36 games
Checked October 2026

Halloween Party Games for Kids

Costume games, candy bucket games, hunts and relays for children aged 4 to 10, all with the lights on.

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Eight-Legged Spider Walk1. Make groups of four. Each group stands back to back and links elbows, so that it has eight legs.2. On go, each spider walks sideways to a line of tape and back without breaking apart.3. A spider that comes apart stops, links up and carries on.4. With enough children, the next spider on the team sets off when the first one is home. Play on grass or carpet.Youngest player: age 6. Players: 8 to 16. You need: tape for a line.
Under the Big Sheet When Your Costume Is Called1. The children and two adults hold the edge of a bed sheet and lift it high on the count of three.2. As it floats up, an adult calls a kind of costume, such as "all the animals" or "everyone with a hat".3. Those children let go, walk under the sheet and take a place on the other side before it comes down.4. Keep calling until every child has been under at least twice.Youngest player: age 3. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a bed sheet.
Follow Your Yarn to the End1. Before the party, give each child a color of yarn. Tie one end to a small prize and wind the yarn around chair legs, under a table and behind the sofa. Leave the loose ends together at the door.2. Each child picks up their end.3. They follow the yarn, winding it into a ball as they go and stepping over the other colors.4. An adult stays in the room to untangle and to keep the pace at a walk.Youngest player: age 5. Players: 3 to 10. You need: a ball of yarn in a different color for each child, and small prizes.

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Costume games 7

Change Places If Your Costume Has a Tail 1. Children sit in a circle on cushions. One child stands in the middle and has no cushion. 2. The child in the middle calls something a costume might have: a tail, a hat, wings, something sparkly, something green. 3. Everyone whose costume has it gets up and walks to a different cushion. The caller takes one too. 4. Whoever is left without a cushion makes the next call. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 6 to 16. You need: a cushion for every child but one.
Costume Parade With a Job for Every Costume 1. Before the parade, ask each child what their costume would do in a parade. A knight might lead, a cat might tiptoe at the back, a robot might call out the turns. 2. Give out the jobs so that every child has one: leader, drummer with a pot and a spoon, flag carrier, waver, door opener. 3. March one lap of the house or the yard. 4. Swap jobs and march again, so that nobody is only ever at the back. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 4 to 16. You need: a pot and a wooden spoon, and a paper flag.
Line Up From the Smallest Creature to the Biggest 1. Ask the children how big each costume would be if it were real. A bee is smaller than a cat, and a cat is smaller than a dragon. 2. Without talking, the children make one line from the smallest creature to the biggest, using only pointing and nodding. 3. Walk down the line and let each child say what they are and why they stand there. 4. Take the group photo in that order. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 5 to 16. You need: nothing.

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Costume games, continued

Roll the Pose for the Photo 1. Stick six pictures on a big cardboard die: fly, roar, tiptoe, bow, freeze and "your choice". 2. Each child in turn rolls the die and strikes that pose in costume. 3. An adult takes the photo on the count of three. 4. End with one roll for the whole group, so that every family goes home with a picture of each child and one of everyone. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 16. You need: a cardboard box made into a die, and a camera.
Runway With Sound Effects From the Audience 1. Lay a strip of tape or a hall rug as the runway. The audience sits along both sides. 2. Before walking, each child tells the audience what sound their costume makes: a meow, a whoosh, a clank. 3. The child walks to the end, turns and walks back while the audience makes that sound. 4. Everyone bows together after the last walker. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 4 to 16. You need: tape or a hall rug.
The Sticker on Somebody's Back 1. While the children play something else, an adult quietly puts one pumpkin sticker on the back of one costume. 2. Later, the adult calls "Detectives". Everyone walks around looking for the sticker without touching anyone. 3. A child who spots it says nothing and sits down. 4. When everyone is sitting, all point at once. The child with the sticker hides it on someone next time, with the adult's help. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 5 to 16. You need: a sheet of pumpkin stickers.
What Changed? Hats, Capes and Wands 1. Five children stand in a row in their costumes. One child, the detective, takes a good look and then leaves the room with an adult. 2. Three children in the row swap one thing each: a hat, a wand, a cape. 3. The detective comes back and says what changed. 4. Every swap spotted earns a cheer. Pick a new detective and a new row. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 6 to 14. You need: nothing.

