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10 Halloween party games and activities that are more fun than bobbing for apples
We've got some brilliantly easy, super-inventive games and craft activities for your children to enjoy this Halloween. Let the spooky fun begin!
- Helen Brown
Published: October 18, 2024 at 9:09 AM
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We know apple-bobbing is the classic Halloween entertainment (check out how to play it below) but, if you're planning some serious spooky fun for your children and their friends for Halloween this year, you might want to have a few more party games up your sleeve to keep the fun going.
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We've found 10 brilliant games and craft activities with a spooky theme that you can roll out through the afternoon and evening.
They're all simple to play or make, and use bits and bobs that you probably already have around the house or that are easily picked up online or at a high-street craft store.
Looking for face paint ideas? Discover our step-by-step guide on How to face paint a witch for Halloween.
Here's our pick of the best Halloween children's party games and craft activities
Witch Hat Ring Toss | Pumpkin Bowling | Halloween Balloon Catch | Pin the Boo! on the Ghost | Apple-bobbing | Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss | Spider Web Walking | Spooky Scavenger Hunt | Loo Roll Monsters | Pumpkin Stamp Painting | Handprint Bats, Spiders and Witch's Cats
1. Witch Hat Ring Toss
Suitable for age: 4+ | No of players needed: 1 or more
A simple throwing game that's all about getting your ring to land over the top of the witch's hat
You will need:
How to prepare the game
- Buy (or make) a simple witch's hat
- Bend and twist pipe cleaners together to make enough throwing rings for all your players. You'll probably need to join several twisted lengths of pipe cleaner together (with more twisting) to make rings big enough to fit over your witch's hat.
How to play the game
- Place the hat on a table or on the floor in a clear space
- Use the book to mark the place where the thrower must stand (make it nearer to the hat for smaller children; further away for older children)
- Give each child a ring
- Let them take turns to throw their ring and see who can get it to land over the hat
2. Pumpkin Bowling
Suitable for age: 4+ | No of players needed: 2 or more
Bowling with a spooky twist! Use a decorated pumpkin (or an orange ball) and see how many loo-roll skittles you can knock down.
You will need:
- Toilet rolls (1o, ideally, but 6 would work, too)
- Black pen
- A small, round pumpkin (or orange ball for smaller children)
- Black tape (optional)
- A book
How to prepare the game
- Draw 2 eyes and a mouth on each of the loo rolls with the black pen
- Stack the loo rolls on top of each other to create a pyramid of skittles
- Use the black pen (or black tape) to make a Halloween face on your pumpkin or ball
How to play the game
- Use the book to mark the place where the bowler must stand (make it nearer to the skittles for smaller children; further away for older children)
- Let each child take it in turn to roll the pumpkin (or throw the orange ball) towards the loo-roll tower
- The winner is the player to knock the most loo rolls down
3. Halloween Balloon Catch
Suitable for age: 4+ | No of players needed: 1 or more
This game requires both active movement and careful hand-eye coordination as you try to guide balloons into your paper funnel without using your hands
You will need:
- Balloons — at least 1 per player (£2.69 for 12 Halloween-themed balloons)
- Black pen
- 1 funnel per player (you can use party hats or sweet cones or make your own funnels with 2 layers of rolled paper and tape)
How to prepare the game
- Blow up the balloons and tie the ends
- Draw pumpkin faces on each balloon with the black pen
How to play the game
- Release the balloons into the room, wafting your arms about to encourage them to float up from the floor
- Give a funnel to each child
- See who can catch a balloon in their funnel. Remember: no hands allowed!
4. Pin the BOO! on the Ghost
Suitable for age: 3+ | No of players needed: 2 or more
A fun Halloween twist on the classic party game Pin The Tail On the Donkey. Your kids can help you to create the spooky ghost, then see who can get the 'BOO!' closest to the ghost's mouth – while wearing a blindfold, of course
You will need:
- Pen/pencil/white chalk
- Black card (>£4.96 for 50 sheets)
- Orange card (£6.15 for 50 sheets)
- Yellow card (£4.37 for 50 sheets)
- White paint (£4.99)
- Blu-Tack (£1.10)
- A blindfold
How to prepare the game
- Use a pen, pencil or white chalk to outline a ghost shape on black card, leaving 2 round holes for eyes and 1 for the mouth. Then use white paint to fill it in
- Hang your ghost on a wall
- Draw and cut out speech bubble shapes on the orange and yellow card, then write 'Boo!' on each speech bubble
- Put Blu-Tack on the back of each speech bubble (we suggest doing this just before you're about to play, so it doesn't lose its stickiness)
How to play the game
- On each player's turn, put the blindfold on them and give them a speech bubble
- See if they can stick the speech bubble on the ghost as close as possible to the ghost's mouth. The winner is the player whose speech bubble is closest
How to do apple-bobbing
If you do want to include apple-bobbing as one of your Halloween party games, here's how to play it.
