Hobbies And Interests
Pumpkin Bowling
Customize this amusing bowling game for preschoolers or for adults by adjusting the alley length. Start with a flat area and arrange 10 plastic bowling pins, or plastic bottles, at the end. Select three round, medium-sized pumpkins and break off the stems. Each player uses the pumpkin like a bowling ball and has two tries to knock down all the pins. Replace the pumpkin as needed to keep the carnival game going.
Jack-o'-lantern Toss
Give a Halloween twist to a classic beanbag toss with ghost-embellished beanbags and a jack-o'-lantern board. Start with a large square or circle plywood board. Sketch the outline of a pumpkin over the board with two triangle eyes, a small triangle nose and a thin smile missing two front teeth. Cut the eyes, nose and missing teeth from the board. Use black and bright orange paint to fill in the jack-o'-lantern. Use white paint to create ghost shapes on black or gray beanbags. Players get three tries to toss a ghost beanbag into the jack-o'-lantern.
Vampire Hunter
Turn players into skilled vampire hunters with a fall carnival game that uses suction cup arrows. Buy, draw or print out a life-size picture of a spooky cartoon vampire. Secure the picture to a piece of plywood for strength. Set up a shooting gallery with the vampire at the end. Players get three tries to shoot the vampire through the heart with a suction-cup arrow.
Spider Web
Challenge fall carnival-goers to a game of toss with a Halloween twist. Buy or make an oversized wooden frame, around 5 or 6 feet tall. Use strong black yarn to weave a web over the frame, leaving holes big enough for a softball. Hang the web between two poles or trees. Arrange three plastic cauldrons behind the web. Use permanent markers to decorate white softballs so they look like giant eyeballs. Each player has three chances to toss an "eyeball" through the web and into a cauldron.
Ring Around the Coffin
Use plywood and paint to create coffins for a fall carnival ring toss. Cut five thin coffin silhouettes from the plywood and paint them black. Mount each coffin to a plywood base so the coffin sticks up like a pole. Buy plastic rings big enough to fit around the coffins. Each player gets three chances to toss a plastic ring around a coffin.