For what age range(s) is this celebration most appropriate?
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School

This Halloween celebration is:
Fun

This Halloween celebration can be done:
Either indoors or outdoors

This celebration can be done:
With the entire neighborhood

How much time does it take to prepare for this celebration?
I prepare for months!

How much does this celebration cost?
$50.00 +

Describe your Halloween celebration idea:
We have carnival games, costume contest, hayride, door prizes and treats.
Our games are usually a haunted fish pond, feed the kitty, and pin the nose on the pumpkin. We often have a ghostly ring toss. We close with Monster Freeze.

What steps should be taken to organize this celebration?
1. Where is the party to be held?
2. Time?
3. Plan games. It can be difficult the first year or two to find the right balance of games and participants.
4.Plan food. We ask the community to bring cookies and we fix the punch.
5. Find help with games. We use our older Girl Scouts. They can earn awards for their community help.
6. Decide on prizes for contest. We are still working on that. We have 9 catagories for the costume contest with adults included. This year we are giving spooky certificates and special treats.
7. Decorate.
8. Welcome your guests.
9. Have fun.

Additional comments:
We started this party about 5 years ago in a vacant lot and moved it the following year to the community center because of the weather. We have an average of 125 kids plus parents and grandparents.
Since it is a community party, we ask for donations from local stores and most are very generous. This helps offset the cost. This has become a party that the kids and their families look forward to each year. It makes us happy to be creating memories for the neighborhood.