Pumpkin and candy bucket games 7

Bucket Drums: Echo the Beat 1. Every child sits with a plastic candy bucket upside down in front of them. 2. An adult taps a short pattern with flat hands, such as slow, slow, quick-quick, slow. 3. All the children tap it back together. 4. Let each child lead one pattern. End with a rumble that starts as quiet as a mouse and grows as loud as thunder, then stops on the adult's raised hand. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 16. You need: a plastic bucket for each child.
Catch It in the Bucket on Your Head 1. Children play in pairs. One holds a candy bucket on top of their head with both hands. 2. The partner stands three steps away and tosses five rolled socks, one at a time, in a high, slow arc. 3. The catcher may shuffle and bend, but the bucket stays on the head. 4. Count the socks in the bucket, then swap jobs. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 2 to 16. You need: a bucket and five rolled socks for each pair.
Coat Hanger Scale: Which Bucket Is Heavier? 1. Hang a small bucket from each end of a coat hanger, and hang the hanger on a door handle. 2. Hold up two things, such as a mini pumpkin and an apple, or a shoe and a book. 3. Children point to the one they think is heavier. 4. Put one in each bucket and watch which side drops. A child who guessed right chooses the next two things. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 12. You need: a coat hanger, two small buckets and things to weigh.
In My Bucket I Got 1. Put a tray of ten ordinary things beside an empty candy bucket: a spoon, a sock, a toy car, a pinecone. 2. The first child drops one thing in and says, "In my bucket I got a spoon." 3. The next child adds a thing and says the whole list in order. Nobody may look in the bucket. 4. When the list breaks down, tip the bucket out and check the order together. Then try to beat the group's record. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a candy bucket and a tray of ten things from the house.
Pairs Under the Pails 1. Turn eight plastic pails upside down on the floor. Under them, hide four pairs of things: two spoons, two socks, two toy cars, two pinecones. 2. Children take turns lifting two pails. 3. A matching pair comes out and sits in front of the child who found it. Two things that do not match go back under their pails. 4. Play until all four pairs are out, then let the children hide them for the adults. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 2 to 10. You need: eight plastic pails and four pairs of things from the house.
Slide the Pail to the Pumpkin Patch 1. On a smooth floor, tape down a paper pumpkin as the target, and a start line five steps away. 2. Each child slides a plastic pail, upside down, along the floor toward the pumpkin. One push, then hands off. 3. Mark where each pail stops with a strip of tape and the child's name. 4. The closest strip to the pumpkin after two turns each wins the round. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 3 to 12. You need: a plastic pail, a paper pumpkin and tape.
Which Pumpkin Rolls Farthest? 1. Prop one end of a board on a step to make a ramp. Line up three small pumpkins of different shapes: a round one, a lumpy one and a tall one. 2. Each child stands beside the pumpkin they think will roll farthest. 3. An adult lets them go one at a time. Mark where each one stops with chalk or tape. 4. Roll them again stem first, and see whether the winner changes. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 14. You need: a board, three small pumpkins and chalk or tape.

Hunts with the lights on 7

Black Cat's Paw Prints 1. Before the party, lay a trail of paper paw prints through the house. At two or three places the trail splits. 2. At each split, tape a picture clue: a bed means the cat went toward the bedroom, a spoon means the kitchen. 3. The children follow the prints together, with the youngest reading each picture clue. 4. The trail ends at a toy cat sitting on a basket with a treat for every child. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 14. You need: paper paw prints, picture clues, a toy cat and a basket of treats.
Crayon Stations: Color Six Shapes 1. Draw the same six outlines on a card for each child: a bat, a pumpkin, a moon, a hat, a cat and a star. 2. Tie six crayons of different colors to six spots around the house, each beside a picture of one shape. 3. Children find every station and color that shape with the crayon tied there. 4. A finished card has six colors on it. Everyone who finishes trades the card for a sticker. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 16. You need: a shape card for each child, six crayons, string and six shape pictures.
Find the Other Half of Your Pumpkin 1. Draw a different face on a paper pumpkin for each child and cut every pumpkin in half with a wavy line. 2. Hand each child one half. Tape the other halves around the room at a child's eye level, in plain sight. 3. Children walk around until they find the half that fits theirs. 4. A child who finishes helps a friend. Tape the whole pumpkins along a wall as the party's patch. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 16. You need: a paper pumpkin for each child, scissors and tape.
Follow Your Yarn to the End 1. Before the party, give each child a color of yarn. Tie one end to a small prize and wind the yarn around chair legs, under a table and behind the sofa. Leave the loose ends together at the door. 2. Each child picks up their end. 3. They follow the yarn, winding it into a ball as they go and stepping over the other colors. 4. An adult stays in the room to untangle and to keep the pace at a walk. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 3 to 10. You need: a ball of yarn in a different color for each child, and small prizes.
Things With Eyes: Count What Is Watching 1. Before the party, stick a pair of paper eyes on twelve ordinary things in two rooms: the fridge, a shoe, a lamp, the fruit bowl. 2. Children walk through with the lights on and count how many things have eyes. Nothing is touched. 3. Each child whispers their number to an adult. 4. Walk the rooms together and count aloud. Then each child chooses one thing in the house that should have had eyes, and gives it a pair. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 16. You need: paper eyes and tape.
Twelve Paper Doors, Three Friendly Ghosts 1. Tape twelve folded paper doors to a wall at the children's height. Behind three of them, draw a smiling ghost. Behind the others, draw ordinary things: a teapot, a boot, a fish. 2. Children take turns opening one door, showing everyone what is behind it and closing it again. 3. The group has to remember where the ghosts are. 4. When all three have been seen, three children open the three ghost doors at the same time. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 3 to 14. You need: twelve sheets of paper, tape and a marker.
The Witch's Lost Things, a Picture List 1. Hide six real things around one room with the lights on: a hat, a wooden spoon, a toy cat, a sock, a big book and a broom. 2. Pair each older child with a younger one, and give every pair a list made of pictures only. 3. Pairs look for the things and tick each picture when they see it. Nothing is picked up. 4. When every pair has six ticks, walk around together and collect the things. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 4 to 16. You need: six things to hide, and a picture list and a crayon for each pair.

