halloween party ideas for kids and classrooms

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Halloween class parties.

Haven’t these been held for years and years and years?

Right.

So why are we all searching around and surfing the internet and looking high and low for ideas?

Here’s everything you need for a rockstar Halloween class party.

All wrapped up in a pretty little package. Just click the links, add them to your cart, and it will all end up on your doorstep.

Print out the games, put on your witch hat (Come on. You better have a witch hat if you’re planning a Halloween class party for your kid!), and make your copies.

This party. Will. Rock.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Halloween Party Ideas for Kids and Classrooms:

You cannot do this on your own. You need help.

Unless, of course, you are lucky enough to have a huge budget and tons of volunteers at your fingertips, you’ll need to solicit funds and help and then get this party moving on party day.

Plus, it’s tons more fun when you have other great parents helping.

Here’s everything you need to rock this party:

1. Get in touch with the teacher.  

Tell him or her that you are the Room Parent and that you’re ready to rock this party. (Just kidding. . . )

But ask the teacher:

• the timeframe for the party;
• what he/she would like to do and when;
• about any food allergies in the classroom;
• to tell you anything and everything you need to know in order to plan a great party for the kids.

Then? You’re good to go.

2. Send out a class letter. 

Send a note introducing yourself and asking for H-E-L-P.

I like to have a little part on the paper where parents can cut (or rip) and send back to me telling me how they are able to help.

Or if you’re tech-savvy and want to use a service like VolunteerSpot, send the link to your event in the letter.

Feel free to use our letter–just change it for your own dates/ info: halloween party letter BLANK  or a word doc: halloween party letter BLANK

You can download ALL DOCUMENTS from this post below! 

3. Send out a second class letter requesting contact information. 

Not even kidding.

Some parents might not return the letter because they’re not able to help with the party, and that’s cool.  This is new for me this year, but I’m hoping that it makes communication streamlined like never before.

Because teachers in my kids’ school cannot share parent emails, this is what we must do.

Even if parents aren’t into volunteering time, items, or money for the event, I want to keep them in the loop. Right?

You can download the Wanted: Contact information here: parent contact request wanted _ teachmama.com

You can download ALL DOCUMENTS from this post below! 

4. Make a plan.  

A party plan. Because for all of the parent helpers and the classroom teacher, they need to know what’s going on.

Some pointers that make the party move smoothly:

• have an easy activity that kids can do at their seats while others are getting into costumes: coloring pages, mazes, word search, or guess the word;
• find a fun way of dividing class into smaller groups: have kids pick one of three different foamy stickers, have three different spider rings, etc;
• make sure parents put snacks on plates while kids are on parade so that snacks are ready quickly;
• give kids snack first because really, that’s all that most of them want;
• provide a goodie bag at each game station that kids take from station to station;
• have at least one group activity: freeze dance, hot pumpkin, pumpkin match, etc.

Here’s the plan we’re using this year:

Feel free to use our party plan–just change it for your own dates/ info: halloween party plan 2014 or a word doc: halloween party plan 2014

You can download ALL DOCUMENTS from this post below! 

5. Get everything you need for the party.

Delegate if you are able because some parents really want a job to do; they like to pick up water bottles, prizes, or cupcakes, so let them!

Here’s our shopping list with links for you to grab and have delivered to your doorstep:

• Halloween paper plates and napkins;
• spider rings (use as Game Station dividers);
• Halloween gift bags (have one at each station–each child gets one that he/she uses throughout party);
• plastic spider bowls for each station to hold prizes;
• plastic glow-in-the-dark fingers (use as prize for Game Station);
• tiny Halloween notepads (use as prize for Game Station);
• Halloween pencils (use as prize for Game Station);

• tiny Halloween self-stampers  (use as game pieces for Bat Follow-the-Path game and forTic-Tac-Toe game);
• copies of Tic-Tac-Toe game (use small stampers as game pieces);
• copies of Bat Follow-the-Path game and dice (use small stampers as pawns);
• white paper plates, white yarn, white crayons, extra spider rings and watercolors (for spider web craft);
• Lego bricks;
• copies of Halloween Lego game cards;
• pumpkin faces (for pumpkin match);
• black letter and number stickers (for pumpkin match);
• Wee Sing for Halloween (music to play during party!);
• CD player to play music (or wireless speakers if it’s on your phone).

6. Assign one volunteer to each game station:

Guess the Word: Play this while kids are eating.  It’s much like the one we did for our Valentine’s Day party last year, but this time it’s with Halloween words!

You can download Guess the Word (Halloween) here: halloween party word guess game

You can download ALL DOCUMENTS from this post by signing up below:

Grab the WANTED: contact info form, the party plan, the party letter, and the Halloween Guess the Word Game!

Game Stations:  (quick, 10-minute stations will keep the party movin!)

• Stamp Games: Put the kids into pairs and let them play for this game station! Kids will grab a small Halloween stamper and use it as the pawn for the Bat Follow-the-Path game and then use it as a stamp for Tic-Tac-Toe!

• Tic-Tac-Toe: Just like the game we all know and love, but this one uses Halloween stamps!

Check out how we use Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe here: Halloween Printable Games

• Bat Follow-the-Path Game: Players begin at the upper lefthand block and take turns rolling the dice to see how far they go on each turn. Winner gets bat to his family first!

Check out how we use Bat Foll0w-the-Path here: Halloween Printable Games

• Lego Match: Lego bricks and some Halloween inspiration is all you need for this one!

Check out the Halloween Lego Game post for more.

• Spider Web Craft: Paper plates, white yarn, and spiders. And crayon resist Halloween magic happens. No glue makes it super-simple, and if you encourage kids to use a little bit of water and paint on their brushes, the webs will dry fast enough to take home that day.

Check out the Spider Web Craft post for more.

• Pumpkin Match:  Grab some pumpkin cut-outs and some black 2″ letters and numbers.

So fun and this will get kids up and moving!

We cannot wait to get this Halloween party started!!

What’s your go-to Halloween party plan for kids? What works? What do you, the kids, or the teacher love? Let me know!

Need some more ideas? Check out:

Want a few more fun halloween party ideas?

• halloween class party ideas
• halloween ghost cookies
• boo! your neighbors
• alternatives to halloween candy
• halloween joke notes
• halloween learning
• hats, cats, and pumpkin grid game
• dinner in a pumpkin
• candy experiments

fyi: affiliate links are used in this post, which only means that any time you purchase something using these links, we get a teeny, tiny percentage. thank you!