10 Halloween Decor, Games, and Activities for Teenagers
Ah, your little preschool darlings have blossomed into not so darling teenagers. Sigh. At least a few times a year, you'll still get some of those old time, good vibes with birthdays and holidays. Halloween is our favorite time of the year. Rarely have we lived in a place where trick or treating door to door was a possibility, so we've always gotten creative. Throw your teens a Halloween Party with these cool ideas and activities for Halloween! Oriental Trading generously sent us the supplies for this post. We hope you enjoy our tips for Halloween decor, games, and activities for teenagers!
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Teens won't admit it, but they love to play funny games and win prizes. Sure, they'll groan how uncool you are, but inside they'll feel all giddy and look forward to the fun! This Halloween, tone it down, be cool, and have fun!
10 Cool Halloween Activities for Teens
Dragons guard the Halloween candy dish.
These Cheesy Ghost Chicken Nuggets taste delicious and make a spooky appetizer for a Halloween Party. Be prepared to work quickly, the cheese gets solid fast.
Use a paint marker to write 'Boo' on the bottom of one mini popcorn bucket. Have everyone check their buckets. Whoever gets the 'boo' wins a special prize. Be sure to tell everyone else to boo the winner! Teens like that stuff, you know.
The REAL story of the Jack-o-Lantern started with a turnip.
Oriental Trading has tons of cool decorations for Halloween parties. Our teens chose to go with a dragon theme for their Halloween party. We ordered dragon skeletons, swords, gloves for knights in shining armor, and more.
For the Halloween party tablescape below, we used a black light up bat wreath as a centerpiece decoration for our candy dish. If you're having a sleepover party, build memories by making a Halloween wreath as a favor to take home.
The black light up bat wreath is perfect for various themes. In fact, it can be used as a centerpiece decoration for a Medieval-themed Halloween party. Be sure to include other Medieval decorations. For starters, give your walls an ancient look by covering them with stone wallpapers and hanging shields. Also, provide minimal natural light using chandeliers and torches. Equally important, don't forget to dress appropriately for the event. Men can sport a "noblemen" look by wearing tunics, leggings, and breeches. Meanwhile, medieval costume ideas for women include long gowns and ankle-length tunics belted at the waist.
Play ring toss with the candy filled milk jugs and some Halloween bracelets. When the kids toss a bracelet over a jug, they win the jug and the bracelet!
Halloween Party Candy Theme Table Decorations.
Creature Pizza Biscuits are easy and fun to make as a Teen Halloween Party Activity. Just dip them in marinara sauce for a tasty appetizer. Learn how to make them here: Pumpkin Face Pizza Biscuits.
Edible Art: Pumpkin Biscuits.
The large Dragon Skeleton is perfect for posing for pictures for teens to share on their social media! #HalloweenGames After they've posed, blindfold them, tape a paper flame (with tape on both sides) to the end of the sword, and play PIN THE FLAME ON THE DRAGON.
Pin the Flame on the Dragon Party Game.
Make your own Halloween Pumpkin and Ghost lights with plastic cups and cheap string lights. Learn how here: Pumpkin and Ghost Lights for Party. When teens arrive, give them each a cup and some markers. Let their creative juices flow and then collect the cups and pop them on a strand of lights. Hang it on your entry way, so they can see their art work as they head home.
Don't forget the worms! For a cool teen HALLOWEEN party the best ideas are the grossest (is that even a word) ones. Our world famous SLURPIN' FOR WORMS game is a necessity! Especially, when you use the realistic gummy earthworms from OTC.
Realistic Earthworm Gummy Candy from Oriental Trading.
On Halloween, a house party full of teensneeds haunting! Hang sheets to make mazes throughout the rooms, turn out the lights and light the way with strobe lights or flickering string lights. Add creepy creatures at every corner, and make the final exit a 'dead' end.
First, I'll share my process in making the balloon birthday cupcake decoration. You know, the giant balloon that's all over YouTube and Facebook? You'll need to pack a party load of patience to make that balloon cupcake decoration. If you're a mom who drinks wine, maybe step one should be a few sips of a nice Riesling. If you want to make a giant balloon birthday cupcake for baby's first birthday party, even with my simplified method, you're going to need a few hours and at least one faithful friend. Ready? Read on for my Balloon Birthday Cupcake Tutorial!
