Take Halloween one step beyond trick or treating and the pre-school parade by planning a family Halloween party. There are tons of Halloween adventures like Haunted Houses for the kids when they get a bit older, so why not start your own adventure for your little ones. Plan a Pumpkin Patch Carnival for them as well as their parents, your friends and family. It could be almost a mini-Oktoberfest for the adults with fun and games for the kids. This is not an expensive proposition...plan to have it at home
Turn your backyard into a "Halloween Midway of Fun" with lots of games, activities and prizes for the kids and great camaraderie for the adults. Plan a series of game stations around your yard, just like a carnival. Organize with it with your friends. Maybe you have some that will be game to wear costumes and serve as the "carnival barkers". You can decide if you want them to wear their costumes, depending on the games you plan.
Have a "Halloween Hut" set up for all the food. Surely a couple of your guests will volunteer to grill burgers and dogs. Have them served up with bags of chips or crackers, a box of juice or bottle of water served up in a plastic pumpkin. You can find them at the dollar store without breaking the bank. You can set up little picnic tables or simply set out some blankets on the yard. You may want to have soda and beer for the adults. A big veggie platter would also be great for both the kids and adults! If you want to spend some money, you could rent a popcorn machine or a cotton candy maker too.
Go to the local market and buy enough small pumpkins for all the kids, plus a couple of extras. Next hide them all over the yard before everyone arrives. Depending on the age group, they can hunt on their own or go along with Mom or Dad. What is the reason for the extras? You want to make sure everyone finds one. The last thing you need is one sad tot who can't find a pumpkin and you can't remember where in the yard you hid them all!
A pumpkin decorating station is another possibility. You could use paint, but realize you risk certain disaster for one of them if they are in costume. Paint markers would be safer alternatives. I have even seen some pumpkin decorating kits with stickers at the craft stores. Another alternatives would be letting a couple of crafty friends carve them into Jack O Lanterns!
There are great Halloween music CD's that you could play for some background ambiance, but I think with all the laughter and excitement the music may be drowned out. The easy part about this party is that your house and /or yard will already be decorated for the season! Halloween party invitations are abundant, so find ones you like or even make your own on the computer. There are lots of sites with free pintables. The game stations can be Halloween versions of what you would find at carnival. When they are ready to start playing the games, they will have their "pumpkin bucket" from lunch and can begin visiting the game stations to win tickets or candy!
So start now and plan your own Halloween celebration for the little ones as well as a fun autumn afternoon for the adults! Let them expand their Halloween fun beyond trick or treating. If you need further ideas for the games and prizes, check out the Carnival party ideas at Celebration Ideas Online.
Carol is a married mom of 4 who works full-time as an account executive. She I has been active with the kids and all their activities over the years. She served as a PTA President as well as President of numerous school booster clubs. Her favorite hobby now that the kids are all on their own or off to college is her web site: Celebration Ideas Online.
It was started as a resource center for the various groups as well as friends and family who were looking for help and "how to" tips for planning family celebrations. It is a family album of great celebration ideas.
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