Halloween Party (2-4yr) Gravestones

I decided to have a Halloween party for my 2 and 4 year old sons. 

I started by making the invitations.  I took a piece of heavy paper and folded it in half. On the front I placed 3D Halloween stickers(Michale's) and on the top I wrote Your invited to childs name and childs name Halloween party.  On the inside I wrote all the info and at the bottom I wrote Don't Forget your Costumes and placed a sticker of a kid in a constume beside it. 

For the decorations I started on the outside.  I had gravestones placed in the front yard with an old pair of shoes and plastic hands coming out of the ground by the stones.  I hung ghosts and pumpkins from the trees.(small trash bags filled with newspaper, tied in the middle and marker face)  I had mummy jars lineing the walk way(clean jars with the top painted black, big googly eyes hot glued to the jar, gauze wrapped around the whole jar and battery operated candles inside.) I also had foot prints painted on the side walk with washable glow in the dark paint that lead to the Halloween Fun House(little Kids) or the Haunted House(big kids)  I had two houses because the kids aged from 1-13 and I wanted to make shure everyone had fun. 

For the Halloween fun house I took the biggest black tarp I could find and tied it from the trees to make the top.  Then I took four more tarps and tied it to the top one for the sides. I also hung another tarp behind the fun house so the younger kids wouldn't see any part of the Haunted House and get scared.  I painted the front tarp to look like a pumpkin patch  and then cut a slit in the middle for the entrance to the fun house.  I also had a scarecrow sitting on hay bails  with pumpkins and gourds beside the scarecrow on either side of the entrance. I had plastic pumpkin lights hanging at the top of the fun house.(make shure the lights are not touching the tarp if you turn them on) For the inside of the house I had a pumpkin patch. I bought small pumpkins and wrapped raffia ribbion around the tops to look like the vines and then set them on the ground with a little fence half way around them.  Each child got to pick a pumpkin and then take it to the table I had set up and decorate it with stickers, pipecleaners, glitter, etc.  On the other side was the bat cave and snake slide.  Cave-my sons play hut center covered with black sheets and plastic bats hanging from the entrance of the tunnels. Slide-my sons slide that I painted snakes on it with washable paint and plastic snakes around the bottom.  I also had a mirror that when you looked in it it made you look silly and kids Halloween music playing for the kids to dance to.    

For the Haunted House the kids followed the foot print path to the house.(made same way as Halloween Fun House)  Along the path to the Haunted House I had skeletons hanging from the trees with a long rope attached to it and an adult was holding the other end.  When the kids would walk by they would let it drop.  I also had snakes hanging down from the trees and on the ground and signs that read Beware, Turn Back Now, etc along the path.  Once the kids reached the house they were greated by a Vampire(my husband) and screams, chains,and other sounds (CD Ebay) They were then told Enter if you Dare!!

As they entered through the spider web entrance they came to a path made from tall cardboard boxes that they couldn't see over and covered with black sheets. As the kids went through the house they had worms fall on there heads(an adult hiding behind the boxes spraying them with silly string) bats flying above there heads, a mirror that when they walked by a face appeared and screamed, ghosts jumping out (adults dressed up) a spider that followed them (a remote controll spider) and rubber spiders, rats, and snakes hanging from the walls, celling and on the ground.  When they reached the end they had to crawl through the bug tunnel. A Play hut tunnel and cardboard boxes that had plastic bugs attached to the sides and top.  I made several of the bugs move by hot glueing a paperclip to the bottom of the bug and then attaching it to the tunnel with  string that stretches.  I had an adult on the outside of the tunnel with a magnet and when placed on the tunnel they could make the bug move.  I had several kids try to kill the bugs that moved.  I also placed tortilla chips and a towel underneath the tunnel so when they crawled through it sounded like the bugs were crunching.   

After everyone arrived and was done with the houses we went inside my house.  For the decorations inside I had ghosts that my sons made( constraction paper and white crepe paper)hanging from the celling, Paper mache bat hanging over the food table, mummies,(pipecleaners shaped like a stick pearson with cotton balls placed on the head, hands and feet and then wrapped with gauze and googly eyes) monster jugs(empty milk jugs painted to look like monsters)  spider webs everywhere and many other ghosts, bats, spiders, etc around the house.  I had the kids table set up with a pumpkin table cloth, plates, napkins,plastic goblets shaped like ghosts, dracula, etc and orange silverware.  In the center was a haunted house(familyfun.com)  A

fter we came inside we ate dinner.  We had wizard hats(crossants with a slimjim cut in half and placed at the fat end then rolled just enough to cover the slim jim. Pepperoni cut in the shape of a moon on the top of the hat and oregano sprinkled on top.  Bake as directed on package) Pumpkin heads(a big pumpkin with fruit put on skewers and placed all over the top for hair, strawberry eyes, honeydew nose, and grape mouth.) spiders(Marshmallows dipped in chocolate with pretzel legs also dipped and m&m eyes) mice(deviled egg cut in half with lickarish tail, raison eyes, and eggs shaped for the ears) Severed Feet(Meatloaf shaped like a foot with sauce poured over the top for blood)  The younger kids actually really liked this and of course I had a big bowl of candy.  I placed it in a paper mache bowl I made. To drink we had witches brew.  I took a big pot and wrote Wiches Brew on the front with a washable marker. Next I took paper towel rolls and stuffed them with newspaper then painted brown for logs.  I atached flames cut from foam to the logs then arranged them to look like a fire then placed the pot on top of the fire and filled with punch.  

After we ate we played games. I split the kids up into two groups. I had the younger kids in one and the older kids in group two. The games we played were Spider Toss, Head on a Plate, and Trick of Treat.  Spider Toss-The kids took turns throwing spider bean bags(black bean bags with black legs attached to the sides and googly eyes) at a piece of wood painted to look like a spider web with holes cut out from it.  Which every child from each group got the most in won a prize. Head on a Plate-I took a baloon and drew a face on it.(make shure you have extra baloons)Then gave each kid a plastic plate and placed the baloon on top. The kids had to try to walk to a bucket and place there head in without dropping it.  (The younger kids were aloud to drop it.) Whoever got all there heads in first won. I gave each kid a piece of candy for just playing. 

Trick or Treat-I took ten bags and decorated them all the same with bats and pumpkins.  Then I placed a bowl inside each one.  I filled the Treat bowls with candy and small toys.  The trick bowls were filled with cold spagetii placed in water to make slimy, cold pickles, jello and peeled grapes.  The kids each got a turn putting there hand in a bag to see if they would get a Trick or a Treat.  After games I gave each kid there treat bags.  I bought cloth bags that looked like spiders from the Dollar Store and filled them with Halloween stickers, pumpkin bubbles, vampire teeth, Halloween pencils, and a ghost or witch stuffed animal.  After I gave them there treat bags the party was over.  Everyone had a lot of fun including the adults.