Fun Halloween Carnival Games for Kids

Ghost Games

• Play a ghostly game of darts by blowing up white balloons and drawing ghost faces on them with black marker. Attach the faces to a sturdy board and let kids try popping them with darts. Fill each balloon with a small prize, such as a spider ring or piece of candy, which the child gets to keep. A traditional bucket toss can be easily transformed into a ghost game by simply drawing ghost faces on white 5-gallon buckets. Place the buckets at varying distances from a start line. Kids who toss balls into the farthest buckets get the biggest prizes.

Pumpkin Games

• Make a pumpkin beanbag toss by cutting a pumpkin shape from a piece of plywood or cardboard. Cut two eyes, a nose and mouth, which will be the holes for the beanbags. Paint the pumpkin orange. Kids who toss beanbags through the large mouth win a small prize, but those who toss beanbags through the smaller eyes and nose win larger prizes. Another idea is to have a candy corn toss. Like a penny toss, arrange several pumpkin-shaped platters at varying distances from a start line. Kids whose candy corn lands on the platter without bouncing off win a prize.

Skeleton Games

• Purchase simple skeleton bones, or make them from clay. Put them in a large plastic bucket with green gelatin. Challenge kids to dig through the slime to find as many bones as possible within a given time limit, such as 10 to 30 seconds. Another idea is a spooky variation of a clothespin drop. Have each child stand on a chair or box, trying to drop small bones into a black jar, representing a grave, positioned below. The more bones kids drop into the grave, the bigger the prize they win.

Surprise Games

• Halloween is a time for shocks and surprises. Make a surprise wall by cutting several square windows out of a large piece of cardboard. Hang a curtain behind each window, and let kids pick which curtain to lift. A volunteer standing behind the wall will either shoot silly string at the child or give him a prize. Another idea is to have a tall man dress up as Frankenstein, a werewolf or other Halloween monster. Let kids pay the monster one ticket to scare a friend.