When it comes to organizing for the “other” holidays (basically anything but Christmas), I try to plan about a month in advance. Some of the holidays require less forethought. Halloween ain’t one of ’em.

To some, Halloween is a better holiday than Christmas! To others, it’s just a day on the calendar.

I love Halloween!

I have been very disappointed in Halloween since we moved into our house. We are lucky to get 10 Trick or Treaters TOTAL!!! I remember being so excited about our first Halloween. I decorated the house all up, got a TON of candy, because I figured we would get a lot of kids, then…I waited….and waited….we got a knock…we got a few young kids right away which was exciting…then we waited for another hour or more….then we got a couple knocks from older kids who didn’t even dress up!!

I got very excited when we had our first Halloween with the kids. Finally, we could decorate and dress up and have a grand ol’ time!

As the kids got older, it was less about our own Halloween decor and more about going to other people’s houses. Which is fun, but I still miss out on my own ability to decorate! So now, I just decorate their houses and bring fun Halloween themed treats!

When it comes to parties, it’s all about the food and the decor, and the fun usually works itself out. I do love to plan some simple minute to win it type games or activities. They are fun for both adults and kids, and create a ton of belly laughing from everyone!

My fav Halloween minute to win-it games:

Launch the spiders – buy some of that annoying spider webbing, some plastic spiders, and some plastic spoons. Use the spoons to launch/catapult the spiders into the net, from a distance of course! See who can stick the most spiders onto the net. Bonus points if they are hanging by a thread…!!

Big pumpkin pyramid – buy some orange SOLO cups (those plastic party cups – or really any kind, but orange!) Draw a large pumpkin face across many cups wide and high. Whoever can solve the pumpkin pyramid puzzle fastest wins! They can even win something simple like candy pumpkins!

Balance the pumpkins – speaking of candy pumpkins…buy some of those candy pumpkins and see if you can balance them on a popsicle stick. To make it trickier get some really skinny popsicle sticks from a craft store. If that’s still too easy line the entire length of the stick with candy pumpkins – whoever holds the most, the longest wins.

Stack the candy corn – buy more candy – but the candy corn ones. See if you can stack them up. It might be easier to agree to bite off the top half, then see how high your tower can get before it falls.

Eyeballs in the hand – get some ping pong balls – draw eyes on them (or simply buy lightweight eyeball balls from the store) and get your hands on some, well…hands. Like small skeleton hands almost shaped like spoons. Then just think back to the egg/spoon races. I can tell you; it can get pretty tricky if it’s a windy night!

There are so many themed activities to come up with, or to find with a quick search on the internet. I always like to add a few easy games to my arsenal every year, but I haven’t started my hunt yet – if you can believe that!?

One of my absolute favourite things about Halloween is coordinating the costumes! I loved it when the kids were too young to pick out their own costumes, because then I could coordinate better. Now that they are older, it’s down to duo costumes for my husband and I. Still fun, but not the same as working with a bigger group. I am super old fashioned when it comes to costumes. I still like to piece-meal the bits together to make the “perfect” home-made versions of costumes. I love the idea of my kids working with me creatively to make their own. Last year my oldest and I worked on making a Minecraft Creeper costume. I still have slight nightmares of the tiny squares we hot glued to an old uniform, but my son LOVED it!

There is no need to break the bank to have a great party!

Just either search for frugal decorating ideas for Halloween or cheap eats Halloween treats. There are so many options out there that are already tried and true! Pressed for time? Hit up the dollar store – there are some great finds there, including some decorations, candy and even crafty kits if you need to entertain the kids!

No matter what age, enjoy the creativity of this holiday. Why not get a little into it and make the most of Halloween day (or the whole weekend!)

Have a great time planning!

Thanks for coming home!