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Halloween Games for Adults

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Halloween games for adults are the best way to add some entertainment to your holiday soiree. While it seems only the costumed kids get to have fun during trick-or-treat this time of year, parties are the perfect celebration for adults. The costumes might get a bit more risqué and the mood a little bit more frightening, but it can be a good way for adults to enjoy the holiday. If you are planning a Halloween party you’ll need to do a little planning to make it memorable.

Bobbing for Apples

A classic game for all ages, really. This Halloween favorite may not be adored by anyone with excess Halloween face makeup, but everyone else should have a blast. Using a large metal basin tub or a plastic kiddie pool, you’ll want to play either outdoors or somewhere you don’t mind the floor getting wet. Add your water and your apples and then let everyone take a turn at dunking their heads in the water and trying to retrieve an apple. Players are not permitted to use their hands. Usually, a small group competes and whoever gets the first apple or the most apples, wins.

“Witch Hunt” Scavenger Hunt

This is generally more enjoyable if you can use more than one room and possibly even the outdoors. Make a list of five to ten things guests are supposed to find and try to weave in the Halloween theme. So, for instance, if you have “something you might find in a graveyard” guests can do their own interpretation by bringing back a rock, a worm or a handful of dirt.

This can also be played more like a version of an Easter egg hunt. Hide clues in plastic pumpkins and plan out where guests should go during the hunt. Each team starts with a clue that is meant to lead them to the next hidden clue. The first team to get all of their items or clues wins.

Mummy Wrap

In this game, couples work together to beat out all the other couples playing. Using toilet paper, one person wraps and the other person is the mummy. The first team to wrap their mummy completely from head to toe is declared the winning team. Other variations of this game include having more than one person wrapping or using a blindfold on the wrapper so the mummy has to verbally lead the couple to victory.

Pin the Tail on the Devil

As one of the Halloween games for adults, this can be changed to anything Halloween related. There’s pin the nose on the jack-o’-lantern or witch, for example. You can use any decoration from a Halloween store and either cut a section off, or trace and make your own body part to get pinned. Blindfold the guests, spin them a few times to disorient them and let them take off in the direction of the wall. Whoever gets closest, wins the game.

Pass the Organ

Using a good sized sponge or partly peeled orange, the object is to pass the item down the line without using your hands. The party gets divided up into two teams and blindfolds are an option. If the guests are blindfolded then they aren’t expecting the damp, squishy object that feels like a heart being passed to them. The first player starts with the object grasped between his chin and neck and works with the next person to pass it to the same spot. Whoever gets the “organ” to the end of the line first, without using their hands, wins.

Name that Yuck

Before the party, plan to have a row of bowls, usually five or six is fine, and fill them with something that feels yucky to the touch and have guests guess what is in the bowls. Peeled grapes can feel like eyeballs or make a gelatin brain mold, for example. Allowing things to be at room temperature for a while can add to the grossness factor. The guests waiting to play are in another room, and the guest taking his turn to guess is blindfolded. Whoever gets the most right answers wins. If some people tie, then decide who guessed their items the quickest.

In addition to these Halloween games for adults, there are also other well-known classics such as using an Ouija board or simply having a costume contest with different categories such as most original and sexiest. With the right décor, some scary movies or music in the background and everyone in great spirits, these Halloween games for adults will be the highlight of your holiday party.

Halloween Games for Children

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No holiday party would be complete without Halloween games for kids. Aside from helping to set the mood for the party, it gives kids something to do to stay active and burn off the increased levels of sugar intake they get this time of year. Remember, keep the activities fun but safe and appropriate for the age groups attending the Halloween function. Enlist the help of other parents for chaperoning and encourage all the children to participate and it’s sure to be an enjoyable and memorable Halloween party for kids.

Classic Halloween Games for Kids

A standard and traditional Halloween party activity is bobbing for apples. This game can be played using a large metal basin tub or a plastic kiddie pool, but should be done outdoors if possible. Also, it should be played with plenty of supervision since it involves children and water. The players, without using their hands, dunk their heads into the water and try to retrieve apples using only their mouths. Usually, a small group plays against each other in rounds and whoever snags an apple first, or the person who gets the most, is the winner.

Parents who do not feel comfortable with this game, or do not feel like cleaning up water from all over their living room, can offer “Hanging Apple” instead. This alternative to bobbing for apples utilizes apples that have been hung up on a tree limb or sturdy rafter by string. Again, without using their hands, children try to snag the apple using only their mouths.

Pin the nose on the witch is a substitute for the kids’ classic party game pin the tail on the donkey. This can also be done using any form of symbolic Halloween related creature. You can use a decoration from a party store and cut off the part to be pinned. Another option is to trace the part to be pinned and make your own version of it. Maybe even have kids make their own before starting the game. You can have a pin the nose on the jack-o’-lantern, or feet on Frankenstein – just keep it Halloween related.

On Their Feet

One of the great things about party games is that children tend to get plenty of exercise without even knowing it. Some, of course, may offer a little more action than others. This is a great way to tire children out before winding down for the evening. Some of it will depend greatly on how much space you have available.

The Monster Mash has been a classic Halloween tune, as well as a graveyard smash, since around 1962. Using this song, have kids play a different version of freeze tag called “Monster Mash Freeze.” Kids dance while the song is played, but when the music is stopped at random intervals, participants must “freeze” in place or be out. The last one standing is the champ.

Pumpkin bowling is another one of the Halloween games for children that keep them on their feet. You can use a standard plastic bowling set and a mini pumpkin as the ball and have kids compete to knock the most pins down. You can even make it part of a small obstacle course so children run from one holiday themed game to the next.

As a separate game, or as part of the obstacle course, you can also include the eyeball and spoon race. Like the old egg and spoon race but with a Halloween twist, use an egg or ping pong ball painted to look like an eyeball and have kids race to the finish line without dropping the eye. For extra fun have each child decorate their own ping pong ball prior to the race. You can also create a version of this game utilizing a balloon and a paper plate. Again, an option is to have children decorate their balloon first to look like an eyeball. The child who makes it to the finish line first without dropping the balloon from the paper plate is the winner.

A Final Word

The idea is, when in doubt, put a Halloween theme or twist to a classic game and you have a holiday activity. Whatever activities you choose, just keep the kids involved as much as possible. This could mean helping to set up the games or decorating their own object to participate in the activities. Try to give everyone a chance to have a turn and, hopefully, be a winner. Halloween games for children should be fun but safe and add to making it a party to remember.