Halloween games are a good way to spice up any spooky party.

Halloween is usually associated with trick-or-treating and jack-o-lantern carving. Many families, however, are trying to make the holiday more memorable by throwing a Halloween party. Parties can be for kids only, or you can invite whole families and make it a blast for all ages. Whichever way you decide to go, these Halloween games for kids are easy to organize and many can be made at home with a few simple discount party supplies

 

Guess the candy

 

Supplies:

 

Large glass jar
Candy ? either candy corns or miniature candy bars

 

Preparation:

 

Fill the jar with candy, counting as you go. Write the number of candies down and put it in a safe place.

 

Playing the game:

 

As your party guests arrive, have them guess how many candies are in the jar. Write down their guess and their name on slips of paper. At the end of the party, call out the winner: the person who guessed closest to the actual amount of candy in the jar gets to take the jar ? and the candy ? home.

 

Bouncing Eyeballs

 

Supplies:

 

2 Plastic pumpkins
24 Ping-pong balls
Sharpie marker
Kitchen timer

 

Preparation:

 

Use the sharpie marker to draw eyes on the ping-pong balls.

 

Playing the game:

 

Divide the kids into two teams. Give each team a dozen ping-pong balls. Place the pumpkins a few feet in front of the starting line. Have the teams line up, and set the timer for 3 minutes.

 

When you say, “go,” the first child in line tries to bounce a ping pong ball into the pumpkin. If it goes into the pumpkin, then the next child in line takes another ping-pong ball and does the same thing. If the ball doesn’t go in, the child has to get the ball and bring it back to the next person in line, who tries again. The teams keep going until the timer goes off. The team who has the most ping pong balls inside the pumpkin wins.

 

Hot Pumpkin

 

Supplies:

 

Small pumpkin or gourd
Halloween music (“Monster Mash,” “Flying Purple People Eater,” “The Addams Family Theme Song,” “Ghostbusters”)

 

Playing the game:

 

Have the children sit in a circle. When you start the music, the kids begin passing the pumpkin around the circle. When you stop the music, the child who has the pumpkin is “out.” Keep playing until only one child ? the winner ? remains.

 

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Pin the Nose on the Jack-o-lantern

 

Supplies:

 

Poster board
Card stock
Markers
Double-stick tape (not the permanent kind)
Blindfold

 

Preparation:

 

Draw a large pumpkin on the poster board. Draw black triangles for the eyes and a jagged, black jack-o-lantern mouth. Be sure to leave a large space where the nose would go.

 

Draw several triangle shapes out of the card stock and color them black. Put double-stick tape on the back. These are the “noses.”

 

Before the kids arrive, hang the poster board pumpkin in a spot on the wall where the kids will be able to reach it.

 

Playing the game:

 

Have the kids line up a few feet in front of the pumpkin. Blindfold the first child, give him a spin, aim him toward the pumpkin, and hand him a sticky nose. Have him put the nose on the pumpkin where he thinks it should go.

 

When he has placed his nose, trace around it with a marker and write his initials in the space. Continue on through all of the children. The kid whose nose was closest to the correct spot wins.

 

Pumpkin Toss

 

Supplies:

 

Small to medium-sized pumpkins or gourds ? enough for every two party guests

 

Playing the game:

 

Have the kids all pair up. Each pair starts two steps away from each other, and tosses the pumpkin back and forth. If both kids catch the pumpkin, they each take one step backward and repeat. As soon as a team drops their pumpkin, that team is out. The winning team is the team who gets the farthest apart without dropping their pumpkin. This is a good outside game.

 

Halloween games are a good way to spice up any spooky party, whether you need to keep the kids happy while the adults mingle, or whether you just want your children and their friends to have a spook-tacular time.