Plan a Spooktacular Halloween Party for Toddlers
IDEAS FOR A KIDS’ HALLOWEEN PLAYDATE PARTY
Halloween and cute aren’t words you likely put together before you had kids – but trust me, Halloween with toddlers can be super cute!
Here are some easy ways to celebrate with little ones. You can pull the ideas together and host a little playdate party, or just use one or two to spice up things at home in late October!
HALLOWEEN SNACKS FOR TODDLERS
The first rule of a good party: good eats!
The snacks for our Spooktacular Party: Ghost & Monster Cups, Jack o’ Lantern Slices, Witch Fingers, and Pumpkin Bites.
Ghost & Monster Cups: Pick up some small, plastic cups. Draw the eyes and mouth on the cup. Fill with yogurt (can add food colouring for the Monster ones) and top with cookie crumbs.
Witch Fingers: Mozzarella sticks with green pepper fingernail. Make a little notch in the end of the cheese to tuck the green pepper in, so that it won’t fall off as easy.
Pumpkin Bites: Cantaloupe cut with a pumpkin cookie cutter. Easy peasy!
Jack o’ Lantern Slices: The simplest treat of all – draw faces on pre-packaged mandarin slices.
The green pepper can also be used to dress up a cheese ball, turning it into a little jack o’ lantern. For more fun Halloween treats, check out this post!
HALLOWEEN MEATLOAF HAND
Looking for something a little more scary?
Try turning a meatloaf and mashed potato supper into a meat hand. I loved this idea the minute I saw it on Not Martha; it’s been a gruesome hit every time I’ve made it! (It’s often our go-to meal before heading out trick-or-treating; great for filling up the tummies with some nutrition before all the candies start appearing.)
HALLOWEEN PARTY GAMES FOR LITTLE KIDS
The second rule of a good party: entertainment!
I’ve found that with toddlers you don’t want to leave everything to chance, but you also don’t want to overplan it. Keep activities simple and easy to move between. We set up three or four simple stations with hands-on fun that kids & parents could move between.
Boo-ling
Grab a few rolls of toilet paper and a couple of pieces of black paper (cardstock and construction paper both work great!). 12 smallish ovals and six larger circles, a bit of scotch tape, and voila! Six ghosts! (If you have more time, you could take a kids’ plastic bowling game and re-paint it – and those white pins could easily be turned into a snowman craft come winter!)
Tissue Ghosts
My brother LOVED making these as a kid – and they continue to be a hit with the toddler crowd.
You may have to sacrifice a box of tissue paper, but you can always take the ghosts and string them up after for a quick Halloween banner!
If you haven’t made these before, simply scrunch up one tissue into a ball. This is the head of the ghost. Wrap another one over it, letting it drape down. Use a little twist-tie to secure (small pieces of pipe cleaner work, too) and voila! More ghosts!
Mini Pumpkin Patch
Have each guest decorate and take home their own mini-pumpkin! Our local market sold these little guys five for a dollar; picking them out was a great family outing on its own!
We found some silly eyes & mouth stickers that kiddos could easily use to decorate their pumpkins. We also cut some out of old magazines; a great way to practice scissor skills with older kids and adults seem to really enjoy creating bizarre faces on the pumpkins with these bits and pieces.
If you’re looking to up the crafy take-away portion of the party, consider making a few footprint/handprint art pieces to inspire your guests. Provide some paints and canvases and let them go wild!
And of course, any good family-friendly party needs a family-themed costume contest! Click the photo below to see some of the family costumes we’ve created over the years!