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How to Make Balloon Cupcake for Birthday Party YouTube
This was my process, it's real. If you want to cut to the chase, scroll down for detailed instructions on how to make a giant balloon cupcake.
Step One
Refuse to take money from your friend. She offered $75 and dinner. Plan in your head how they must've created the giant balloon cupcake. Draw it out on paper. Watch the videos below. Realize you got it all wrong. Decide you can't do it. Give up.
Balloon Birthday Cupcake Seen on Pinterest YouTube Tutorial
Step Two
Think about it some more. Try it your way. Realize it is going to be tedious. Give up, but remember your blog's motto is, "You can do it!" He's a professional, he must know the easiest way to do it, right?
Maybe this one is easier? (It's not,)
Step Three
Watch videos again. Decide to really pay attention. Have a glass of wine Use the easiest steps from each video. Realize this is completely ridiculous and only a professional balloon designer can make these. This is why the florist said they'd make one for you for $300.
Think about it some more. You're no quitter! You can do it! After all, that's what this blog is all about. Try it your way again. This time with more confidence. Start with a tiny prototype. Watch one more YouTube tutorial on how to make a giant balloon cupcake like the ones on Pinterest. Decide you deserve a nap.
Wow, she seems fun and nice. This isn't a cupcake, bur realize the concept is the same. The skill level is still difficult. It doesn't look easy when they do it. Think about that. They are trying to make it look easy! It's not...
Step Five
Share your tiny prototype with friend who hopes to have the best one year old's first birthday party ever! She's so patient. She trusts you. She has complete faith in you. You find this rattling. But, you're determined. Go back to STEP ONE. Create the balloon cupcake, the way you imagined it was constructed. Listen to friend cheering you on, "See, I knew you could do it." Think friend is nuts. This looks nothing like those giant balloon cupcakes. She's tired, she's over it, she just wants something after all of this effort. You know she's thinking, $300 would've been a lot easier.
Realize it's not perfect, but it will do. Just show it's good side. Reconsider making these for a living. Realize $75 is a great price, understand why the florist wanted to charge $300. THEY ARE SMARTER THAN YOU ARE, THEY DON'T WANT TO DO IT!
Refuse to ever make another one, even though you know full well, that the next one will be better. You learned from your mistakes. You know how to make it straight. You know the ins and the outs. Baby, there isn't enough wine in the world...
What you say? Where are the tiny balloon sprinkles? Well, I ought a.... We bought tiny balloons, we taped them on with duct tape. They looked dumb. I'm sure you need the tiny, long balloons used for balloon animals. I didn't feel like another trip to the store! Sharpies, worked just fine. Pink and purple Sharpies would've been nice though.
Step Six
Take it to the giant balloon cupcake to the party. (That seems like a simple step doesn't it? Well, it's not!) Disassemble the giant balloon cupcake in as few pieces as possible. Place it in the trunk of your hatchback, crossover SUV. Ha, ha. ha. Jokes on you. Panic. You're going to be late to the party. Read text from very patient friend, "Where are you?" Panic some more, don't answer text. Notice your Dad's Trailblazer in the driveway (he left it there so you could get some giant rolls of carpet for the house.) Open the hatch, say a little prayer. It fits! Thank goodness the party is less than five minutes away.
It's three pieces!
Step Seven
Pull up at the church. Rush to get the balloon inside the door. The door, yet another obstacle. See everyone ooh and ahh as you enter. If you've ever been on stage, you know how applause feels. This feels like that. Think, maybe you could make these for a living. After all, this was the first attempt. Surely, it would get easier each time? And, you certainly know what NOT to do.
Don't worry, I had to blur baby's face, she's a beautiful baby in the process of adoption.
So, now you've seen the videos, you've read my process leading up to it, here's the UNCONVENTIONAL giant balloon birthday cupcake tutorial. May the force be with you!
Sit down with the laundry basket in your lap. Starting with the second column of holes, tie a PINK balloon to the vertical weave in the basket (between the holes.) Skip every other hole. Do this all the way around the basket. Our basket had vertical line holes, some have circular holes.
Balloons will move, don't worry about this now. Depending on the spacing of your basket's holes, you may need to skip the next row. If you see the basket between the balloons, use every row. If not, use every other row. Got it? You will after a few rows.