- First, fill a washing-up bowl two-thirds full of water.
- Put several apples in it – at least as many as your players. The apples will float and bob on the surface of the water.
- Each player now takes it in turn to try to grab an apple using only their teeth – no arms or hands allowed.
NOTE: This is not a game for small children to play (they'd find it really hard anyway) because you don't want to risk bits of apples breaking off and getting stuck in their throat, potentially blocking their (tiny) airway and causing them to choke.
5. Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss
Suitable for age: 3+ | No of players needed: 2 or more
This pumpkin-themed bean-bag toss game can be played outdoors or indoors (if you have the space). The challenge is to see who can throw the most bean bags through the pumpkin's mouth – or possibly eyes and nose too!
You will need:
- A large piece of cardboard (we used a big, flattened-out cardboard box)
- Pen/pencil
- Scissors
- Orange paint (£1.59)
- Green paint (£1.59)
- White paint (£4.99)
- Bean bags (£7.99 for 10) (or you could fill socks with rice/lentils/pasta and knot them up securely)
How to prepare the game
- Draw a pumpkin shape on the cardboard, including eyes, nose and a mouth with teeth, and leave below it a large rectangular shape that extends out further that the pumpkin on either side
- Use the scissors to cut out the shape, including the holes for the eyes, nose and mouth. Make sure the mouth, eyes and nose are big enough to throw bean bags through
- Paint the pumpkin orange, paint the rectangular shape green and paint the teeth white
How to play the game
- Stand your cardboard pumpkin up, bending the green sides slightly to keep it upright. You may need to prop it up a little with a chair or something similar, too
- Give each player a set amount of bean bags
- Take it in turns to see who can throw the most bean bags through the pumpkin's mouth. For an extra challenge, see if they can fit any through the eyes and mouth, too
6. Spider Web Walking
Suitable for age: 3+ | No of players needed: 2 or more
A balance and co-ordination game that requires you to get from one end of the web to the other without stepping on the spiders
You will need
- Scissors
- Brightly coloured tape (£6.98 for a pack of 8)
- Plastic spiders (£3.48 for 24)
- Halloween-y prizes
How to prepare the game
- Use the tape to stick a spider-web shape onto the floor or carpet
- Dot the plastic spiders or other Halloween-y decorations around the web
How to play the game
- Challenge each player to make their way through the web from one side to the other by following the web lines but avoiding treading on the spiders
- Hand a prize to each child once they've made their way out
- To make the game more challenging, you could add extra plastic Halloween-y items such as pumpkins to your web to make extra obstacles
7. Spooky Scavenger Hunt
Suitable for age: 3+ | No of players needed: 1 or more
Scare up a spooky scavenger hunt with your kids! You can create a hunt of your own or download our scavenger hunt sheets...
You will need
-
A4 paper (you'll need 1 sheet for each player)
-
Printer to download our scavenger sheets (Sheet 1 | Sheet 2) or a pen to create your own
-
Pen or Pencils (1 for for each player)
-
Halloween decorations or props, such as:
How to prepare the game
- Print out our scavenger hunt sheets – you'll need 1 for each player. Or you can draw your own Halloween icons on pieces of paper and put a tickbox next to each one. If there's more than 1 player taking part, make sure you vary the icons slightly from paper sheet to paper sheet (so players have different items to hunt)
How to play the game
- Without the children seeing, hide the Halloween decorations around your house or garden
- Then, give each child a pencil and scavenger hunt sheet
- Whenever a child sees one of the items listed on their scavenger hunt sheet, they can tick it off
- The winner is the first to tick off everything on their sheet
- Alternatively, you can try the spooky scavenger hunt in your neighbourhood. Take a walk around the most spookily-decorated houses and look out for the items listed on the sheet
8. Loo Roll Monsters: craft activity
This loo-roll Halloween craft was originally shared with us by Zoe Young who's part of our MadeForMums Top Testers Club. There are 3 different Halloween monsters to make: an evil pumpkin (the simplest), a ghost (slightly more challenging), and a Frankenstein-style monster (more suitable for older children). Do be careful to keep the googly eyes out of small children's reach.
