Halloween, the once-a-year event that children and adults alike look forward to! In recent years, it’s become hugely popular in Japan, with people dressing up and joining events.
More and more places—like nursery schools, kindergartens, and even homes—are hosting Halloween parties.
In this article, we’ll introduce recommended handmade games for Halloween parties! All the games we introduce can be made using easily available materials, so kids can enjoy helping with the preparations, too.
Create fun, handmade Halloween memories you can’t get from video games!
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- Fun Halloween Game Ideas for Preschools and Kindergartens
- Ideas for Games to Liven Up an Elementary School Halloween Party
- Music you’ll want to play at a Halloween party: perfect for BGM or dancing!
- Handmade games: DIY craft ideas you can make and play
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- Handmade Lottery Draws Kids Will Love! A Fun Collection of Ideas to Make and Play
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- Recommended for daycare activities! A Halloween song you can sing and play with
- Halloween in childcare gets exciting! Dance ideas for moving and having fun
- [From Kids to Adults] Dance Songs You’ll Want to Groove to at a Halloween Party
- [For Seniors] Have Fun Moving with Halloween Exercises! Introducing Songs You Can Dance To
- A Halloween song for children. A fun Halloween song.
Recommended DIY Games for a Halloween Party (1–10)
Halloween Treasure Hunt
It’s a simple game where treasures are hidden around the venue and participants search for them.
The treasures could be accessories or toys with Halloween motifs, and sweets are a perfect fit for the Halloween setting too.
If you make the treasures more extravagant depending on how hard they are to find, the searchers will get more fired up and excited.
Not only is it fun for those who are searching, but it’s also an enjoyable game for the organizers, who can think about what prizes to prepare and where to place everything.
Halloween Ring Toss
Ring toss, a staple at festivals, is a simple game that’s fun precisely because it can be enjoyed with many variations.
A straightforward, easy-to-understand approach is to arrange candy as prizes and aim to win them.
Alternatively, if you make the targets motifs like ghosts instead of prizes, and treat getting the ring over them as “defeating” them—competing on how many you can defeat—you can create a lively Halloween atmosphere.
The extent to which you put care into illustrations and decorations may be the key point in conveying the Halloween feel.
Pumpkin Fukuwarai
When you think of Fukuwarai, you probably associate it strongly with New Year’s, but as long as you choose the right motif, you can adapt it for any event.
For Halloween, there are striking motifs like jack-o’-lanterns, so we’ll use those to create a Fukuwarai game.
The idea is to see if players can correctly place the facial parts while their vision is blocked, and the quirky results when they get it wrong are part of the fun.
Starting with prompts that have fewer parts and gradually increasing the number to raise the difficulty will likely make it even more exciting.
Pumpkin Hunt Game
This pumpkin hunt game is a Halloween version of a treasure hunt.
First, decide the area where the game will take place and hide lots of pumpkins within that area.
Then set a time limit and have the children search for the pumpkins! You can hide real pumpkins, pumpkins made from colored construction paper, or even buckets decorated with jack-o’-lanterns or pumpkin pictures.
If you use buckets, putting candy inside will make the children even happier.
Ghost Balloon Catch
When it comes to classic Halloween motifs, ghosts are a staple.
Speaking of ghosts, we often imagine them floating gently in the air.
We’ll recreate that ghostly quality using balloons and turn it into a game.
Prepare balloons and cone-shaped cups, toss the balloon upward, and see if you can catch it.
If you pay attention to the decorations, you can really enhance the Halloween atmosphere.
If this feels too easy, you can adapt the rules in various ways, such as dividing into teams and carrying the balloons in a relay.
Halloween Bingo
Halloween Bingo is a handmade game you can enjoy with your kids from the preparation stage.
Even the process of sticking ghost and witch stickers onto the bingo cards is exciting and fun.
On party day, you call out characters one after another and everyone waits with anticipation for their rows to line up.
The simple rules make it great for even young children to join.
If you prepare Halloween treats as prizes, it’s sure to be even more exciting.
It’s the perfect game for creating warm, handmade memories.
Ghost fishing
This is a game where you catch and defeat ghosts—classic Halloween motifs—by reeling them in.
Both the fishing rod and the ghosts have magnets attached, and you use them to skillfully snag your targets.
You can compete on how many you catch, or, if you attach the ghosts to candy, the weight of each treat will change the difficulty of reeling it in while adding the fun of aiming for the prize you want.
Paying attention to decorations is key to emphasizing the Halloween atmosphere.