Make Your Own Halloween Party Game Ideas for Elementary School

Halloween is a favorite holiday of most elementary-aged children. It marks the first big celebration of the school year, complete with costumes, candy, and fun. And as any teacher or parent knows, no Halloween party for elementary kids is complete without some fun Halloween party games. There's no need to spend a fortune on them, however. Instead, make your own Halloween games using household products that are easy to find. These simple Halloween party game ideas are fun for elementary kids and easy to coordinate, making for a great Halloween party.

Pin the Nose on the Jack-o-Lantern
This simple party game has hundreds of variations, but this is an easy way to tailor it as a Halloween party game for elementary kids.

You'll Need:
1 piece of orange poster board
Black construction or heavy-duty paper
Black magic marker
Sticky tack or tape
White crayon
Large scarf or handkerchief

1. Draw a large pumpkin on the poster board, covering most of the surface area. Fill in the face with 2 eyes and a mouth, but don't draw a nose.
2. Cut out one black triangle out of paper for each child in the class. If you have a class list in advance, label each nose with a child's name, which will save you time at the party.
3. At the party, hang the poster on the wall or chalkboard. Blindfold each child, spin him around a time or two, hand him his nose with his name on it and tape or sticky tack on the back, and let him try to pin the nose in the right spot.

Younger grades especially love the silliness of this game as they watch the noses go in all sorts of crazy places.

Candy Corn Relay
This frantic race is a lot of fun and tests children's small motor skills, as well as promotes teamwork.

You'll Need:
4 small buckets
2 spoons
2 bags of candy corn

1. Set up a starting line with 2 buckets side-by side. Fill each bucket with a bag of candy corn.
2. Set up a finish line and place the remaining 2 buckets there, in line with the first 2.
3. Divide the group into 2 teams and have them line up behind the starting line buckets.
4. Give the first 2 children a spoon. Each child must scoop up as many candy corn as they can with the spoon and deposit them into the finish line bucket. When they're done, they must run back to their team and hand off the spoon to the next child in line.
5. The game ends when all of the candy corn has been transferred from the starting line to the finish line. The team who completes this first is the winner.

To make this game more challenging for older grades, add the rule that if a person drops any candy, they must scoop it up, go back to start, and try again.

Pass-the-Pumpkin
This classic game is simply the Halloween version of "hot potato."

You'll Need:
1 miniature pumpkin
A portable CD player or MP3 player with Halloween kids' music

1. Sit the group in a circle and give the pumpkin to one player.
2. When the music starts, the players must pass the pumpkin around the circle.
3. When the music stops, whoever is holding the pumpkin is out and must leave the circle.
4. The game ends when only one player remains as the winner.

This game can be made more challenging by adding the rule that anyone who drops the pumpkin is automatically out of the circle. This also helps curb overly-enthusiastic children who try to throw the pumpkin instead of pass it.

Mummy Relay
This game can get a little crazy, but kids have a ton of fun with it.

You'll Need:
Several rolls of toilet paper

1. Divide the class into groups of 3 to 5, depending on how large the class is.
2. Give each group 1-2 rolls of toilet paper and have each group choose one member to be the mummy.
3. When you say, "go," each group needs to wrap their mummy in the toilet paper as fast as they can, covering arms, legs, body, and head.
4. Whichever group uses up all of their toilet paper first is the winner.

An alternative is to have the teacher judge the most creative mummy or the mummy who'd covered the best from head to toe, making it less of a timed race and more of a game of skill.

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