Fall Party Ideas

This is a bit off-topic, in that this is something you can do at home with your kids, instead of somewhere you can take them, but it's all about having fun with your family!

Now, I don't even pretend that I'm a creative person when it comes to parties and kids' stuff, but I DO like to have fun, and I DO know how to use Google. The following ideas would be fun to do with your kids and their friends one evening to celebrate fall, and perhaps to start a new family tradition of having a party just for your little family.

(1) Pumpkin Race - Set up starting and finish lines and have the children race to see who can get their pumpkin over the finish line first using only their feet to slide the pumpkins along. No kicking the pumpkins like footballs...lol

(2) Popcorn Relay Race - Set out bowls full of popcorn at one end of the room, empty bowls at another. Teams must transport the popcorn from full bowl to empty, using a measuring cup. This is a messy game - plan it for the end of the party! (Note: popcorn is a choking hazard for children under three).

(3) Bobbing for Apples -- This traditional game might should be limited to family members only; after all, I don't think I want my kid's mouth in water where my neighbor's kid has just had his head submerged. No offense to my neighbors, but you feel the same way, don't you? Anyway, my MIL did this activity last year for her grandkids, and they all had a good time.

(4) Halloween Pumpkin Decorating -- Use acrylic paints, brushes, paint pens, other art supplies for decorating pumpkins in an area that is safe for painting and messes. The garage might be the ideal place for kids to bring their pumpkin to paint and decorate to their heart's content.

(5) Cupcake Walk -- A cakewalk is always the favorite activity at school and church carnivals. Bring the cakewalk down to size with a cupcake walk at your party. It's just as much fun and a bit more manageable at home. Each player starts on a number and walks around the circle while the music plays. The game leader stops the music and everyone finds a number. Draw a number from the hat and the player on that number wins the cupcake for that round.

(6) Big group game: HALLOWEEN HIDE & SEEK -- If you live in an area where homes are far apart and trick-or-treating can be an exhausting, if not impossible task, you can do this combo hide-and-seek, treat-or-treat game. While the kids are indoors decorating/making their loot bags, the parents, armed with treats to dole out, sneak into the large yard and hide. One parent has the kids count to 50 and then go in search of the other parents. The kids stick together during the hunt, yelling "trick or treat!" and collecting goodies each time they find a parent.

Let me know if you have any favorite games for parties!