40 Halloween Party Ideas - Food, Games and Decorations for Hosting

Pick your Poison - Line up samples of different drinks and see how many each guest can get right in a blind tasting (can be anything from lemonade to Coke to milk).
Name That Tune - Play clips of some favorite scary songs and have guests guess the song names.
Halloween Mad Libs - You can find Halloween Mab Libs online - ask your group to help fill in the blanks and share the wacky Halloween stories that ensue!
Pin the Bone on the Skeleton - Instead of pinning the tail on a donkey, grab a skeleton (or a printed version), blindfold guests and have them attempt to put a certain bone where it would be located on a body.
Donut Dangle - Attach donuts to a string and then tie the strings onto a pole. Have a race to see who can eat the donut off the string (hands free!) the fastest.
Pumpkin Carving Contest - Make sure to have carving tools on hand for this Halloween party classic contest. Set up tables and cover them in trash bags so the cleanup is easy. Guests can vote for their top pumpkin in categories like best overall, cutest, most creative and scariest. Genius Tip: Check out these pumpkin carving tips and ideas for inspiration.
Costume Contest - It's the moment everyone has been waiting for - who will win the biggest Halloween prize? Print out ballots or cut pieces of paper and ask guests to vote for their favorite costumes in categories like scariest, most original, best couple costume and more. Award the winners inexpensive prizes like trophies, necklaces or stickers.
Storytime - Gather your guests around the fire pit or fireplace and ask each to tell their best ghost story. Or choose a few haunting tales ahead of time (make them family-friendly if kids are attending) and read to your group in a spooky voice.
Guess the Body Part - Have kids reach into brown paper bags and guess the "body" part. Use grapes as eyeballs, spaghetti as "your insides" and mashed potatoes as a brain.
Mummy Wrap - Split up into teams and hand out rolls of toilet paper - each team races to wrap someone in toilet paper from head to toe. The fastest team to cover their mummy wins!
Scavenger Hunt - Give party attendees a list of Halloween-themed items to find and collect (or take photos with the items and show as proof). You can also write clues to make this more of a challenge and expand the game to the whole neighborhood.
Witch Hat Ring Toss - You can find sets of inflatable witch hats and rings online or make your own version with black poster board, foam board and your creativity. Decide how many points contestants receive for landing on each hat and let the game begin.
Guess How Many - Fill a jar with candy corn pieces and ask guests to guess the total count. The winner takes the jar home.
Pumpkin Seeds - Guess how many seeds are in the pumpkin (clean out the pumpkin, count the seeds and place back in the pumpkin ahead of time). Make sure to have a fun prize on hand for a winner. Genius Tip: bake the seeds, sprinkle with salt and serve them to guests.
Pumpkin Bowling - Line up soda bottles filled with beans or popcorn kernels as your bowling pins. Have guests pick a pumpkin and go for a strike.
Costume Relay Race - Divide guests into two teams. One member of each team runs down to where a suitcase full of costumes awaits. They must choose a costume, put it on and run back and tag out with their next team member. The team whose players are all decked out in costumes first wins!
Over/Under Relay Race - Divide guests into two teams and have them alternate passing a small pumpkin between their legs and passing it over their head to the next person. Repeat the pattern until you reach the end of the line and the last person runs with the pumpkin to the front of the line and starts over again. When the first person at the front receives the pumpkin at the back of the line, they run to present their pumpkin to the organizer. The first team to finish wins!