I’m having a Halloween party on the 17th and I need some help with activities to do. There are a couple of limitations involved and so far, I haven’t been able to see around them to come up with ideas beyond music and food. So if anyone has anything they can offer, I’d be eternally grateful.
Here’s my restrictions: it’s a come ‘n’ go type affair, lasting from 2:00 in the afternoon (so those that are coming from several hours away can get back home before it’s too late) to 8:00 at night. Which makes it difficult to plan anything that doesn’t encompass folks arriving / leaving all the time or missing each other entirely. Second, I also have several seniors attending and I’d like any games, etc. to be age-friendly.
Finally, this is my first party that I’ve thrown in almost 13 years, so I’m hella nervous about bombing on atmosphere. I really don’t want it to be a dud. Therefore I’m also making it ‘costumes optional’ for anyone who wants to be a little wacky (of course, the hostess shall dress up) and I’ll have something as a prize for best one. But other than that, I’m at a loss.
I always like the game where you make signs with famous names and put them on folks’ backs and they have to question other partiers with yes/no questions to figure out who they themselves are. In this case, you could make it a theme – scary movie actors, famous monsters or other Halloween essentials (jack o’lantern). It’s a clean game and gets people talking without much pressure. It can also be played throughout the day since there’s no time frame or winner. As people arrive they get a sign put on their back.
Halloween food is fun too. Make a cheese skull instead of a cheese ball, a graveyard kind of cake, wormy snacks…those spider cookies out of Chinese noodles…
Is it mostly inside in your living area, or is there an outside area? If it’s dreary, or towards evening, turn off the lights and use orange flameless candles or pumpkin “Christmas” lights…lighting makes a huge difference.
We threw a Halloween party a couple of years ago. We came up with a series of riddles that could only be answered by going around the house and finding clues. Each guest got a printed sheet of paper with the riddles when they came in. Working together was encouraged. Anyone who finished all of the riddles got a little door prize, and the first person (or team) to finish got an extra-nice door prize.
I can’t remember what all of the riddles were, but for example, one of them directed participants to the piano, where there was a piece of sheet music out - you had to spell out the notes on the sheet music in order to get the answer. I don’t know if this sort of thing is up your alley, but our partygoers had some fun with it. The nice thing is that nobody has to participate if they don’t want to, so people who hate party games can just opt out, no big deal.
Ooo, and glomming onto MsWhatsit’s idea, you could have separate maps (esp. if kids are coming) with an X marks the spot of a little treat. It wouldn’t be competitive since they’d all be separate and hopefully would be nice enough to only take their own item. This is what my parents did with my brother and me–separate Easter hunt maps.
And if you have cold drinks, freeze plastic spiders and bugs in ice cubes.
