have each guest choose a partner, or divide people into pairs by
random selection.  Hand each pair a roll of Toilet Paper.  As soon
as the leader yells "TUT Tut, King Tut, Prepare for the Tomb" one
person on each team wraps, the other person gets wrapped,
just like a mummy; avoiding eyes, nostrils and mouth. The team
that goes through the entire roll of toilet paper first wins.  No tape
allowed; ends must be tucked in.
 
 

GAMES FOR TEAMS
 
 

GIVE UP THE GHOST

With a permanent marking pen make two tiny oval eyes
on some dried lima beans this becomes your ghost.  Divide the group
into teams and let each team sit in a line on the floor. Give each person a
drinking straw . Give each team a GHOST.  Each player passes the Ghost
to the next player by holding only the straw to his or her lips.
By sucking hard on the straw, the player tries to keep the ghost
on the end of the straw until the next player can grab it the same
way. Teammates must pass the Ghost down the line and back.
First Team to Finish is the winner.

GHOST VOLLEYBALL 

Blow up a regular round balloon yourself (not one inflated
with helium). Decorate it to make it look like a GHOST.
Set up a "NET" of chairs and ribbon stretched between
two points.  Divide people into two teams. Let the teams
play more or less according to standard Volleyball rules
with the exception all players must REMAIN on their
KNEES and no hands allowed.
 

GOURD PUSH

Make teams of equal numbers of players.  Give it player a
Lollipop. The first person in each team must push a gourd across
the floor of a room or along the ground for 10-15 feet, reaching a
line of chalk or ribbon.  The second teammate must push it back.  This keeps
up until one team completes the gourd push. The Difficult
part is that you may NOT touch the gourd with your
hands . The GOURD may only be pushed with the lollipop
sticking out of their mouths .  First team to finish WINS.
 

SCAVENGER HUNT with a TWIST

This scavenger hunt require players that can think and figure
out riddles. Divide guest into teams. Design a list of riddles for them
to collect either going door to door or finding objects around the house.
the First team to deliver all the found objects wins. BELOW are a few
examples you may wish to use.
Casper Tears.......(white onion)
Weary old Traveler..... (an old shabby looking shoe)
Vampire Protection.....(garlic)
Long, Black teeth....(pocket comb)
One Eye open.....(sewing needle)
Halloween transportation....(broom)
Bat campanion.....(ball)
Charlie's dead....(can of tuna)
Wicked One.....(candle)
 

GAMES FOR ALL

BROOMSTICK LIMBO

Use some sort of Music like Monster Mash, Soundtrack from
"Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Purple People Eater"...etc.
Leader holds a broomstick parallel with the floor, at about
shoulder level for the party guest.  Players dance in a
circular line. Upon coming to the broomstick, each player must
go under it without touching it and without touching the floor.
For the next round, the broomstick is lowered to chest level.
Each round finds the broomstick 2-3" lower.  The winner is the
dancer that can limbo the lowest.

FIND THE AMULET

Secretly distribute five small, odd shaped stones among the guest,
and tell them to keep mum about it.  Then announce to the crowd that
five amulets are in possession of five different persons, each of whom
will give his amulet to the thirteenth person who shakes his hand.  The
amulets may be kept by the lucky ones as a protection against
witchcraft, bad luck, disease, accidents and further to give
the possessors an occult power during the remainder of the year.

This also serves as a GREAT icebreaker for a Large crowd.
 

"NUTS" SHOOT THE NUT

Stretch head high a clothesline of cord on which nuts must be
suspended by a thread.  Each guest must shoot at the nuts on the
line with rubber suction arrows.  The NUT they knock to the floor or ground
is their NUT. Each nut has pasted to it a stunt
to be done by the "NUT" who was lucky enough to hit it.

OTHER IDEAS FOR SOME GREAT PARTIES NEEDING NO MORE
THEN A MENTION INCLUDE:
HAUNTED DANCE ...set the stage with black lights & an Erie entrance
BONFIRES campfire
OCTOBERFEST... have plenty of BEER handy
THEME COSTUME Parties... all animals, minerals or vegetables
guest must come dress as designated.

NEXT                  BACK              MAIN HALLOWEEN
 

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