Team relays 7

Carry the Ghost to Bed on a Pillowcase 1. Each team has a white pillowcase and a soft toy, the ghost, lying on it. 2. Two children hold the pillowcase by its corners like a stretcher and carry the ghost around a chair and back. 3. If the ghost falls off, they stop, put it back and go on. 4. They hand the stretcher to the next pair. When every pair has carried it, the team tucks the ghost in under the pillowcase. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 4 to 16. You need: a pillowcase and a soft toy for each team, and a chair.
Clip the Pumpkins on the Vine 1. Tie a string between two chairs for each team: this is the vine. Put a pile of paper pumpkins and clothespins at the start. 2. Each runner takes one pumpkin and one clothespin, walks fast to the vine and clips the pumpkin on. 3. Back at the line, the next runner goes. 4. The first vine with ten pumpkins wins. An adult stands by the chairs to keep them steady. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 4 to 16. You need: string, two chairs, ten paper pumpkins and ten clothespins for each team.
Eight-Legged Spider Walk 1. Make groups of four. Each group stands back to back and links elbows, so that it has eight legs. 2. On go, each spider walks sideways to a line of tape and back without breaking apart. 3. A spider that comes apart stops, links up and carries on. 4. With enough children, the next spider on the team sets off when the first one is home. Play on grass or carpet. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 8 to 16. You need: tape for a line.
Ghost Train Relay, One More Rider Each Lap 1. Each team lines up behind a start line with a cone or a chair ten steps away. 2. The first child, the engine, walks fast around the cone and back. 3. The next child holds the engine's shoulders, and the two go around together. Each lap adds one more rider. 4. The train that finishes its last lap with everyone still holding on wins. Trains walk. They never run. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 6 to 16. You need: a cone or a chair for each team.
Move Card Relay: Flap, Stomp, Tiptoe 1. Put a stack of picture cards face down at the far line: a bat for flapping, a monster for stomping, a cat for tiptoeing, a frog for hopping. 2. The first runner jogs to the cards and turns one over. 3. They come back moving the way the card shows. 4. The next runner goes. The relay ends when the stack is empty, and the last card is done by the whole team together. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 6 to 16. You need: a stack of picture cards.
Stack the Hats on the Grown-Up 1. Each team has a grown-up sitting on a chair at the far end, and a pile of paper cone hats at the start. 2. The first runner carries one hat to the grown-up and puts it on their head. 3. The next runner adds a hat on top of the first, and so on. The grown-up may not use hands. 4. When the hats run out, the tallest stack still standing wins. A stack that falls is built again from the bottom. Youngest player: age 4. Players: 4 to 16. You need: two chairs and ten paper cone hats for each team.
Witch's Brew Relay by Picture Card 1. Put a big pot at the start for each team, and one shared pile at the far end: socks, spoons, toy animals, pinecones, leaves. 2. The first runner turns over a picture card, walks fast to the pile, finds that thing and brings it back to the pot. 3. The next runner turns the next card. 4. When the cards run out, the whole team stirs with a wooden spoon and shouts the name of its soup. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 6 to 16. You need: two pots, two wooden spoons, picture cards and a pile of things.