Note there are only two rows of holes, I tied two balloons to each vertical strip to get a line of four balloons tall.
The balloons want to escape, the don't stay orderly. Don't worry about this until you've got them all tied down.
Once all pink balloons are tied down, you can then gently push them to arrange them in a straight (ish) line. For the balloon's white cupcake frosting top, I used the process in the ice cream cone video from above. I connected six white balloons together to create somewhat of a circle. I made a separate grouping of four white balloons for the topper and then tied the red balloon in the center with fishing line.
Balloons are willy-nilly, but can be arranged at the final stage.
Here you can see, that the cupcake is 3 separate pieces.
So, how do you attach the balloon sections together? I was going to tie them with fishing line as demonstrated in the first Balloon Cupcake YouTube Tutorial, but that proved too complicated for me. Also, I kept popping the balloons. I tried duct tape, but you could see it. In the end, I didn't connect the pieces at all and was thankful for this when it was time to load the balloon for delivery.
Get the Cupcake lanterns and Pinata from Oriental Trading. Baby's face is blurred to protect identity.
The cupcake's purpose was for a photo shoot for a very special baby's first birthday party. The cupcake wasn't perfect, it had a bad side, but we just turned it to the good side! Photo shoot was amazing! Baby is beautiful, but we aren't permitted to share her face here. Just know, she was tickled to death with her giant cupcake!
The days of simple parties where balloons, music, and a cake with candles were enough are long gone. In 2019, fun birthday ideas are at a whole new level. You need these 10 great outdoor games for kids to get moving and enjoy their special day.
Kim and Kanye set the bar high with a "kidchella" themed party, featuring bouncy houses, a Ferris wheel, and several music stages. While you won't have the same budget as the Kardashians, take inspiration from their intuitive ideas and create a party with good outdoor games to play.
If you're arranging a summer party for your kid's birthday bash, what outdoor games can you play? Read on for the 411 on which outside games your kids will actually love!
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Outdoor Games Kids Will Love
We all know the math. Kids + Birthday parties = Chaos!
Instead of expecting kids to sit around, drink tea, and chat like adults, prepare some cool games that will burn all their pent-up party energy. We've chosen 10 outdoor games that will have your guests giggling from beginning to end. Are you ready? Let's get this party started!
1. Hop Your Way to Victory
Try a traditional sack-race to get the kids moving. Give each child a good quality burlap bag or king-size pillowcase. Line them up in a grassy area and have them hop their way to victory down a marked path.
To mix it up a little, decorate the plain sacks. Make it more challenging and make the marked path curvy. Even if you just do it the old-fashioned way, it'll get a lot of laughs on the way, Scout's honor!
2. Make Your Birthday Party Pop
Balloon stomping is one of the best group games for parties. What's a party without balloons popping?
Before the party starts, prepare by blowing up at least one balloon per guest and a few extras just in case. Tie a long string or ribbon around the end of the balloon so that it is long enough to tie around the children's ankles.
When the party gets started, tie a balloon around the ankle of each child. The aim of the game is to pop everyone else's balloon while protecting your own. The last kid with an intact balloon wins.
3. Jump to It
Let the kids blow off a little steam before you sit down to open presents. One of the best outdoor games for kids, is an outdoor bouncy house. Hiring a bouncy house is an exciting treat for the kids! It really is fun for all ages (even big kids!)
From bouncy houses and inflatable water slides to blow-up climbing walls and bouncy bungee runs, knowing which one to choose boggles the mind. Do your research to find out more about the options and you'll find the perfect match for your big outdoor birthday bash.
4. Treasure Hunt
Treasure hunts have been around a long time, but they're still one of the most interesting outside games for kids to play. Adapt the hunt depending on the ages of the guests and the style of the party. Be sure to offer prizes and other birthday party favors for the winning team.
For instance, create a list of items in nature they have to find in a certain time limit. Give each guest some magnifying glasses, binoculars, and a treasure bag for their adventure. They can search for various bugs, pinecones, daisies, leaves, and more on a nature scavenger hunt or you can hide items throughout the yard and give them a list of riddles to solve to find the next treasure. As an alternative, hide pieces of treasure and candy for the kids to find. Give them a bucket and send them on their scavenger hunt,
5. Cool Pool Party
Fun birthday ideas for the summer usually involve water. Wet and wild games give kids the chance to get soaked and cool off. A pool prize search is one of the most fun outside games for a kid's party.
