Halloween Party Ideas for the Teen Age Set!

Now we all are privy to the cool parties you can have with younger kids. Candy corn, bobbing for apples and the spooky "stick you hand here and feel brains" game is always a thrill for the under 10 set. But, when you get past the age of about 12, the fun of playing with peeled grapes goes a bit sour and they yearn for a bit more "meat" as you will for a party to celebrate the spookiest of days on the calendar.

And instead of stressing over a teen party, here is where you can really have some fun! The premise is a simple one. Terror pure and simple! Your imagination can go as wild as your guest's nerves can handle, but below are some great ideas to thrill the early teen set in a safe atmosphere for Halloween.

1. Download or purchase a CD of spooky sounds. There are plenty of free sites on the internet where you can download all sorts of sound effects. One which I've used is Free sound effects.Com which has not only Halloween sounds available but also sounds for just about any occasion you might need.

   hese are pretty darn good too, with sounds such as a ghoul's laugh, a cat's scream, and a man screaming. Of course this isn't all that is offered onsite for free, there is plenty more and if you are one of those who prefers to purchase your CD's, you can do that onsite as well. Please note though the following is mentioned onsite:

"Non Profit / Personal Use: Everyone can download and use the sound effects for FREE... any School, Church, Student, Teacher or Non Profit Corporation can use the sounds for free in any Home Use, Church Event or Classroom Project. Direct linking to a sound is not allowed!!!!

Commercial Use: Any Commercial use of the Sound Effects requires permission from A1 Free Sound Effects. We will grant you the right to use any of the sound effects with the purchase of Our Commercial CD. "

.......thus if you intend to use any of these sound effects for commercial use, you MUST receive permission to do so. This is accordance with copyright laws and is strictly enforced. For fun is fine...for profit is not. Pretty simple.

2. Make sure there are plenty of spooky snacks available for kids to much on. Keeping in mind an orange and black (or in this case dark brown) theme, cheetos and chocolate kisses are always a great hit with the teen crowd. You can also get very creative in minutes with plain popcorn by drizzling it with white chocolate colored a deep orange color as well as using dark chocolate too to add some flavor and coloring to an otherwise basic treat. To be really creative, add candy corn to the finished concoction and call it "Boo to you mix". It is a real hit with kids of all ages and is fun to look at in a clear glass bowl as well.

3. As for display of food items. This is where you can get very creative with a minimum of expense. Hit the dollar store and purchase either clear glass dinner plates and large serving bowls or white china ones. Then hit the nearest craft store and look for glaze in a tube that works for china and other glassware. Painting a spider web, ghost or just dripping "blood" down the side of a china bowl adds to the spooky effect and sets the stage for fun! If you really want to have fun, add some plastic goblets for each guest and write their names in "dripping blood" on the sides of the goblet. Instant party favor, especially if you fill it with gummy worms and/ or candycorn. Fun to see now lined on a table and more fun later to take home and remember the night of terror. Add some pretzel sticks, candy apples, breadsticks, pizza and plenty of drinks (soda and juice boxes are the easiest to clean up later) and you'll have a good time waiting to happen! Kids don't need a lot of fancy stuff, just good fun food and you've got a hit on your hands!

4. For entertainment, you can always use the old bobbing for apples or the donut on a string. But if you want some real fun and live in a neighborhood where the neighbors will participate, you can always fashion a scavenger hunt for the kids and have them find out answers to ghost and ghoulish movies from the neighbors instead of finding objects. The first person with a finished list wins their choice of Halloween décor. This can be anything from fake blood to a spooky mask...the sky is the limit and kids love to be able to choose their prizes so have an assortment ready. To make this especially hard, make sure the neighbors initial their answers and limit it to 2 answers per person to make sure the kids hit EVERYONE on the block. Lots of fun and you can indicate the homes that are participating by having them turn on their porch lights as well.

If you are feeling especially creative, you can fashion a Halloween version of TWISTER for the kids with phrases and colors that have to do with Halloween such as "Dracula's blood", "Swamp monster slime", and "Oozing sores"....you get the picture and trust me, you can't get too gross on this! They love it. to make the mat, use a white vinyl tablecloth. It will be durable and will also be available for future parties as well. Draw on it with fabric paint or plain old permanent SHARPIES. As long as the color is permanent, it works great!

5. As for other entertainment. Teach them the monster mash, find some fun videos of dances such as Michael Jackson's THRILLER or any other join in movie and move the furniture. Another fun thing is karaoke with Halloween theme songs. The CD, Top Tunes Karaoke CDG Halloween Vol. 1 available at amazon.com as well as Karaoke Music CDG: Chartbuster Special CDG CB80146 - Halloween Hitsfrom various sellers if you are interested in that sort of entertainment for the party.

6. Another fun thing to do is keep a movie of an especially spooky movie running in the background, such as Halloween. This movie is readily available as well from Amazon.com and many local merchants for under $15, so keep your eyes peeled for it and other fun movies like it. The running of the movie works great for those silent moments or when kids just want to "chill out" a bit and have some fun.

7. Another mention for your party are costumes. This is especially fun if you specify that costumes cannot be store bought but that the kids have to make them from whatever they find around the house. This helps parents with not feeling they have to spend a fortune on the "coolest" costume and also encourages creativity in the kids. They may balk at first, but trust this mom, they will love the opportunity to have fun and let their hair down and you'll be impressed with the outcome.

8. And another point to mention. Invite several other adults to help with the party. Kids can be a handful when they are young but when they get older it gets harder to keep them occupied and a couple fun loving adults can do a lot to help keep the party going and can also supervise the neighborhood scavenger hunt.

9. And as for party favors. Your best bet is the dollar store for goblets, plastic fingers, little pumpkins, princess crowns, candy, clear mugs, and even "Jason" masks. My boys also loved the huge spiders that were available and there are actually large rats as well in most stores at reasonable prices as well. Remember, these are teens, boys who love to tease girls and girls who love to scream so have fun and figure on at least 3 fun items for each kid. Maybe a bit expensive for some favors but you're saving elsewhere so splurge on the favors. I promise you won't be sorry when the kids see the goodies displayed on a table! And a little red paint dripped into a glass, or spider webs painted on plastic plates or candle holders are great party favors too....let your imagination go wild and have fun with them!

10. And last but not least. Make sure you have plenty of rechargeable batteries for the camera ready and several digital cameras available for guests to take pictures of the night. Later you can download the snaps to a program such as movie maker and share the video with the guests. It is another party favor that is pretty cheap with software such as moviemaker usually downloaded on most computers and sharing sites such as gather.com available to show the videos to the kids and their friends. OR simply send the video after it is created via email and let the kids make their own copies. Oftentimes that is the fastest way to share the memories and parents appreciate having a copy themselves on file as well.

The sky is the limit with this party folks. Have fun and have a safe and Happy Haunted Halloween!