• This is a traditional Halloween game. It is also a great way of keeping the early arrivals busy when the party is just starting.

Materials + Preparation:

• String and apples.

Instructions & Play:

• Tie a piece of string to several large apples, and suspend each from a doorway to the approximate height of the children. With their hands behind their backs, each child tries to take bites out of the apples as they swing back and forth. A prize is awarded to the child who eats the most of his or her apple.

• Younger children will love this game, especially when they get to pop the balloons.

Materials + Preparation:

• Several toy balloons (preferably orange), paper and string.

Instructions + Play:

• Cut the paper into as many strips as there are balloons. On each strip, print a different Halloween related stunt that each child can perform, such as:
• Walk like Frankenstein
• Hoot like an owl
• Creep like a cat...etc

• Roll up the strips and insert one into each balloon. Inflate the balloons and tie a short piece of string to the end of each one. Hang the balloons from the ceiling, either scattered or clustered together in a room. When the time comes to play, ask each child to pick a balloon. An adult will then pop the balloon, remove the paper and read it aloud. Each child then does what "Pumpkin Says."

• This game is the Halloween version of "Hot Potato."

Materials + Preparation:

• Instead of a potato, use a small plastic skull, which can be purchased at a novelty shop.

Instructions + Play:

• The children should be sitting in a circle on the floor. Hand the skull to the nearest child, and tell the group to toss it to one another until they hear you blow a whistle or sound a horn, etc. The child holding the skull when the whistle blows is out, and the remaining players move closer together to form a tighter circle. The game continues until only one child - the winner- is left. An ideal prize for this game would be the skull itself.

• This is the Halloween version of the Easter Egg Hunt. It can be played indoors if the party is being held in a large basement or club room. Ideally the hunt should be held outside if the weather is suitable.

Instructions + Play:

• Instead of eggs, the children will be hunting Halloween related objects such as gourds, rubber snakes and spiders, small pumpkins, etc. These will have been previously hidden in some obvious and some not-so-easy-to-find places. Give each child a small bag, and set a time limit (15 mins or so) for the hunt. The winner is the child who finds the most objects. Make sure everyone finds at least one.