gry na Halloween.odt

Here are some old-timers and favorites:

1. Pumpkin pass-a-long - Make “pumpkins” out of rubber balls. Two teams then compete in passing the balls between them. The only dilemma is that no hands are allowed, and the pumpkins are not supposed to be dropped.
2. Mummy Wrap Delay - Divide the players into groups of three or four. Each team is supposed to wrap one of the team members in a roll of tissue.
3. Quick recall -Place a bunch of items on a tray. Let the party members see all of the items for a limited time. Let the players write down what they remember of the items. Make the items as scary and Halloweenish as possible.
4. How many words - Use a Halloween-word like Jack-o-lantern, trick-or-treat or something similar and let the players try to figure out as many words as they can out of the letters of the original word.
5. Pin the nose - This is a great tradition at kids parties. This time the pin should end up on the nose of a Jack-o-lantern.
6. How many? - A jar full of candy, and the guests are supposed to figure out how many there are.
7. Maze - A race through a scary maze is perfect for Halloween parties. Make it as much as a horror house as possible and let the participants try to find clues for a word or a story, or a film while going through. The teams that gets the word right, gets the grand prize.
8. Pinata Pumpkin - A series of pinatas are required for this game. Fill them with small but fun prizes and candy.
9. Witch hunt game - The kids (or the grown-ups) are supposed to run through the garden or the house in order to find witches. Every witch is equal to a fun prize.
10. Create a haunted story with real effects - This requires some imagination, but is perfect for kids of any age.
11. Monster Freeze Dance - This is a great alternative getting the kids on their feet. With music as Monster Mash, Thriller and that kind of songs, nothing can go wrong. When the music stops, the kids are supposed to stop moving as fast as possible. Last man stopping is out of the game.

Classic Bobbing for Apples
A large steel tub is filled with water and apples are added to the water.

How many apples?
We recommend at least 1.5 apples per person as it gets harder to get the apples as the game goes along. (Another option if you are timing them, is to always have the same number of apples in the water for each turn – ie 5 apples)

Now that the apples are in the water, the guests are instructed that they must grab an apple and pull it out of the water using just their mouth.

Some kids might be able to grab an apple’s stem but in many cases the children must bite into the apple to get it out of the water.

End of Game and Bobbing for Apples Winner
There are several options for ending the game and declaring a winner.
1. All the guests take a turn and retrieve an apple. Activity – No Winner
2. If the tub is large enough, all the children start at the same time and the first child to get an apple wins.
3. Each child takes a turn and you time how fast they get their apple. Fast time wins.

Notes:
Bibs and towels are recommended for this wet game.
Adult supervision for this game
Bobbing for Apples games not intended for young children


Bobbing For Apples Relay
In this version of Bobbing for Apples two steel tubs and sets of apples are needed as guests are divide into 2 or more teams. Note, you will need one tub for each team.

The tubs are placed at one end of the room and a start line at the other.

Note: Danger of slipping and falling on wet floors. We recommend you play this game outdoors and with caution.

The teams line up and when the host says Go! The first player of each team races to the tub with apples and bobs until they get the apple without using their hands.

Once they have the apple, they must race back to the start line tag the next person and they carefully head to the tub to get their apple and then return to the line to tag the next person.

This process continues until all member of one team have retrieved their apples and everyone is behind the start line and is declared the Winner!


Variation – Catch the Apples
Supplies: Large steel tub, water, apples, string and small buckets / pails with handle (they can be plastic or metal and should be large enough for an apple to fit inside – we saw some in Target for $1)

This game is similar to Bobbing for Apples however you don’t have the germ concern and it is not as messy. Catch the Apples can be played by lots of kids at once, as individuals, by teams or as a relay.

Game Preparation
The tub is filled with water and the apples are placed in the tub.
Take a length of string that is roughly two feet long. The string need to be long enough so it reaches from the child’s arm into the steel tub, yet short enough so they raised their hand to pull the bucket / pail out.
One end of the string is tied to each bucket / pail and the other end is tied to form a loop that goes over child’s hand and sits on the wrist during play.  

Playing Catch the Apples
1. All Play, Quick Version
Each child is given a bucket / pail and it is slipped over their wrist and they stand around the tub.
Players are told that they must drop their bucket in the water and Catch the Apple in their bucket / pail and successful pull it out of the water. First player to do this wins.

2. All Play, Collect Apples
Each child is given a bucket / pail and it is slipped over their wrist and they stand around the tub.
Players are told that they must drop their bucket in the water, catch an Apple in their bucket / pail and successful pull it out of the water and place on their apple pile, which is several feet behind them.

Play Catch the Apples for a timed period like 3 minutes or until all the apples have been pulled from the water.
The player having the most apples in their apple pile wins.

3. Individual Play, Timed
   Each child is given a bucket / pail and it is slipped over their wrist and told to stand at the start line. When you say go that child has 1 minute to run to the tub and use the bucket / pail to pull out as many apples as possible and place on his apple pile.
   
   At the end of their turn, the apples are counted, the number recorded, the apples are returned to the tub and the next player gets ready to take their turn. If you have a lot of guests you can have two players go at a time.
   
   Player collecting the most apples in 1 minute wins .
   
