How to Think of Ideas for a Halloween Festival
Create magic potions from juices, soft drinks, or other edibles., Set up booths for playing games., Have a Karaoke stage., Hold a Cake Walk., Rent a rock-climbing wall, a "Moonwalk", or an inflatable slide., Make sand bottles., Hold a costume...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Create magic potions from juices
Place a small piece of dry ice in a heavy plastic glass, and pour punch or a soft drink over it and watch it fizz.
Mix a punch and add drops of food coloring to give it strange colors.
Have plain yogurt and let kids put in sprinkles, crumbled cookies, chocolate chips, and other yummy stuff.
This is great for kids that like to experiment with different items. -
Step 2: soft drinks
The list here is just a few common carnival games.
Balloon popping.
A great game for teens, blow up balloons, tie them off, and staple them to a backboard made from a heavy cardboard box, then let the kids throw darts to burst them.
If you like, add a prize label behind the balloon, and when it is popped, the person wins the prize.
This is for teenagers and older, not small kids.
Water Balloon Toss.
Find a volunteer to stick their head out of a hole cut in a sheet of plywood, and let the kids throw water balloons at him/her.
A popular (or not) teacher, or some other "prime" target makes it more fun! Lawn Bowling.
Buy a set of cheap, plastic lawn bowling pins and balls.
Set up a cardboard lane with side rails to keep the balls from straying, and have a volunteer to set the pins between players.
Fishing for treats.
Find, or build, a very large box, and have a volunteer hide in it.
Let the children dangle lines from fishing poles with clothespins attached into the box, where the concealed volunteer attaches treats and tugs the line, indicating a "bite".
Ring toss, ball toss, or horseshoe toss.
All are essentially the same, set up a target, and let the kids throw at it.
You may have more than one "score target"
for instance, a smaller hole would have more point value than a larger one. , Set up your Karaoke machine and let the kids have fun singing with the music.
For more fun, make a "Gong Show" parody out of it. , Set up a course, usually a circle or oval, and lay out squares along the path with numbers.
Turn music on, and as the walkers are following the path, turn the music off, signalling the people to stop.
Call out a number picked randomly, and the person on that square wins the prize. , These should be supervised and age limits should be established for the individual attractions. , Get colored sand from a craft supply store, and empty, clear bottles, and allow participants to pour multicolored layers of sand in the bottles to make a unique craft. , This is a fundamental attraction at many Halloween carnivals. , This may not be appropriate if there is concern about the sanitary and hygienic issues, but this was the standard for many years at Halloween parties. ,, Tie the tissue to the lollipop and decorate with googly eyes, pom-poms, and other craft materials and remember to be creative. , Let the kids choose from a wide selection of the tattoos.
You may also have face painting and draw cute pumpkins and stuff. -
Step 3: or other edibles.
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Step 4: Set up booths for playing games.
-
Step 5: Have a Karaoke stage.
-
Step 6: Hold a Cake Walk.
-
Step 7: Rent a rock-climbing wall
-
Step 8: a "Moonwalk"
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Step 9: or an inflatable slide.
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Step 10: Make sand bottles.
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Step 11: Hold a costume contest.
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Step 12: Have a bobbing-for-apples booth.
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Step 13: Cookie and Cake Decorating- Let the kids decorate pre-made cookies or cakes with frosting and sprinkles
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Step 14: for a delicious treat!
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Step 15: Monster Lollipops- Get large tootsie pops and put a tissue over the lollipop.
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Step 16: Tattoos- Use temporary tattoos on the kids.
Detailed Guide
Place a small piece of dry ice in a heavy plastic glass, and pour punch or a soft drink over it and watch it fizz.
Mix a punch and add drops of food coloring to give it strange colors.
Have plain yogurt and let kids put in sprinkles, crumbled cookies, chocolate chips, and other yummy stuff.
This is great for kids that like to experiment with different items.
The list here is just a few common carnival games.
Balloon popping.
A great game for teens, blow up balloons, tie them off, and staple them to a backboard made from a heavy cardboard box, then let the kids throw darts to burst them.
If you like, add a prize label behind the balloon, and when it is popped, the person wins the prize.
This is for teenagers and older, not small kids.
Water Balloon Toss.
Find a volunteer to stick their head out of a hole cut in a sheet of plywood, and let the kids throw water balloons at him/her.
A popular (or not) teacher, or some other "prime" target makes it more fun! Lawn Bowling.
Buy a set of cheap, plastic lawn bowling pins and balls.
Set up a cardboard lane with side rails to keep the balls from straying, and have a volunteer to set the pins between players.
Fishing for treats.
Find, or build, a very large box, and have a volunteer hide in it.
Let the children dangle lines from fishing poles with clothespins attached into the box, where the concealed volunteer attaches treats and tugs the line, indicating a "bite".
Ring toss, ball toss, or horseshoe toss.
All are essentially the same, set up a target, and let the kids throw at it.
You may have more than one "score target"
for instance, a smaller hole would have more point value than a larger one. , Set up your Karaoke machine and let the kids have fun singing with the music.
For more fun, make a "Gong Show" parody out of it. , Set up a course, usually a circle or oval, and lay out squares along the path with numbers.
Turn music on, and as the walkers are following the path, turn the music off, signalling the people to stop.
Call out a number picked randomly, and the person on that square wins the prize. , These should be supervised and age limits should be established for the individual attractions. , Get colored sand from a craft supply store, and empty, clear bottles, and allow participants to pour multicolored layers of sand in the bottles to make a unique craft. , This is a fundamental attraction at many Halloween carnivals. , This may not be appropriate if there is concern about the sanitary and hygienic issues, but this was the standard for many years at Halloween parties. ,, Tie the tissue to the lollipop and decorate with googly eyes, pom-poms, and other craft materials and remember to be creative. , Let the kids choose from a wide selection of the tattoos.
You may also have face painting and draw cute pumpkins and stuff.
About the Author
Michael Turner
Writer and educator with a focus on practical lifestyle knowledge.
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