Halloween Activities

Game Ideas from Family Fun.

               Instructions

1. Before the party, make ghosts by draping a piece of paper towel around a small ball, such as a Superball (or in a pinch, a wadded-up paper towel). Cinch the towel around the ball and secure with one end of a 2-foot length of yarn.
   
2. Have guests draw a face on their ghosts with markers.
   
3. At the start of the game, each player is given ten pennies. Choose one person to be the goblin. The other players lay their ghosts on the large paper circle and hold on to the yarn leash. The goblin holds the funnel, upside down, at least 2 feet above the circle.
   
4. The goblin chooses two numbers on a die, announces them to the group, then rolls. If either of the chosen numbers appears, the players try to pull their ghosts out of the circle before the goblin can slam the funnel down over them. If a player is caught, he must give the goblin a penny. If the chosen numbers do not appear, but the players panic and yank their ghosts out of the circle anyway, it's another penny to the goblin. The goblin, for his part, is allowed to fake a funnel slam, but if he touches any ghost, he must shell out a penny to each player. After three rolls of the die, the next player takes over as goblin. Play is over when one player runs out of pennies. The player with the most coins wins.
   
   
   Pucker up....this game requires skill, speed and raw straw-sucking power.

                    What You Need

• Straws
• Construction paper

• Bowl

               Instructions

1. Before the party, ask your kids to help you cut ten Halloween shapes, such as ghosts, bats and pumpkins from construction paper. Each shape should be about the size of a silver dollar. Place the shapes in a pile beside a small bowl.
   
2. Using the straw as a vacuum, each contestant tries to pick up a shape and place it in the bowl to create the Witch's Stew. Time the players to see who can get all ten in the bowl the fastest.
   
   
   Think pumpkins are just for carving into jack-o'-lanterns and baking into pies? Guess again. After the second helping of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, get up and get moving with these great-for-all-ages games. They make the most of these roly-poly icons of autumn, whose uneven shapes can result in some erratic itineraries! Be sure to use small to medium-size pumpkins; large ones are too heavy.
   
   

   Pumpkin Bowling

   Arrange a triangle of 10 empty plastic 1- or 2-liter bottles. Players take turns gently rolling a pumpkin into the pins, with three chances to knock them all down.
   
   

   Pumpkin Roll

   Determine a starting line and a finish line. Set 2 pumpkins on their sides at the start and have the racers line up behind them. At "Go," each pair of challengers uses sturdy brooms to propel the pumpkins over the finish line.
   
   
   Not every Halloween surprise has to go bump in the night. This simple unwrapping game pleases with quieter thrills.

                    What You Need

• Roll of toilet tissue

• 10 small prizes, such as plastic critters, small erasers or tiny candies (1 per guest)

               Instructions

1. Before the party, tape a small, lightweight prize to the end of a roll of toilet tissue. Wrap up the prize in the toilet tissue and continue taping prizes and wrapping them until the roll is completely wrapped.
   
2. Ask players to sit in a circle. Each person gets to wrap the end of the toilet tissue around a body part (an arm, forehead, waist, ankle and so on) until she finds a prize. She then tears the paper and passes the roll to the next player. Play continues until all the prizes have been unrolled.