You will need:
- Toilet rolls (1 per child)
- Scissors
- Toilet paper
- Glue
- Black card (£4.96 for 50 sheets)
- Orange paint (£1.59)
- Green paint (£1.59)
- White paint (£4.99)
- Paintbrush for each child (£3.89 for 6)
- Googly eyes (£3.08)
- Cotton buds
How to do it:
- Paint the toilet rolls: white for a ghost, orange for a pumpkin or green for a Frankenstein monster. Leave to dry.
- For the ghost, add a little glue around the top of the toilet roll and glue toilet paper over the top. Then, glue/stick on some googly eyes and leave to dry.
- For the pumpkin, cut out some shapes for the eyes and mouth from the black card. Then glue on and leave to dry.
- For the Frankenstein monster, make 2 small holes in either side of the toilet roll about two thirds of the way up. Then poke through a cotton bud. Paint the tips of the cotton bud black. Cut out a strip of zig-zag and a rectangle from the black card. Glue the zig-zag strip around the top of the toilet roll and the rectangle in the middle for a mouth. Use a pen to make little scars on either side of the head. Glue on googly eyes and leave to dry.
9. Pumpkin Stamp Paintings: craft activity
This (relatively) mess-free toddler Halloween craft can be set up super-quickly with just apples and paint. Alysia Leigh from our MadeForMums Top Testers Club shared with us this sweet picture of her daughter Hallie making her own pumpkin-stamping masterpiece.
You will need:
- Apple (1 per 2 children)
- Orange paint (£1.59)
- Plate
- Paper (1 sheet per child)
- Green or brown and black felt-tip pens or crayons
How to do it:
- Cut the apple(s) in half
- Pour a little orange paint onto a plate and then press the flat side of each apple into it. If the children are doing the pressing on their own, you may want to give each apple an extra hard press-down yourself afterwards to get maximum paint coverage
- Let the children stamp their apple, paint-side down, on to the paper to make an orange pumpkin shape. Repeat on other parts of the paper. Re-dip in the paint, as necessary
- Once the paper is covered in 'pumpkins', leave to dry
- Once dried, draw little green or brown stalks on to your pumpkins with crayons or felt tips, and add black eyes, nose and mouth
10. Handprint Bats, Spiders and Witch's Cats: craft activity
This simple craft activity works for children of all ages, as younger ones enjoy the sensation of paint squidging on their hands and older ones will like getting inventive with their felt-tip customisations of the prints. It makes a good activity to do before Halloween tea – compulsory hand-washing afterwards, of course – so that their creations have time to be nice and dry to take home when the party's over
You will need:
- Paint
- Plate or paintbrush
- Paper (1 sheet per child)
- Black felt-tip pen
How to do it:
- Pour the paint onto the plate or load it onto your paintbrush
- Let each child press their hand into the paint on the plate or paint their hands with paint yourself
- Let each child press their paint-covered hand onto the paper. Repeat on other parts of the paper, sometimes making mirror-image prints (you'll need these if you want to make bats). Re-cover the hand in paint, as necessary
- When the handprints are dry, use a few flicks of black pen to turn them into cats or bats or spiders
Game pic and additional games research: Janet Mtima and Emily Longman Wall.
Craft activity pics: Zoe Young and Alysia Leigh.
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Read more:
- Best Halloween recipes
- Best Halloween costumes for babies, toddlers and children
- When can kids go trick or treating on their own? What's the law?
- 35 great pumpkin carving and decorating ideas
Authors
Helen BrownHead of Content Delivery
Helen is author of the classic advice book Parenting for Dummies and a mum of 3. Before joining MadeForMums, she was Head of Community at Mumsnet and also the Consumer Editor of Mother & Baby.
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