Halloween games for ages 3 to 5 8

Pumpkins in the Patch Grow Tall 1. Every child curls up small on the floor as a pumpkin seed. 2. An adult, the farmer, walks through the patch with a scarf and waves it over each seed like rain. 3. A seed that has been rained on grows slowly: kneeling, standing, then arms up as round as a pumpkin. 4. When the whole patch has grown, the farmer calls "Harvest" and all the pumpkins roll gently to the wall. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a scarf.
Shake the Spiders Off the Sheet 1. Roll ten pairs of dark socks into balls. These are the spiders. 2. The children hold the edge of a bed sheet at waist height, and an adult tips the spiders into the middle. 3. Everyone shakes the sheet until all the spiders have bounced off. 4. The children collect them, count them back onto the sheet and shake again. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a bed sheet and ten pairs of rolled socks.
Step on the Cat's Tail 1. An adult, the cat, tucks one end of a long scarf into a back pocket so that the rest drags on the floor. 2. The cat walks around the room, slowly at first, in loops and zigzags. 3. The children follow and try to step on the end of the tail. 4. When the tail comes out, the cat says "meow", tucks it in again and sets off the other way. Every child gets a tail to step on before the game ends. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 2 to 10. You need: a long scarf.
Sticky Note Ghosts on a Grown-Up 1. Draw two dots for eyes on thirty sticky notes. These are the ghosts. 2. A grown-up who has agreed to it stands still in the middle of the room with arms out. 3. While one song plays, the children stick ghosts on the grown-up's sleeves, back and legs. Faces are left clear. 4. When the song ends, count the ghosts together as the grown-up shakes them off. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 2 to 10. You need: a pad of sticky notes, a pen and music.
Tiptoe Past the Sleeping Owl 1. An adult, the owl, sits on a chair in the middle of the room with eyes shut. 2. The children tiptoe in a wide circle around the chair. 3. When the owl opens its eyes and says "Whoo is there?", everyone freezes like a tree. The owl looks around, says "only trees" and goes back to sleep. 4. After three rounds, the owl wakes for good and hoots hello to every tree by name. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a chair.
Under the Big Sheet When Your Costume Is Called 1. The children and two adults hold the edge of a bed sheet and lift it high on the count of three. 2. As it floats up, an adult calls a kind of costume, such as "all the animals" or "everyone with a hat". 3. Those children let go, walk under the sheet and take a place on the other side before it comes down. 4. Keep calling until every child has been under at least twice. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a bed sheet.
Wand Shapes in the Air 1. Give each child a wand: a paper straw with a ribbon taped to the end. 2. An adult draws a big shape in the air with a wand, such as a circle for the moon, a zigzag for a bat's wing or a tall point for a hat. 3. The children copy it and call out what it could be. 4. Let each child lead one shape. End with everyone drawing the biggest moon they can. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a paper straw and a ribbon for each child, and tape.
Whose Shoe Is in the Cauldron? 1. Every child takes off one shoe and drops it into a big pot or a laundry basket, the cauldron. 2. An adult stirs with a wooden spoon and lifts out one shoe. 3. The child it belongs to calls "mine", hops over on the foot that still has a shoe and puts it on, with help if needed. 4. Stir and lift until the cauldron is empty. Youngest player: age 3. Players: 3 to 12. You need: a big pot or a laundry basket and a wooden spoon.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions, written for this site for a children's Halloween party at home: about a dozen children aged 4 to 10 and two adults. The wording is ours, and the youngest ages and player counts are our estimates. Nothing is played in the dark, nothing jumps out, nothing is gory, no game is a race to eat, and no game uses a balloon or a blindfold. The games for ages 3 to 5 use nothing small enough to swallow. The list states no rule or history of a traditional game, so no outside source was needed. Licence: own work

How it works

These Halloween party games for kids are for a party at home with about a dozen children and two adults. Every game is played with the lights on, nothing jumps out, and no game is a race to eat candy.

Read the full guide

Halloween games for a children's party, in order

Start with a costume game while the costumes are still whole: Costume Parade With a Job for Every Costume gives every child a part. Follow it with a hunt, then a relay to burn off energy, and end sitting down with Bucket Drums: Echo the Beat.

Halloween games for young children's parties

Halloween games for ages 3 to 5 need no reading and nobody is ever out. An adult has a part in every one, sometimes as the cat, the owl or the farmer, so plan for one grown-up who does not mind being covered in sticky notes.

Play the hunts before the food, when small hands are still clean and nobody is carrying a cup.
Trains, spiders and stretchers walk. Say so before the first relay.

Questions and answers

What games can kids play at a Halloween party?

Mix one of each kind: a costume game such as Roll the Pose for the Photo, a hunt such as Black Cat's Paw Prints, a relay such as Clip the Pumpkins on the Vine, and a quiet one such as In My Bucket I Got.

What are games to play on Halloween for kids that are not scary?

All of these. The hunts are played with the lights on and nothing jumps out. In Things With Eyes: Count What Is Watching, the spookiest thing in the room is a fruit bowl with paper eyes.

Which Halloween games work with a mix of ages?

The picture-list hunt pairs each older child with a younger one, and Ghost Train Relay, One More Rider Each Lap goes at the pace of its smallest rider. Under More filters, choose Age 4 to hide the games that need an older child.