Scary, Spooky, & Sweet: 35 Fun Halloween Party Ideas

If you’re hosting a Halloween party for little kids, a not-so-scary monster theme is a fun and age-appropriate idea. Bring fun (and friendly!) monsters to life with super cute balloons decorated to look like cartoon cyclops, feature the characters on cupcake toppers, napkins, and plates, and have some monster-eye headbands on hand to help complete your guests’ costumes.

Nostalgia is part of what makes Halloween so fun, and a Charlie Brown-inspired Great Pumpkin party is the perfect vintage theme. Decorate your space with pumpkins of all sizes—including at least a few larger-than-life pumpkins—serve pumpkin-flavored treats and snacks on pumpkin plates, set up a pumpkin carving station…the options are endless.

A haunted house is the perfect Halloween party theme if you have a closet full of spooky decorations you can’t wait to put out every year. You can dial up the scary-factor depending on the age of your guests, but no matter what you do, be sure to serve up some gruesome treats (more on that later in this article) alongside your scares!

We love a ghosts and ghouls themed Halloween party because this is one of the easiest to DIY. Turn your party space into a graveyard by decorating your lawn (or living room!) with cardboard headstones, then create ghosts by draping balloons in old sheets or plastic tablecloths and hang them from the ceiling, trees and even the rafters.

For a twist on the ghouls theme that is perfect for little ones, throw a not-so-spooky ghost Halloween party. Minted’s collection of super cute pink ghost party supplies are the perfect mix of sweet and scary. Complete the look with ethereal pink tablecloths, silver streamers, and ghost-inspired sweet treats like marshmallows, vanilla cupcakes, or even cotton candy.

Double, double toil and trouble! Enchant your guests with a witchcraft inspired Halloween party theme. Transform your venue into a witch’s hideout by hanging floating candles from the ceiling, sourcing a few vintage brooms to tuck into the corners, and turning your snack area into a potion table complete with a cauldron full of punch, eyeball cake pops, and cutlery that could double as a witch’s broom.

A black and white checkerboard theme is a great idea if you’re aiming to keep things simple — or want to ensure everyone’s Halloween costumes take center stage. If you want to take the theme up a notch, encourage guests to come dressed as characters from old black-and-white horror movies and set up a station where they can apply some black and white face paint to finish off their looks.

It doesn’t get much more classically Halloween than a skeleton-themed party! Decorate your space with skeletons of all types and in all sizes (feel free to go larger than life and spookier if most of your guests will be adults and older kids). Set up skeleton-inspired charcuterie boards, turn your backyard into a haunted graveyard, and challenge everyone to a skeleton hand relay race.

Whether you love the thrill of a horror movie or prefer the cozy vibes of Hocus Pocus, there are so many Halloween movies to take inspiration from. Bring one to life as your party theme, or encourage all of your guests to come dressed as a character from their favorite spooky flick.

If you’re helping a close friend or family member celebrate the arrival of a new little pumpkin, you can absolutely throw a Halloween-inspired baby shower! Play games like a pumpkin diaper race, source photos from the mom-to-be’s or dad-to-be’s first Halloween, and decorate the space in scary-meets-sweet ghosts, bats, and pumpkins.

If you’re hosting a community party or just want to give the kids another chance to score some candy, ask your guests to deck out the trunks of their cars in spooky decor for a fun trunk or treat!

Encourage your guests to get creative by hosting a costume contest at your Halloween party! If you have enough people coming, you could ask everyone to vote on their favorite overall costume, most creative, best DIY, best couple or family costume, and more. And be sure to have fun prizes on hand for the winners!

If you don’t know a face painter who can help guests transform themselves into a creature of the shadows, set up a fun and festive temporary tattoo station instead! Be sure to stock up on more tattoos than you think you’ll need, and help guests of all ages deck themselves out in spooky cobwebs, black cats, bats, and more.

It doesn’t get much more classic than this traditional Halloween party game! Set up a large cauldron, fill it with apples and water, and let your guests do their best to try to grab them with only their teeth. Just be sure to keep plenty of towels on hand for guests to dry off with!

Channel your love of astrology or flair for tarot cards into your Halloween party by setting up a fortune telling station where you can help guests peek into their future by reading their birth charts or pulling cards for them.

Encourage guests to get creative by setting up a pumpkin carving or painting station at your party! It’s best to provide pumpkins that are on the smaller side for this so guests can carve or decorate them relatively quickly — and we love the idea of sending them home with a custom Halloween matchbook they can use to light their jack-o-lanterns later.

Turn a corner of your yard into a larger-than-life game of tic-tac-toe by using chalk, lawn paint, or tape to create a board and lining up a set of white and orange pumpkins for guests to use as they play.

