Are you a homeroom mom, PTA parent or a new teacher? Read on for everything you need to throw an Epic Classroom Halloween Party!
Boo! Did the Classroom Halloween Party sneak up on you? No problem. I’ve got everything you need to ensure your party is the most-talked-about treat of the holiday, including: Themes, Games, Crafts, Activities, Prizes & Favors, Snacks lots of tips and more. You can also use these tips and ideas to throw an awesome Kids Halloween Party at home!!
From preschool to fourth grade, the smoothest Halloween Class Parties follow this timeline:
- Set up for the party while kids do an activity at their desks
- Have kids rotate through game/craft stations (this will take up most of the party)
- Optional classroom Trick or Treat
- Kids go back to their desks for a group activity/game
- If there’s time, read a Halloween story
If do-it-yourself projects give you a fright, use this Halloween Party Pack to prepare for your party in just 15 minutes! The Halloween pack has over 40 pages of games, crafts and group activities. It also includes easy instructions on how to plan your party.
If you prefer to plan the nitty-gritty, but just need a little help getting started, read on. Let’s start with themes. (This post contains affiliate links to the products mentioned. Read my disclosure policy for more information):
Themes
The great thing about a Halloween party is that you don’t have to stress over a theme—Halloween is theme enough. But I’ve seen a few parents and teachers pull out all of the stops. Here are some ideas that can take a Halloween Classroom Party to the next level:
Glow Party
Buy Glow Party Decorations
Black out the classroom windows with black garbage bags or black poster board. Then turn on a lamp with a black light bulb installed. Now you’re ready for an awesome glow party.
You will want to make your games and crafts work with the glow theme. You can turn almost any game into a glow game by using glow sticks, glow balls, and neon items from the Dollar Store. When you’re picking crafts, use highlighters and neon cardstock. Here’s a list of things that glow:
That is all of the supplies.
If it’s too difficult to transform the entire classroom, consider using a small room near the classroom to have a “glow station”. Kids can rotate to this room and do a glow activity.
The Floor is Lava
Challenge the kids to avoid touching the floor during the whole party. They’ll have a blast avoiding the lava! All you need is disposable red tablecloths from the Dollar Store. Buy as many tablecloths as you need to cover most of the floor. Make sure to tape them down so they don’t slide around.
Lava Tablecloth
Next, grab some brown and black construction paper and tape them down as “rocks”. These will be safe to step on.
Finally, one of your activities could be making red lava slime. Just pick a slime recipe that is the least messy. Have a way for them to take it home with them. This post talks about the easiest classroom slime.
Spider’s Web
Buy Spider Webs
Transform the classroom into a giant spider’s web. The kids will think it’s cool to be in the middle of a spider’s den. Buy a bunch of spider web material and fake spiders from the Dollar Store.
You can have fun decorating every nook and cranny of the classroom. The kids could even have a station where their job is to make a spider web in part of the classroom. Make sure the webs don’t cover any lockers or doors that need to open and close.
Also, include one or two crafts and activities that are all about spiders. Like this Easy Spider Craft:
Fall Festival
This is great for younger children (Preschool/Kindergarten) who might be afraid of some Halloween items.
Buy Fall Themed Decorations
This theme is pretty simple – think pumpkins, leaves, owls, and sunflowers. To decorate just grab orange, yellow, and brown table clothes from the Dollar Store. The Dollar Store also has leaves that you can spread around.
Then choose crafts and activities that have a fall theme. Check out all of these Fall Crafts including:
Part of the Fall Festival theme is pumpkins. It’s always fun to let the kids decorate a pumpkin and take it home. Use stickers, feathers, leaves, even sharpies to let the kids decorate their pumpkins. You can use artificial pumpkins like these:
Artificial Pumpkins
One option with foam or real pumpkins is to use sewing pins to attach items like sequences and spangles. Just make sure there is an adult to help and supervise.
Sequence and Spangles
Games
Every classroom party needs games. I have 15 of the best game ideas in the Halloween Party Pack.
Here are a few simple ones to get you started:
Toilet Paper Mummy Game
Separate your group of kids into two teams. Each team gets to pick a child and wrap them in toilet paper from head-to-toe. Give them a short time limit.
At the end of the time limit have the two mummies race from one side of the room to the other. Repeat until all children get a turn being the mummy.
Poke a Pumpkin Game
You will need as many cups as there are children in the class, orange tissue paper, and a glue stick or rubber bands. Put some small prize in each cup or a piece of paper with a fun activity (for example, “run around in a circle”).
Cut a tissue paper square larger than the opening up the cup. Either use the glue stick around the rim of the cup to glue the tissue paper to the top of the cup or use a rubber band to hold the tissue paper in place.
Once all of the cups are full, use a hot glue gun or superglue to arrange the cups in the shape of a pumpkin on a poster board. Each child will have one turn to poke through the tissue paper for the game.
Making Slime
This isn’t technically a game, but it’s also not a craft. Let’s face it, kids just love to make slime and Halloween is the perfect time for it! Just pick a slime recipe that is the least messy, and have a way for them to take it home with them.
You can have them make small batches of it and put them in containers from the Dollar store or just sandwich bags. In addition, you can add glitter or Halloween confetti. Make sure they know not to play with the slime on the bus ride home.
