Daily Party Dish

Halloween Party Games for Adults and Children

So you’re throwing a Halloween party that will have adults and children? Are you having difficulty coming up with activities for both sets of guests? Well, since you have a diverse crowd (kids and adults) you should have activities that work for everyone.

Two things always work for the adults and children; costume contests and karaoke. You can’t go wrong with either of them.

Make sure your guests know you plan on handing out several different prizes for the costume contest; ranging from most realistic, made everyone laugh, best overall, most creative...

You should also give gifts to the children too! Give everyone a little trophy! You can even have a category for best family costume. Incredibles family costume anyone?

For karaoke you should keep all the songs "Halloween" themed. Here are a few to get you started -

• I Put a Spell on You - Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
• Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra
• Highway to Hell - AC/DC
• Monster Mash - Bobby Boris Pickett
• Purple People Eater – Sheb Wooley
• VooDoo Child - Jimi Hendrix
• Super Freak – Rick James
• Led Zeppelin - No Quarter
• Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones
• Don’t Fear the Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult
• Halloween – Stephen Lynch

The kids might not be as interested in karaoke as the adults so if you need one more activity, why not have a scavenger hunt? We happen to have a great Halloween Scavenger Hunt on our site.

Here is an example of the clues -

First Clue

There's a special place that you must go to.
To discover a cauldron of witch's brew.
Dunk one team member's face to find
the apple of your team's design.

What you do: Set up a cauldron of "Witch's Brew" where everyone can bob for apples. Tie a different color of string around the stem of each apple, and make sure the teams know which color they are and that they must bob for the apple with their team's color on the stem.

Second Clue

For your next task you must retrieve
a set of tootsies among the leaves.
Look up, look down and you may see
a pair of feet in a great big tree.

What you do: Cut a pair of feet in each team's color out of construction paper. Hang the feet in the trees- if you want you can color red on the feet to make them look dismembered. Each team must somehow get their pair of "dismembered feet" from the trees.

And so on. There are 11 clues in all. Or use this as a template and do your own, the kids will love it!

If there is another great Halloween song for karaoke please share it in the comments below. Have a great time, and Happy Halloween!

• Halloween Party Ideas from Party411.com
• Halloween Party Games
• Halloween Party Invitations

Fiesta Party Games

Want to switch up your fiesta games?  The piñata just not doing it for you anymore?  Check these party games out!

Bean and Spoon Relay
Ingredients:

• Beans
• Spoons (2 per team)
• Bowls (2 per team)

To Play:
Fill one of the bowls with beans and leave the other empty.  Set the bean bowls a distance apart from the the empty bowls (5-10-15 feet, based on the kids ages!).  Have one player start at the bean bowl and their teammate midway between the bowls.  Start a timer and at go have the bean player pick up one bean with their spoon, go to their teammate and transfer the bean (without touching it!) on to their teammates spoon. The teammate then brings the bean to the empty bowl.  Continue until the timer is up and the team with the most beans wins.

Pass the Sombrero
Ingredients:

• Sombrero
• Mexican music

To Play:
Just like hot potatoe, have the players sit in a circle.  When the music starts, pass the sombrero around the circle, each player must set the sombrero on their head before passing it.  Players are eliminated if they have the hat when the music stops.  Last one sitting wins.

Mexican Ring Toss
Ingredients:

• Inflatable cactus
• Rings (Red and Green Glow Necklaces work great!)
  

To Play:
Blow up the inflatable cactus and place it 5-10 feet away from a floor marker.  Give each player 3 rings and one at a time have each player throw the rings onto the cactus arms.  If more than one player gets all three, have them compete again against each other for the win!

Have any other great fiesta party games? Feel free to share them in the comments section below!

• Fiesta Party Planning Ideas from Party411.com
• Fiesta Party Invitations
• Fiesta Party Games

Halloween Scavenger Hunt Party Game

Looking for a fun way to entertain a group of kids at your Halloween party this year? Consider organizing a Halloween scavenger hunt. This spooky and fun Halloween themed game is one of our most popular games at Party411.com, and for good reason!

There are 11 frightfully fun clues to follow, each written in a mysterious rhyme that will challenge your group to work together to puzzle the solution out.

We show you step by step what you need to do for each clue to set up the scavenger hunt. For example, here is the first clue -

There's a special place that you must go to.
To discover a cauldron of witch's brew.
Dunk one team member's face to find
the apple of your team's design.

And here is what you do -

Set up a cauldron of "Witch's Brew" where everyone can bob for apples. Tie a different color of string around the stem of each apple, and make sure the teams know which color they are and that they must bob for the apple with their team's color on the stem.

