View video: Haunted Halloween party for kids & adults
When we think of Halloween, images of ghosts, goblins and other scary
spirits come to mind. But what would Halloween be without our favorite
orange symbol - the pumpkin! This year, host a Great Pumpkin Party at
your very own Pumpkin Patch!
Invitations
Buy mini pumpkins at the grocery store and write the party details on
them with black permanent marker. Hand deliver or mail to guests in
small, sturdy boxes. Or inflate orange helium balloons, draw
jack-o-'lantern faces on them, deflate them, and mail in envelopes with
instructions for recipients to blow them up. Attach a stem cut from
green construction paper with the party details.
Decorations
- Use a Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kit to inflate orange balloons
with helium, tie them off with green ribbon, and draw funny faces on
them with permanent markers. Let them float around the party room.
- Carve out pumpkins and fill them with dry ice for a spooky atmosphere.
- Paint funny faces on pumpkins with acrylic paints and set them around the room.
- Create a pumpkin patch in the front and/or back yard using bales of
hay. Set pumpkins around and on top of the hay. In between bales, lay
out fake leaves and nestle the pumpkins inside them.
- Make a sign that reads "The Great Pumpkin Patch" and stick it in your yard. Create a scarecrow, using a pumpkin as its head.
- Cover the party table with an orange tablecloth, scatter fall
leaves and hay on the cloth, and place mini pumpkins and orange candles
down the middle.
Games and Activities
Keep the costumed guests busy with lots of pumpkin fun!
The Pumpkin and the Pins
Set up a game of bowling using pumpkins as bowling balls. Place
plastic pins or empty plastic soda bottles at one side of the room or
yard. Let the guests decorate their pumpkins with permanent markers to
personalize them. Then have them roll the pumpkins and try to knock down
the pins.
Pumpkin Pitch
Cut the top off several pumpkins, carve out the insides, and save the
seeds. Line the inside with foil. Have the players try to toss the
seeds into the pumpkin. If the seeds are still wet, the game is even
more challenging!
Pumpkin Punch
Inflate orange helium balloons and have the players draw faces on
them. Have them try to keep their own balloons up in the air as long as
possible, first using their hands, then only their feet, then only their
heads!
Primp your Pumpkin
For adults, have a pumpkin carving contest. Provide carving materials
and let them race to carve out the best pumpkin design in a limited
period of time. Award prizes for strangest, funniest, most realistic and
so on.
For kids, have a pumpkin craft activity. Set out craft materials,
such as markers, glue, sequins, glitter, pipe cleaners, fake blood and
glow-in-the-dark paint, and let the kids create a pumpkin masterpiece.
Pumpkin Hunt
Hide a bunch of small pumpkins around the yard or party room and have
the guests try to find them. When everyone has found a pumpkin, have
them "primp" it.
Refreshments
- Salt and bake pumpkin seeds and serve them to the guests.
- Serve hot cider or pumpkin soup in mugs.
- Cut out pumpkin-shaped cookies and let the kids decorate them before they eat them.
- Make a pumpkin cake as a centerpiece. Bake two spice Bundt cakes.
Place one cake upside down on a platter and frost the flat top. Place
the other cake right side up on top of the other cake, so the flat sides
are facing each other. Frost the outside of the cake with orange-tinted
icing. Use a chocolate frosting tube to draw eyes, nose, mouth, and
stem.
Favors
- Give the guests Halloween candy in small, pumpkin-themed bags.
- Make popcorn balls, tinted orange and shaped like pumpkins, covered up with plastic wrap.
- Pass out small decorative pumpkins, painted pumpkins and orange balloon bouquets.
Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author
and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16
specific to parties. Additionally, Warner writes a weekly newspaper
column on family life, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents
magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning
programs. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, debuted in
February 2010 from NAL/Penguin.
Balloon Time is the leading brand of consumer helium balloon kits
in North America. Balloon Time kits feature a helium-filled tank, latex
or foil balloons and ribbon, and are available at national retail
chains, party goods and grocery stores nationwide.