   4. Teams Relay Race
   In this version, there should only be 1 apple placed in the tub per person. So if there are 5 players on a team only 5 apples are placed in the tub. Maybe 6 if you want to be nice.
   Each child is given a bucket / pail and it is slipped over their wrist and told to stand at the start line. When you say go the first team member runs to the tub and use the bucket / pail to pull out 1 apple, set it on the designated apple pile, return to the start line, take the bucket off their wrist and place on the next player. Once the next player has the bucket on their wrist they must complete the same process.
   
   This continues until the last player is given the bucket, runs down and catches the last apple, places it on the apple pile and crosses the finish line.
   
   The first team to do this wins!
   
   
   Harder Adult Version of Catch the Apples Relay Race
   This adult version is silly and fun and is best played with a oblong steel tub rather than a round one.
   
   In this version, you need to tub, apples, buckets / pails and instead of making the string go around the wrist the string must be long enough to be tied around the waist or belt loop (basically they have to tie it so the bucket swings between their legs) and two or more teams. We also recommend a video camera to record this.
   
   Once the bucket / pail is attached the player must go from the start line to the tub and squat down to catch an apple in the bucket without using their arms. Might sound easy but it is difficult and funny.
   When they have the apple in their bucket they must walk with the bucket and the apple between their legs and safely return to the apple pile where they can remove the apple from the bucket.
   Once that is complete they untie the bucket and hand it to the next person, who must do the same thing.
   The game continues until every member has completed the task.
   First team done wins.

Making The silliest scarecrow

4. Divide you guests into groups and let them know they will have 15 minutes to create the scariest, funniest or silliest scarecrow.
   Note: If you have 4 teams try to have 6 – 8 pants, shirts, and clothing items so the kids don’t fight over the items. Don’t have items, then ask other parents if they can help or visit a thrift store.
   
   Guests must then create the scarecrow using the items given. If you have the materials you may want to give them scarecrow poles to or if you do this outside have sticks or broomsticks that they can use.
   
   Once the fifteen minutes is up have them put there scarecrow together and have them step aside and judge them to determine the winner. Once done use them for props and place the winning scarecrow on the front lawn.
   
   Make it more challenge by selecting a scrawcrow theme: Scariest, Funniest, etc... This way how they pose the scarecrow becomes important too.

Create A Haunted Halloween Story

Have everyone sit in a circle and let them know we are going to tell a story and the best part is you’ll be helping create it.

There are 2 ways to get started
1. Select an outgoing child to start
2. If the children are younger - write up some ideas and get them started yourself.

An example - It was a rainy and cold night as they walked along the road, but in the distance they saw a house...

The story is then passed on to the next guest where they add their own intrigue or surprises this continues until all the guests have participated and the story has been completed. Without the participants knowing, tape the telling of the story and then play it back for them right away. Just for laughs!

Depending an age you may want to turn off the lights, and have the storyteller shine the flashlight under their face as they tell their portion of the ghost story.

If the kids are under 5, you may want to lead the story and have the kids fill in one word answers. Example: As the kids approached the haunted house they saw _____. And this scared Sally so much she turned around but when she did she noticed that a _____ was crawling on Andrew’s back!

If you choose this method, have to flashlights, one for you and one that can be passed by the kids. The best part of doing this with young children is that you don’t know what they will say.

Ways to host and run a Halloween Costume Contest

a. Decide whether to have a Costume Theme and / or Awards Categories
Note: A Costume theme and Award Categories are not needed but help guests prepare for your Halloween party
- Have a theme: Dead Celebrity, Superhero, 80’s Music, Video Game, Handmade Costumes, etc…
- The Costume Categories 1 for Best Costume or several Most Creative, Silliest, Sexiest Costume, etc…

b. Decide how the Halloween Costume Contest will be judged.
- Judges, a few people determine who wins the contest.
If you are hosting the event and are having judges we recommend you set a few specific guidelines so that the judging is consistent. Also consider having judges score costumes based on looks, creativity, matches the theme, etc… then add up the scores.

- Audience chooses through clapping
For bars and community events, Halloween Costume Contests are often decided by the audience clapping or cheering for their favorite costume. In large Costume Competitions you can have many rounds and see a hundred costumes before a winner is selected. Often 8 – 12 people are brought on stage at a time and the top two move on to the next round. This continues until they have the Top 10 Contestants.

- Random winner for all who participate
Sometimes you just want people to participate and dress in a Halloween Costume, if that is the case then consider selecting a guest by random to win the Costume Contest by drawing their name out of a hat.

Pumpkin Bowling

Ask friends and parents of the guests to save empty, clean 2 liter soda bottles for your party. Give them a date of at least 1 week before your party to turn in the bottles.

Spray paint the soda bottles white and draw eyes and mouths on the bottles once dried. Add about a cup of sand or pebbles in each bottle so they will stand without falling over.

Divide students and guests into several teams of 3-8 kids each... line up and take turn at bowling over the Ghosts!

The small pumpkins are the bowling balls I did this 2 years ago-- they LOVED it ! The kids that got a strike received another attempt to bowl a strike. If they did bowl another strike they received a prize.
Thanks, Tonya