Here’s a great glow-in-the-dark slime recipe from Elmer’s Glue.
For more info about playing games during a party, check out the best 10 Tips For A Classroom Parent. It includes tips for any classroom party like getting the kids’ attention, making game stations, and keeping track of time.
Crafts
Kids love a classroom party souvenir—that’s why crafts are always a hit! All of the crafts I have on Crafting Jeannie come with a free template and are designed specifically for a group of kids. So any craft you find here will be perfect for your Halloween Party.
If you have a certain craft in mind or want to make your own, check out 12 Tips To Prepare Crafts For A Group Of Kids. Trust me, it will make your life a lot easier!
Below are a few of my favorite crafts for Halloween but don’t forget to check out all of Crafting Jeannie’s Halloween Crafts.
For more info about party crafts, check out the 10 Tips For A Volunteering (Super) Mom. It includes tips for protecting the room, using disposable supplies and making craft stations.
Activities
Keep the kids busy while you set up the party with some easy activities. You can also plan a group activity at some point during the party. The winners can even get a prize.
Activities are pretty easy to find and print online, but to make your life easier, I have over 40 pages of printable activities in the Halloween Party Pack, including a Halloween word search, I Spy, Word scramble, Bingo and more.
If you’re scouring the web, here’s a list of my favorites (most are included in the Halloween Party Pack):
- Halloween Bingo – prize for the first three bingos, full card, etc.
- Word Searches – prize for first 4 words, etc.
- Word Scrambles – prize for the most completed words in a time frame.
- Mad Libs
- Mazes
- Halloween Coloring Pages (Grab some free ones here)
- Have kids decorate a treat bag to take home or if the class brought in favors they can “Trick or Treat” as a part of the party.
Also, you can always read a story. Even as the kids get older, they still like to sit and listen to a good story. Here are two that work for Preschool all the way to 3rd Grade – they are funny and perfect for Halloween.
For more info on how to use activities during a party, check out the 10 Tips For A Volunteering (Super) Mom. It includes tips about having backup activities, keeping track of time, and delegating tasks.
Prizes & Favors
Prizes
If it’s permitted by your school, it’s always fun to have prizes! Even if the prizes are small and simple, kids still love getting them.
A great time to give prizes is during a game of Bingo. As we play, I write the name of each child on the board when they get a bingo. We continue the game until all children win and then they come to the front of the room and select their prize in the order that they won.
I also like to wrap prizes for added enjoyment. Here’s a list of some prizes I’ve used in the past (most bought either at the Dollar Store or on Amazon):
- Halloween Pencils, erasers, notepads from the Dollar Store
- Halloween rubber balls
- Handheld Water Games
- Halloween bugs from the Dollar Store
- Fidget Spinners
- Halloween Inflatable Beach Balls
Favors
Some schools allow children to bring in “treat bags” to pass out to the class. Over the years, I’m guessing I’ve filled hundreds of bags with plastic bobbles for my three kiddos to pass out.
I usually buy a pack of treat bags from the Dollar Store and let my kids pick a few things to fill them with. Here are my favorite things to put into a treat bag:
- Halloween Pencils, erasers, notepads from the Dollar Store
- Glow Sticks
- Halloween Toy Assortment (I love the idea of filling a glove with these)
- Halloween cups (usually at the Dollar Store)
Some parents go all out and they always amaze me! There are lots of ways to package your favors to make them stand out. Here are some suggestions if you want to turn it up a notch.
I found all of these at The Resourceful Mama :
After you package the treat bags, add a tag that says “Happy Halloween! From,” and either type your child’s name or let them sign it. It’s always nice to let kids know who the favor is from because they don’t usually open them until they get home. I staple our tag to every bag to close them after they’re filled.
Snacks
If your school allows snacks, I found some great food choices and ideas on how to decorate them for Halloween. Just remember to check the class allergy list.
- Draw faces on pre-packaged mandarin oranges, peach cups, or a cup of grapes.
- Glue googly eyes or draw a face on a cheese stick
- Wrap a juice box or apple sauce pouch with masking tape or toilet paper to make a mummy
- Fill a baggie with fish crackers and draw on a pumpkin face, use a green twist-tie or ribbon to top it off.
- Fill a glove with popcorn and add candy corn for the fingernails.
- Don’t forget the store-bought Halloween cookie, that’s a must for most parties!
I found a bunch of ideas on PTOtoday.com
Tips
Finally, here are some Tips and Tricks for a fun party that runs smoothly. I cover the best top ten tips for throwing a classroom party in the post: 10 Tips for a Volunteering Super Mom. It has a lot of great insights and a free downloadable checklist. If you don’t have time to read it, here’s the cliff-notes version:
- It’s good to have help from other parents
- Make game and craft stations (sometimes called centers) the majority of your party
- Always have a backup craft or activity
- Have a way to get the kids attention – clap or turn off the lights
- Keep kids busy while you set up
- Protect the room – use disposable table cloths, bring wipes/paper towels
- Keep track of time – have a general schedule, rotate stations with a phone timer
- Use disposable supplies
- If possible use name tags (usually not applicable for short parties)
- Write names on everything that goes home with the kids
Most of all, HAVE FUN!!
Want to remember this? Post this craft to your favorite Pinterest board!
