Scary Easy Ideas for a Spooktacular Halloween Party

10/27/16 - By Ally Noel

It's never too late to organize a super simple Halloween Party. This year I hosted our annual neighborhood party and tested out some frighteningly easy Halloween snack recipes. They must have been a hit, because my little ghosts and goblins didn’t let out a single boo in protest. Now that I have my fifth party under my (witch's) hat, here are a few tricks for how to host your own Halloween Party.

For more Halloween fun, from the best kids Halloween movies to 75 fun Halloween activities for kids—and more—check out our Halloween Activities Guide for Families.

And for Halloween activities near you, check out our Local Halloween Fun & Activities Guide!

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Halloween Treats

Get everyone in the Halloween spirit by serving some of these spooktacular treats. 


 

Scarecrow Snack Mix Recipe
This seasonal snack mix is a blend of sweet and salty and tastes like pure Halloween fun - it’s also a great way to use up all that extra candy corn that you can’t stop eating. This year, we used a little bit of the following:

  • Pretzel Squares
  • Caramel Corn
  • Reese’s Pieces
  • Chocolate Graham Crackers
  • Chex
  • Candy Corn
  • Mellowcreme Pumpkins 

I kept filling a big bowl with little bits until I created something that looked about right.  You can get creative with this mix -anything sweet or salty would do. I can imagine adding chocolate chips or a dash of Halloween sprinkles would be amazing.

Candy Corn Punch
Halloween is one of those times that I say “good bye” to our regular “sugar aware” diet and this punch definitely embraces this! 

There is no exact science to this spirited concoction. I mixed equal parts orange juice and sparkling water to achieve this seasonal hue. You could probably also add some orange soda if you wanted to increase the sweetness a bit. For a little extra, I froze pineapple chunks in an ice cube tray and let them float.  As they melted, they gave the punch a bit of a kick!  I garnished each cup with a swirl of whipped cream and tossed a few candy corns on top of that for good measure. 

Chocolate Covered Apples
Those candy apples in the shops always look so amazing.  You know the ones - those giant orbs of caramel goo that call to you at every time you enter the supermarket. Once we bite into them, I am instantly filled with regret and my daughter is basically covered head to toe in candy.    This year I learned my lesson - in order to avoid the mess I dipped slices of apple in chocolate and decorated them with Halloween sprinkles.  They took about 5 minutes to make and were a huge hit at the party. You can switch chocolate for caramel pretty easily- the best party is there is almost zero waste!

Decorations
A little black and orange crepe paper with some plastic pumpkin buckets can go a long way. There are so many decorations to choose from that it is easy to go over the top, but since most of my guests are 5 and under I choose to keep things on the "not so scary" side of Halloween. 
 
 
Activities
We decided to carve pumpkins at our party and I encouraged guests to B.Y.O.P (Bring Your Own Pumpkin). It was a really simple activity to set up that got everyone involved. I covered the tables with orange plastic tablecloths and placed several "goop" buckets around to collect all the pumpkin innards. 
 
Because I never know how long decorating is going to take, I always have a few open ended games set-up to play. Pumpkin Bowling is really easy to set up and keeps your guests active for a little bit. 
 
It doesn't take much to create a bit of Halloween magic. I hope you have a ghoulishly good time. Happy Halloween!