# Ideas needed for an adult/kid neighborhood party



## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

This is our second year in the neighborhood. Since I went all out the first year with decorations, alot of the neighbors said I should throw a party this year. I am going to try it, hopefully. 

The catch is, this is not a friends and family party. This is a invite your neighbors and their kids party. So I can't do adult games only, I have to have kids games. 

The theme of the party is going to a zombie apocalypse and our house is safe. I was going to ask for a required costume to come, but reading other posts, most say don't or alot of people will not attend. 

For games/activities, 
**we are going to have a costume contest, both for Child and Adult if there is participation by the adults. 
**Mummy wrap- toilet paper a friend as fast as you can and make it look good.
**felt tip pumpkin carving - balloons head to head
**We are going to have zombie paintball as my backyard is condusive to setting up targets on the hill and shooting them with a paintball gun. 

The party will be inside and outside hopefully if the weather cooperates. 

Ok, Go for the ideas of games for a mix of kids and adults, or ideas in general to keep people there. 

Ah, one caveat.... no alcohol at the party because of the kids


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Think of traditional games and put a Halloween twist on them.
If we're talking about little kids then the games need to be simple enough for them to grasp and compete, or at least have fun doing.
Maybe an egg toss with the eggs hardboiled, and eyeballs painted on them.
Ring toss, a baseball toss kind of thing but knocking down skulls rather than pins.
Twister but with Halloween Icons rather than the basic blocks of color (skulls, bats, pumpkins, tombstones, witches cauldrons, etc.)
Coloring book competition with Halloween images.

I would make this a potluck event, getting your neighbors involved helps you out time and money wise, but it also tends to help the crowd mix and be less critical of food. When they are responsible for some of it they can't blame you. If you supply some basics and maybe an entree you can sit back and let them take care of the rest.
Catering is great if you can afford it and you pick the right food for your crowd, but having people involved and mixing is more important than a fancy looking waiter or server. If you do go for the potluck, ask the people to supply a "name" card for their dish(es) that gives a spooky and a traditional name, and maybe list the contents.
I know the contents part may sound odd, but for those with food allergies it can be a scary time. Things like peanuts, gluton, shellfish, etc. can be deadly to some.


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## ouizul1 (May 22, 2010)

Ummm...maybe a "Pin the Arm back on the Zombie" game?


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol: My dream is to live in a neighborhood where I could start a Halloween block party and have the whole block partitioned off for the event...but most of my neighbors don't even put out a pumpkin.  
I love the idea of hosting a neighborhood party and here are a few suggestions for you. I love bobbing for apples for everyone. It is fun and I think kids and adults will like it. Sack races are also fun and everyone can do those. I did a thing at my party last year where I divided people up in groups and did a 'photo scavenger hunt'. The first one back with all the pictures of all the things wins. And I was specific like a picture of a black cat, a picture of a Witch's hat, a picture of a skeleton, a gravestone, etc. Most everything can be found in a neighborhood that has a few decorations up. I would suggest something easy like hotdogs and hamburgers and you can have people pitch in to buy them, or bring chili, baked beans, chips, potato salad, etc. as sides to help out. You could do a craft table for the kids and do a simple craft like popcorn stuffed plastic gloves and call them witch fingers. A piece of candy corn in each finger and then fill the hand with the popcorn. (you can buy the disposable gloves at Sam's club or Costco) That would be a neat craft and a treat all in one. Or another fun thing would be a pumpkin carving contest. My friend hosts a pumpkin carving party every year and has a prize for the winnning pumpkin. You could have a prize for adults and a prize for children. Whew! I sure talk a lot. Anyway, just a few ideas, I hope it turns out to be Spooktacular!:laugheton:


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol: P.S. For me....for a Halloween party... COSTUMES ARE A MUST!!! People that won't dress up, won't be that much fun to be around anyway. Just my opinion.