Use an inflatable pool filled with water. Hide weighted treasures at the bottom of the pool. Then, fill the rest of the pool with floating toys and balls, so that it's hard to see what's at the bottom. Give the kids a time limit and tell them to find the treasures at the bottom of the pool.
If kids are a bit older and it seems too easy, try blindfolding them. Their teammates can shout out directions to help them find the treasure.
6. Use Your Noodle
One of the cheapest outside games for kids is Pool Noodle Croquet. It's budget-friendly but takes a little bit of time to set up.
Create several pool noodle arches in your back yard and stake them into the ground. Give each child a pool noodle and an inflated beach ball. The idea is to be the first to get the ball through the course of arches.
7. Make a Splash
Another variation of a classic game is water balloon baseball. It's one of the easiest outdoor games for kids and parents because it's so easy to set up.
All you need is a baseball bat and some pre-filled water balloons. Make sure the guests are ready to get soaked!
8. A Tasty Mess
Fun birthday ideas have got to include cakes and treats, right? So why not turn your dessert into a game? When played outside, this donut game is lots of fun.
Tie dangling donuts from a high place, such as a tree or doorway. Then have a donut eating race, without using hands. Chocolate donuts make the most mess, so be ready with a cleanup team when the game is over.
9. Water Shoot
Here's another outdoor water game for you. Divide the party into two teams. For each team, string a plastic sand pails onto one end of a clothesline.
The concept of this game is for each team to work together to move their bucket along the clothesline, using only the spray water guns. Of course, if you don't have enough squirt guns for the party, you could fill up plastic bottles instead. Be sure the squirt guns are powerful enough to make the pails move!
10. An In-Tents Party
Another awesome outside party activity is camping. If camping somewhere remote is too much of a task, just set up a camp ground in your backyard.
Set up tents and a supervised fire-pit. Play some camping-themed games during the day. And when it gets dark, roast some s'mores on the campfire and tell scary stories.
Keep Calm and Party On!
We hoe you like this list of outdoor games with a twist for parties. Pick one, two, or as many outside games as you want, to make your birthday bash super fun!
What if it turns out to be a rainy day and you can't have fun in the sun? For some more games inspiration, both inside and out, check out the "Games" section of our blog.
Arvind Gupta makes toys from trash on his fabulous website offering many recycle crafts for kid, arvindguptatoys.com He offers a great how to make a balloon car tutorial printable pdf.
Visit Arvind Gupta Toys for the tutorial.
Michael Floyd of BalloonHQ offers a balloon car tutorial for making a car out of balloons for a kid's birthday party. Not sure Id' have the patience for this one!
Balloon Car from Michael Floyd looks like Barbie might like to take a ride in this one.
My favorite site for balloon art has to be The Balloon Pastor he has balloon pictures of full-size car costumes for kidsincluding a Tow Mater. You'll have to hop over to check them all out. Here's an example of his work, Lightning McQueen balloon car. Finally, PBS Design Squad has some great balloon science projects which are fun for a kid's party or perfect for a homeschool project. Show your magic trick skills with this unpoppable balloon trick or 2-wheel balloon car tutorial.
Unpoppable Balloon Party Trick from PBS Design Squad.
How to make a 2 Wheel Balloon Car from PBS Design Squad.
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Healthy4School #CollectiveBias
Fall Party Printable: Fun Ideas to Fight Colds
Traditionally, back to school time is August or September, but now that many schools have moved to a year around calendar, back to school time can happen in the fall, winter, and spring. After a busy back to school season, we enjoyed a nice fall break. Fall break in October often means heading back to a school full of colds and flu. That's never fun! We wanted to prep for the back to school cold season and say goodbye to summer, so we had a fall theme back-to-school party. Scroll down to find some fun ideas to decorate and host a fall party. Enjoy!
Wondering what to do for a Tween Valentine Party? These Valentine's party ideas for tweens will keep kids busy afterschool. Invite their friends over for a fun filled Valentine's Day party with craftivities galore. Girls and boys alike will have fun making their own one of a kind snowflake hearts and Duct Tape Valentine Snack Treat Box to use while watching their favorite movie. Enjoy!