For a spooky spin on this classic game, use common Halloween costumes, treats, and decor to create each square on your bingo card. Encourage guests to grab a card and a sheet of spooky stickers as they enter the party, and ask them to mark off squares as they encounter other guests, decorations, and treats at your party. The first one to complete a straight line wins!

Encourage little ones to bust a move to “Monster Mash” or “Thriller” with a game of freeze dance! To play, put one person in charge of stopping and starting the music. Then get everyone out on the dance floor. When the music stops, everyone should stand as still as possible before the song starts up again.

This sensory game is a great way to get even your youngest party guests in on the spooky fun! To play, decorate a few cardboard boxes to match your theme, and then cut holes big enough for guests' hands to fit through into the sides. Set a plate of food that could double as scary or gross things — think peeled grape or melon “eyeballs,” spaghetti “brains,” slime or jello “snot” — inside each box, and ask guests to guess what they’re touching.

If you like the idea of carving pumpkins, but don’t have the space, a cupcake decorating station could be a nice alternative! Lay out some unfrosted cupcakes, cute Halloween-themed cupcake toppers, and bags of frosting in classic Halloween colors like black, purple, green, orange, and white for guests to use to create spooky spiders, monsters, or pumpkins.

Tempt guests of all ages by pouring drinks into small “potion” vials topped with custom “pick your poison” stir sticks. This idea works well with drinks of all types, and we’d recommend using a selection of brightly colored flavored lemonade, fruit punch, or juice to offer a few different types of “potions” for guests to try.

Turn a big batch of fruit punch, apple cider, or mulled wine into a witch’s brew by serving it up in a big cauldron — and be sure have fun on-theme cups and straw tags on hand for guests to use!

There are tons of fun and super creative ways that you can decorate cupcakes to fit the overall theme of your Halloween party — but don’t worry if you’re not a star baker. Cupcake toppers in the shape of witches hats, jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, eyeballs, and monsters are a super easy way to dress up store bought cupcakes.

Similarly, there are so many fun ways that you can decorate cake pops to fit your Halloween party’s theme. Our favorite? Spooky eyeball cake pops that only look gross arranged on a two-tiered dessert display stand shaped like a witch’s hat.

For a super easy homemade treat, whip up a “vampire” sheet cake. To make it, pour your favorite vanilla or white cake batter into a sheet cake pan. After it bakes, poke holes throughout the sponge and fill them with strawberry or raspberry syrup before frosting the cake in vanilla or cream-cheese frosting. Then, use the syrup to decorate the top with a few blood splatters and serve! (Just be sure to have some cute on-theme napkins near by — your guests will need them!)

For a Halloween-inspired treat that the adults at your party will love, wrap a wheel of brie cheese in a few strips of puff pastry and bake to create a mummy effect.

For a more kid-friendly take on the idea above, wrap hotdogs in strips of puff pastry or crescent roll dough and bake to create a mummy effect. Finish them off by adding yellow, glowing eyes using two tiny dots of mustard!

Give this party favorite the Halloween treatment by adding candy pumpkins, candy corn, and chocolate-dipped pretzels into your favorite chex mix recipe.

Whip up a frighteningly good treat by adding “headstones” to the top of it using rectangular or oval-shaped crackers for savory seven layer or queso dips and cookies for sweet chocolate or peanut butter dips.

Ensure your littlest guests get a bit of healthy food while at your party by turning apples into monster jaws! To create this fun treat, cut an apple into quarters, and then cut out a central wedge in each to create the jaw shape. Then use slivered almonds to create teeth, and add eyes by attaching chocolate chips to the top jaw with a little bit of peanut butter.

For a savory spin on the classic witch’s finger Halloween treat, create the “fingers” using string cheese instead of cookies. Score each with groups of horizontal lines to create knuckles, and top each off with a slivered almond nail.

When it comes to planning a Halloween party that is unforgettable in a good way, the key is to keep the age of those who will be attending in mind. A party that is sure to be filled with toddlers or elementary-school aged kids may not be the best place to go for a horror theme — so do your best to keep your decorations, costumes, and games age-appropriate and fun for everyone.

While you aren’t required to send guests home with a party favor, it is always a fun idea. Create “boo” baskets for each guest to take home complete with candy, a pair of fake vampire teeth, and a cute card featuring your child in their Halloween costume.

The best way to set the tone of your Halloween party is to send an on-theme invitation to your guests. Minted offers a wide selection of Halloween party invitations and cards that can be customized to fit your needs — simply choose your favorite, swap out our text for the details of your party, upload your addresses, and send!