See? Easy. You can check out the whole set of clues at the Halloween Scavenger Hunt. 

If you are planning on a Halloween party with this scavenger hunt you should definitely sign up for our free newsletter Party Talk. The next issue will have an exclusive printable of this very party game. Sign up now!

Have a Happy Halloween!

- Kathleen

Fourth Of July Activities

July 4th is on the way, and I have to say I’m excited.  For one I’ll be in the nation’s capitol for the celebration to visit my buds and have an amazing time.  Secondly the weather has been phenomenal recently and I’m excited for cookouts and parties in general.  I wanted to share some of my favorite activities to do at a cookout and other summer outdoor events.  I’m hoping to enjoy these activities this Fourth.

 

 

1. Volleyball.  I’m all in favor of little kids trying to hit the ball over the net but there comes a point when the big kids and adults play.  This is one of my favorites because there is always the one guest who takes it a little too seriously and thinks they’re a little bit better than everyone else.  They always high five after a decent play and then yell in anguish when somebody miss hits the ball.  There is always one and they never cease to amuse me.

2. Lawn Games.  This is more than volleyball.  I’m talking about Horseshoes and Bocce and Croquet, among others.  I only play these games at cookouts and other summer outdoor festivities.  These games are simple enough for anybody to play but they can also be incredibly competitive.  I enjoy how it’s all fun and then the game gets close and the competitor comes out in everyone.  I feel like a professional athlete with all the pressure on me to win the game.  Is this rational?  No, but I’m not going to argue with it.
 
3. Food.  I know this sounds silly but hear me out.  I love eating first and foremost.  I really enjoy when everybody brings a special dish to share.  There’s always a variety of food and it’s always delicious.  This is a showcase for everyone’s food, so you know you’re getting the best of the best.
 
4. Fireworks.  When I was little I was terrified of fireworks.  Over the years I’ve grown to love them.  I’ve also learned that you don’t need to be in the park to watch them; I like sitting outside with the party and enjoying the show.  I’m really excited because this year I’ll be in Washington D.C. and I’ve heard nothing but good things about the show.

I’m excited for this upcoming Fourth of July for the party, the weather, my friends, everything.  I don’t think I’ll be disappointed, although I think I’m going give my friends a hand with this Patriotic Party Planning Guide.  We all occasionally need help or ideas and I know they’re too stubborn to ask for any so I’m going to help them out.  And don’t worry I’ll let you know how the party goes.

What’s a DAME to do?! Review and Giveaway

Sometimes working at a Party411.com can be like one big, ...well, party! We got to test drive a fun game called What’s a DAME to do?! and we really had a blast. It's a party game made for 2 to 8 women (ages 17 on up), and since our office 88% female it is a good fit for us. Read on to learn how you can win a What’s a DAME to do?! game for your next party!

 

The game is very simple. Each player takes a turn as the Dilemma Dame, and reads out a dilemma card (e.g. "I see an Ex at the grocery store, 2 aisle away, and I am NOT looking my best, what's a Dame to do?!"), and the other players contribute from their hand of cards a possible reaction that either fit the situation (Suck in your stomach) or are just really funny (Use pepper spray). Points are awarded for the reaction that matches the "Dilemma Dame's" choice or very funny dilemma/reaction combos.

My favorite dilemma/response combos during our game –

• During an elegant dinner party, I shift in my chair and it emits a loud and rather embarrassing sound, what's a Dame to do?

•  - Yell fire!

• As I enter an elevator my arm accidentally hits a guy's groin area, what's a Dame to do?

•  - Pretend you are on a scavenger hunt.

We were laughing so hard the whole time, and we played much longer than we intended to (who wants to work anyway?).  We all agreed that this would be the perfect party game because you can play a round, then stop to chat, and pick up the next player without getting confused about what is going on. It would be a great game for a girls night, a playgroup or even a bridal or baby shower.

The printed directions were a little confusing, but you can see a quick video on GamesforDames.com that explains the gameplay in less than 5 minutes. I can see us using this game quite a bit, so I hope they put out an expansion pack!

You can pick up the game at GamesforDames.com.

Or, you can try and win a What’s a DAME to do?! game for yourself.

The What’s a DAME to do?! Giveaway

How to Enter: Leave a comment on this blog post stating what kind of party you will use your What’s a DAME to do?! game at if you win. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment so we can contact you if you win.

Want some extra entries? Do any of the following and receive an extra entry! Just leave a separate comment for each item completed.

• Follow Party411.com on Twitter, tweet about this giveaway, and then comment here with your Twitter name.
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• Blog about this giveaway, and leave a comment here with a link to your post.

The giveaway ends Friday March 27, 2009 at 11:59 EST.