Halloween Party Ideas with ENA

The weather is turning colder, the leaves falling, and that only means one thing, Halloween is coming!! 

Perhaps you don’t share the same enthusiasm as me, but I’ll admit late October is one of my favorite times of the year. Now I know we typically post about critical issues affecting our planet, our climate, and humanity, but this post I’ve decided to highlight this scary holiday and feature ways to incorporate earth-friendly items into your own Halloween party!

Let’s start with some child-friendly games for a Halloween Party...

Pumpkin Tic Tac Toe: 

Materials:

5 white mini pumpkins 

5 orange mini pumpkins 

String or ribbon, preferably orange or black 

Scotch tape or pins 

Cut the ribbon into four equal size pieces, about one foot long and lay out on a table, or even on the grass. Tape ends down to the table (or pin the ends into the ground) into a tic tac toe board. Orange pumpkins for one player, white for another and game on!

Witches Hat Ring Toss:

Materials:

Craft paper (or pre-made witch hats)

Pool rings or glow sticks 

Piece of cardboard 

If you want to make your own hats, turn black craft paper into a witch’s hat by creating a cone with one piece and glueing it on to a cut out circle piece of craft paper. Decorate with other pieces of craft paper or paints. Or if you’re short on time (or craftiness), find some already made witches hats at your local craft store. 

For your rings, try to find a reusable item you already have in your home, perhaps rings from the pool or glow sticks from the 4th of July. 

For your board, cut off a flat piece of cardboard from a box you already have, and either leave as is, or go the extra mile and paint it orange. 

Glue the witches hats onto the cardboard piece and you’re all set!

Soup Can Bowling:

Materials:

Recycled soup cans 

Craft paint, felt pipe cleaners, craft fabric 

Tennis Ball

Recycle old soup cans for this Halloween party game. 10 cans should be the right number. Remove the labels and decorate the cans as you wish, jack-o-lanterns, monsters, mummies etc. Use craft paint, felt pipe cleaners, craft fabric, newspapers as “mummy wrapping,” and whatever else you would like to use to create your soup can “bowling pins.”

Use a tennis ball for your “bowling ball” and feel free to paint and decorate that as well!

Halloween Theme Photo Booth:

Materials: 

Old Sheet 

Decorations of your choosing

Set up a photo booth station where guests can take photos in their costumes against a Halloween backdrop. Reuse an old sheet as your backdrop and decorate as you wish! 

Bobbing for Apples:

Materials:

Apples 

Water 

Barrel

Blindfolds

This classic game could be a hit at a party for older children. Fill the barrel with water, put in the apples, blindfold the player and see what he/she can catch! 

Or twist up the classic, and instead bob for hanging apples. Drill holes into your apples and tie a string through the apple. Tie the other end to a tree branch and repeat. See if guests can catch the hanging apples with their mouths while their hands are tied behind their backs.

Once the games are over, your guests will be hungry so bring them to your snack table complete with ENA plates, cups, cutlery and napkins. Some healthy snack ideas include: 

Mandarin oranges with jack-o-lantern faces drawn on makes them look like mini jack-o-lanterns.

A caramel apple bar complete with farm fresh apples, homemade caramel, variety of nuts, and small pieces of chocolate or candy. Perhaps even some melted chocolate for dipping as well. 

Yogurt-dipped banana popsicle ghosts with nut butter and mini chocolate chips. 

So this Halloween, throw an eco-friendly party and enjoy this wonderful time of the year. Happy Halloween!