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## EvilQueen1298 (Jul 27, 2007)

I am 100% in agreement with Pumpkin5. Halloween without costumes is like....oh I don't even like to think about it. 
Anyway, it is wonderful of you to host a neighborhood party (I sure hope it's a potluck event) 
Here's a game--
♦Candy Corn in a Bowl
Needed: Two bowls, two wooden spoons, candy corn, four chairs (to put the bowls on-two for starting and two for finish line)
Designate a starting line and a finish line. Set out a bowl full of candy corn for each player at the starting line and an empty bowl at the finish line. The players must use a large spoon to scoop candy corn out of the full bowl and then carry it to the empty bowl and fill it. They cannot spill any candy corn or use their hands! If any candy corn falls off the spoon, they must immediately pick it up and bring it back to the starting line bowl and start over with that scoopful. Each team as few as 3 as many as 10.
Prizes: candy and bragging rights.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

The event is a potluck. I am providing pizza and pop and on the invitations I put " bring something to share, the zombies are not the only ones hungry."

I have the first set of invitations printed up. That had the costume is a must, and said come as a zombie, zombie survivor or costume of your choice. Super Heros are welcome.

Our neighborhood does a block party in September over Labor day. A neighbor down the road hosts it every year. This year they had 65 attend, their highest number yet. I am hoping for half of that but heck, you never know. 

I like the candy corn game for kids. I am also thinking of a feed the zombie bean bag game as you know kids like to throw. 

I don't need too many games but just activities to keep people around. Hopefully it will be a hit. If not, I don't have to do it next time around. I can just decorate the outside and have a fun ToT. 

Keep the ideas coming though. I like the input and it is helping to get the party theme underway.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Monster movie team trivia.
There's tons of trivia for monster and horror movies out there and with teams you can get lots of people involved.


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## EerieEstate (Jul 11, 2009)

I agree with the previous posts. Costumes are a MUST! 
As for games, we've had lots of luck with the mummy wrap game for the kids so I suspect that one will go over well for you. One other suggestion, don't know if you have the room to do it, or an area suitable but for several years we have built a cardboard tunnel along the perimeter of the room for the kids. Just normal 2x2 boxes that were hooked together for stability and then ran a strand of LED rope light through it. It's been a blast for the kids... and the adults.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

My best suggestion would be to pre-plan..when kids are involved, I have a written list of what I need to prepare for party as well as a rough time schedule of when we will do what...and list of games & how to do them, so if I need to have someone else take over & run the game, etc. they know what to do and what comes next. Mud on the floor, a kid puking in the dining room...not to be negative, but be prepared for distractions. As for the day of the party set-up, I even make up a diagram of how I want the main food table set up so I can have someone else do it for me & I don't have to explain what I want when I am already running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Instead of Hot Potato, you could have Hot Head with a skull...almost ANY kids game can be made Halloween-y. Pin The Head On The Zombie...Duck Duck Ghost...spoon race using 3 shrunken (apple) heads...for some reason, kids LOVE balloons on the floor, then at the end of the party, they have to pop them without using their hands....zombie balloon animals (weiner dogs are easiest)....having a mask table set up where kids can make Halloween masks out of cheapie paper plates might be good.Crayons are like 12 cents a box now at most places. Make sure you have a eyes & nose hole template cut out of stiff cardboard and string/elastic and hole punch. I like stuff like that cuz you can gather stuff ahead of time (make a sign saying its a mask making craft & maybe show one as an example), throw it all in a box & then just set it out at the party with no effort.


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## wicKED (Sep 16, 2011)

Some great ideas and tips can be found here. Also there is a link with a BOATLOAD of themes. Hope it helps!


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

Thanks for the tips everyone. I have time to plan it out. And now I have a few activities that kids will enjoy. Doing a party for neighbors is definitely not as easy as friends where you know what to expect haha.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Wordsearch puzzles are fun for most people, kids included, and they can be tailored to meet your needs for theme, size, and level of difficulty. Coloring sheets, mazes, and puzzles work well for smaller kids too.


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