Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Groovy Things to do at a Halloween Party

1. Murder mystery – each person is assigned a character and follows a “script” until a guest figures out whodunit.

2. Costumer parade – let the little ones parade around the neighborhood. Make sure all the neighbors know when to be outside to see the little ghosts and ghouls.

3. White elephant party – each guest brings an item from their home that they don’t want – pink go-go boots, a stuffed Flinstones doll, an orange and green argyle sweater – the yuckier the better! Gifts are numbered, and each guest “gets” to take home something new.

4. Graffiti party – Guests arrive in white tee-shirts and get to write on each other’s shirts with markers. Better yet, use highlighters. Then, turn on the black light (remember the 70’s?) and wow!

5. Pumpkin carving contest – A traditional favorite. Guests can work in teams to carve the most creative pumpkin.

6. Hayride – Another traditional favorite. Load the kids onto a cart or wagon full of hay and take a tractor ride in the cool, autumn evening.

7. Face painting – Ask a teenager to come over and paint jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, or black cats on the little one’s cheeks.

8. Haunted house – Get creative and turn your front yard, garage, or living room into a haunted house for the neighborhood kids complete with spider webs, gooey eyeballs (peeled grapes), guts (spaghetti noodles), ghosts (on a pulley), a graveyard with tombstones, and things that go bump in the night!

9. Mask-making- Little ones can use paint, paper plates, and string to make masks.

10. Pumpkin Patch – Visit a pumpkin patch and take photos for the scrapbook.

11. Bobbing for Apples – Get an old washtub, fill it with water and apples, and let guests take turns dunking their faces until they come out with an apple in their teeth.

12. Recipe contest – Have guests bring their most original pumpkin recipe.

13. Trick-or Treating! Duh!