Does the idea of a Halloween party send chills down your spine?
Eight party tips to keep you calm
Your child wants to host a Halloween party, but the thought of having a bunch of sugared-up kids running around scares you—a lot. We’ll walk you through easy games, décor and costume ideas that will keep them busy and your house in one piece.
Last-minute costumes
Spa girl: Relax! A terrycloth robe, a shower cap, slippers and green face paint is all it takes to pull off this simple costume.
Construction worker: All you need is a big flannel shirt, tool belt, tools, hardhat and construction boots.
Laundry basket: Find the lightest basket possible, and cut a hole in the bottom that will fit around your little one's waist. Next, add clothesline suspenders. Finally, hang dirty clothes on the basket and line.
Halloween décor
- Buy a batch of rubber vermin and tuck them in corners and other surprising places.
- Cover your table with a white sheet and dress it up to look ghastly. Fill a cauldron with blood (dark red fruit juice), put out unpolished silver; drape spider-webbing material from the chandelier.
- Stuff rubber or latex gloves with cotton pads. Stick on artificial nails, gaudy rings, fake fur and blood.
Ghoulish games
Fortune telling trick: Dip a cotton swab in lemon juice and use it to write words on different scraps of paper. Then get each of them to ask a yes or no question and choose one of the pieces of paper from a bowl. Have an adult hold it up to a "magic" light bulb (at least 60 watts) and watch as the answer slowly appears.
Squishy eyeball search: Fill a plastic tub with cooked spaghetti. (Add oil when you boil the pasta to make it extra slippery.) Blindfold kids, have them search for the "eyeballs" with their hands.
Need to carve your Jack-O-Lantern? Download our stencils.