A Spooky Spider Halloween Party (+ Game Ideas) -

Each year, my mom throws a huge Halloween party for all her grandkids (and for us). This year’s theme?

A Spooky Spider Halloween.

With Halloween being this Thursday, I thought I’d break down what a successful spider party looks like (in case you want to steal some last-minute ideas).

Step One: Have everyone don a costume. Attempt to take a picture of all the kids together, only to realize (yet again) that it’s almost an impossible task to have every kid looking at the same camera and giving a semi-pleasant face at the same time.

Step Two: Serve up some spooky grub, including mummy dogs (hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough and baked at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes), smashed bones with blood (chips & salsa), and troll urine (apple cider).

Step Three: Don’t forget dessert! (Candy corn ice cream/sherbet parfaits)

Step Four: Hide about 100 – 150 plastic spiders in relatively easy-to-spot locations and give each kid a plastic cup. On the word “Go,” kids need to see who can collect the most spiders. Winner gets a spooky prize, like tattoos of kids in costumes, fake mustaches, or Halloween-themed pencils/pens.

Step Five: Play Spider Prey Steal (aka Donut Grab). String up powdered donuts (“spider prey”) on string (“spiderwebs”). Each kid/adult must try to eat the prey without using his/her hands. Reward? You get to enjoy a powdered donut 🙂

Step Six: Have the kids (or other party guests) make a paper-mache spider piñata (use this page for some good ideas).

Step Seven: Play Spider’s Web Roll-Up. To set up, use a different color string for each participant (use shorter pieces of string for younger participants and longer pieces of string for older participants). At the end of each string, attach a popcicle stick with the participant’s name. Wind the string around chairs and tables so that all the strings are intertwined. At the other end of each string, place a large spider. Instruct players to find the stick with their name on it. On “Go!”, each player needs to wind his/her string around the stick as fast as possible until they reach the spider at the end. (Since this is a problem-solving exercise, reward all participants who successfully reach their spider at the end.)