by A.C. Turley

Created on: October 11, 2009

The joys of trick-or-treating, having family get-togethers, and attending Halloween events adds to the enchanting spell of the Halloween season. This year, make Halloween even more exciting by treating your kids to some entertainment beyond the usual Halloween puzzles or bobbing for apples at that Halloween party. Whether they will be witches, pirates or vampires, they will enjoy these fun Halloween games that mix some traditional ideas with new twists, and that offer choices of indoor and outdoor play.

1) Scarecrow Building Race

This Halloween game can be great fun for kids and adults alike. Gather your scarecrow building supplies outside like hay, newspaper, or dry leaves for the stuffing, old clothing, boots, hats, rope or ties, pillowcases or masks for faces, and helping tools like markers. Break the kids into two or more teams, depending on how many scarecrow parts you have. Set your scarecrow building standards, like every finished scarecrow must be full sized, have a face and stand upright, so there are no shortcuts. Then have the teams start building together when you say, "Go!" Set a time limit to help stragglers if necessary, and have prizes for the first team to finish. When the scarecrow building is over, set the new creations in the front yard as part of your Halloween decorations.

2) What's In the Witch's Cauldron?

This game can be easily adjusted to suit the ages of kids in attendance. Simply get a plastic black cauldron at least twelve inches in diameter, fill it with Halloween themed objects like spider rings, candles, plastic fangs, pencils, gourds, hay, and so on, and then drape a dark plastic bag or old sheet over the opening, cutting a hole wide enough in it for the children to reach through with one hand. When it's time to play, let each kid approach the Witch's Cauldron one at a time and feel inside for ten to fifteen seconds. When each child returns to his seat, he should secretly write down everything he thinks he felt inside the cauldron. The child who identifies the most objects correctly wins the top prize.

3) Pumpkin Bowling

Pumpkin bowling can be a messy Halloween game, but it's worth it to see the kids have so much fun bowling in your own back yard! The set up is simple. You need several medium-sized round pumpkins for the bowling balls, and ten empty liter soda bottles for the bowling pins. Fill the soda bottles half way with water or sand so they will stand upright, but will knock over relatively easily when hit by the pumpkins.

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