Heart Craftivities for a Valentine's Day Party for Tweens.
To decorate for our Valentine's Day party, we made a few heart crafts that are fun for kids of all ages.
First, we made paper snowflake hearts. Want the full tutorial? Click the link: How to Make Paper Snowflake Hearts.
Once the snowflake hearts are cut out, glue them to a colorful background paper and cut them out. Use these lacy hearts as decorations hanging from the ceiling, placemats, or write fun sayings on them and hand them out as Valentine classroom exchange cards.
Make paper snowflake hearts to decorate for a Valentine's Day party.
Using colorful cardstock, make heart sculptures. Cut out two hearts and then cut halfway up the bottom of one, and half way up the top of the other. Slide the hearts together (upside down) to form a 3D base for balloons. Punch a whole in the top of them, and slip a ribbon through to attach a balloon bouquet. They make fun, whimsical table decorations too- no balloons required.
3D heart sculpture table decorations.
Next, make heart garland to hang vertically in the window. These are a good scissor skill activity for younger kids. They also work fine motor skills. Fold paper in half, draw half a heart at the crease line of the paper.
After the heart is cut out, keep it folded and cut two- 1" slits 1-2" apart. Open the heart and weave ribbon or string through the slits.
Using a glue stick (it works just fine) or hot glue gun, attach a pom pom to the end of the garland to give it a whimsical finishing touch.
How to make heart garland for Valentine's Day party decorations.
Surprise the kids with snack treat boxes made from recycled cereal boxes. Make these ahead of time or let the kids choose their own patterns and make their own.
At the Dollar Tree, we purchased duct tape in various colors. Not only does this decorate the box, it also makes the box sturdier giving it protection against spills or greasy food.
While shopping, we found little red cups that make perfect Valentinetreat holders. Fill them with dip for veggies or yummy candy treats. Ours are filled with Valentine candy conversation hearts.
Valentine snack treat boxes for movie time or after school snacks.
Start with a cereal box. They are the perfect size for sitting on your lap. Cut out a large flap for the main course and then cut out two smaller wholes for the mini snack cup and a juice pack or drink holder. Trace the bottom of the cup and juice box to insure you cut out the perfect fit.
Things to do with a recycled cereal box.
Carefully wrap the box in designer duct tape. When going around round the cut-outs, score the tape (cut a slit in the tape before folding it over), this allows for a cleaner, more attractive edge.
Snack box decorated with duct tape.
Once your box is covered in tape, attach a heart on the inside of the flap. Personalize it with your child's name or candy heart sayings like, 'Be Mine', 'Your the Bomb', 'Hers', or even 'Happy Valentine's Day'.
Treat box for Valentine's day or movie time snack.
Place colorful plastic wrap or tissue paper inside the food flap. Then, fold four flaps over on a paper plate to form a square, paper bowl. Fill your food section with popcorn or a miniheart shaped pizza. Click the link for the full pizza recipe tutorial.
Mini heart shaped pizza for Valentine's Day.
These cute Valentine glasses were a steal at the Dollar Tree. They have lots of fun designs. If your tweens are too grown up for juice boxes, make a special drink for Valentine's Day. Keep scrolling for our easy Valentine's Day drink recipe.
Make a special tween drink for Valentine's Day.
Ever heard of a Shirley Temple? It is a non-alcholic fun, fizzy drink. To make a simple Shirley Temple, fill a glass with lemon-lime soda and then give it a splash of Grenadine. Grenadine is sweet, so a little goes a long way. For a fun version of the Shirley Temple, just add a bit of pink cotton candy. Don't forget to put a cherry on top!
Add a layer of plastic wrap or tissue paper to protect the inside of the box.
How fun was that? Kids will love getting invited to such a fun filled Valentine's party. Once everyone has their snack box, head over to the living room and watch a fun, Valentine's theme movie.
Peanuts is always a good choice. Charlie Brown never gets the Valentine he hopes for.
Valentine treat box complete.
Tween Valentine party ideas and activities.
These activities are so easy, if you don't have Valentine's Day plans, you can prep for this party in about 2 hours. So, go make your own fun! Hope you have a fabulous Valentine's Day!
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