Planning a Halloween Party for Small Kids
An Unforgettable Horrible Experience:
Last year was the first time my son attended a kid’s Halloween party in our neighborhood. It was not a good experience for both of us. We just stayed for less than an hour. My son didn’t play with the other kids and never removed his arms from my waist. He was too afraid of the spooky decorations and the older children’s monster costumes. There were too many kids and it was quite chaotic already.
Then the monster movie started. That’s when my son cried so loud that we had to leave immediately. It was his first time to watch a terrifying zombie movie. After that he became afraid of the dark and he gets easily startled with unusual sounds or movements. It was a disaster, a horrible experience not just for him but for me as well. But it didn’t keep me from celebrating Halloween with my kid. In fact, it made me more determined to plan a Halloween party for my son. But I’m doing it the fun way and of course, the right way for small children.
Not all Halloween products out there are gruesome or terrifying. You can actually find some cute Halloween party supplies for kids at local stores or browsing online. Small kids should enjoy Halloween as much as older kids!
First Thing First:
Before you get started planning out your party consider the age and the number of kids you are inviting. If you have a 3 year old kid like mine limit your invitation to those who are between 2 to 5 years old and include their parents as well to watch over them. You have your own kid to take care of, I’m sure you don’t want to baby sit the other kids.
Depending on the age group of your guests you can now plan on the invitations, decorations, food and activities.
Invitations:
Limit your invitation to 5 to 10 kids plus their parents. This would depend on your budget and the space of the venue. Your party may get chaotic if you have too many kids invited. In my case, I’m limiting my invitations to my relatives only. My son has cousins who are of his age group and some older kids.
It’s okay to mix the toddlers with the bigger kids as long as you remind them to be responsible big brothers or sisters and not to scare away the little ones. How is this possible? Let the big kids help you with the preparation. Kids are very creative, I’m sure they’ll enjoy decorating the place and preparing the games. This way they’ll feel that the success of the party depends on them. Since their parents will also be coming over, I will have lots of help in the kitchen and the picture taking. This way I can keep an eye on my little son and enjoy the party as well.
Date and Time:
Best time is to hold your party on a weekend before Halloween. If Halloween falls on a weekday you may not have plenty of time to prepare and your guests might have trouble getting early for school the next day. If Halloween falls on a weekend you must consider that kids for sure will go trick or treating. Also check on other Halloween parties being held in your area. Cross off the dates that will not work for most of your guests.
Decorations:
Not because it is a Halloween party you should have scary stuff all around your house. Before buying some Halloween party supplies consider the age group of your guests. Toddlers are there to have fun and not to be scared away. Do not put too scary decorations and wear realistic monster costumes if you have little kids in your guest list. You don’t want my previous experience to happen to other parents and kids. You may keep your decoration simple by putting on an orange and black table cloth, purple and green balloons, spider webs and cute monster cutouts.
Click here to view our Halloween party supplies for kids.
Plan a Themed Costume Party:
I’m sure both the toddlers and the bigger kids would love to wear their favorite super hero costume, so why not make a super hero theme for your party. I’m going to buy my son his favorite Optimus Prime costume.
Party Activities:
You may keep this short by having two sets of activities for the older kids and the little ones. About 30 minutes to an hour of games will do. This should also fit your space. You may prepare an active game and a simple craft activity to keep their little hands busy.
Relax and Enjoy:
Finally, after a set of fun games let the kids spend the last hours of the party in a relaxing –for kids and parents- but enjoyable way: pop in a Halloween movie for the youngsters. Just make sure it fits their age and will not scare them away. A funny or cute ghost movie like Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie will do.
Spooky Room for Older Kids:
Let’s not forget about the older children, I’m sure they are eager to scare and be scared! So before they get bored of your not-so-scary decorations prepare a room big enough to accommodate the older kids. In my case I’m using our bedroom to accommodate 6 older kids. This time you can decorate it as spooky as it can get. Decorate the doorway like they are entering a haunted house. Be sure to add the “Beware!” sign at the entrance!
Cover shoe boxes with white paper and design them to look like little coffins. Scatter the boxes all over the room with plastic bugs, rats, and spider webs on them. A neon black or purple light is best for dark places. It will make all the white items stand out by giving it an eerie glow. Stick some cut outs of cats and bats in your glass window allowing some light from outside to pass through. This will give bigger shadows of the scary shapes inside the room. To make it a spookier place to get in, add some fog to the room with buckets of water and dry ice or with a Halloween fogger. Finally play some spooky music like those instrumental sounds that we hear in vampire movies.
This will be the room where you or another adult will share a scary story with the older kids. Let them share their own too, I’m sure they are all excited to tell ghost stories!
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