Help for Planning a Halloween Birthday Party for a Soon to Be 5 Year Old

I was thinking that you could do the pinata idea but before that hand out either the regular brown lunch size bags or buy white lunch bags and have halloween stencils and markers or crayons and stuff and let the kids decorate a halloween bag and then they can put the candy from the pinata in that.

A.,
I've gottta tell ya, we've had some of the best halloween parties and all of them involved kids. Costumes are great,,, as are games. I have a recipe for "eyeball cupcakes" that my daughter still loves me to make and she's 19 now!
I also send them into all my kids classes and the kids love them. As for games, you can play wrap the mummy using toilet paper and teams to see who wraps fastest. decorating their own pumpkins and/or ghosts is always good. I wouldn't do a bobbing for apples as it can be fun, but in my opinion, not very sanitary. We also had teams re assemble skeleton decorations(it's pretty easy to find the ones that have the moving joints and take them apart. They can always make their own slime to take home in baggies. I'd have to find that recipe if you are interested. So many ideas, too faast thruthe head to keep up with!

Hope this helps

S. AKA Shazzizme
www.ShazzArtisticVisions.com

Do everyone a favor and skip the pinta- they will have gotten enough candy the day before. Stick with the pirate theme and have a treasure hunt. Make up a map of your house/yard and have the boys follow clues - ie. certain number of steps- find a particular object to look under etc. Have his cake hidden there and let the kids take it back to the "gally" and sing a pirates version of happy birthday. You might even put some of those cheap gold coins with the cake so that everyone gets part of the treasure.

Hope this helps!

(Ok Im gonna try this again I dont think my first attempt went through)
Hi A. Im E. I have a 15 yr old daughter and 10 yr old son,and tons of nieces and nephews I helped raise, so parties are kinda my thing.My friend forwarded this to me cause she knew I could help you.Im known at school as "The Party Mom" and in both our new and old neighborhoods as "The Halloween Lady".So with that said I hope this helps.I briefly looked over some other responses and saw Oriental trading Co.mentioned, they are good and I order stuff from them in bulk for parties at my kidsschool.But Party city carries most all the same things with no shipping fees.Try Better Homes and Gardens website they have some good game ideas and Halloween.com or simply Google Halloween for links.For Goodie bags,FOR THE PINATA( I dont recommend doing both) use brown paper lunch bags and decorate them with stickers or ink stamps and write each kids name on his bag,have extras and a marker for unexpected kids.My kids loved helping me do that to prepare for their parties.Fill the pinata not only with candy but mostly toys, worms and bugs and other halloween toys .The parents like the toys better than their kids going home with even more candy to add to the trick or treating pile.If you want them in costume be sure to put that on the invites or make it optional,not all costumes survive halloween night afterall.Have a bin full of (discount buys)costumes and goodwill store suits, Halloween wigs and masks for the kids to play with,so even if they dont come in costume everybody can still dress up.This will only work while the boys are still little,my 10 yr old has informed me he is too old for that unless the costumes get scarier as he gets older.Have a costume relay race.Put out an equal amount of clothes in piles and each pile has a pair of grown ups slip on boots,maybe even clown noses to.They hop to the pile in burlap sacks put on the outfit and stumble back in the boots and oversized outfit,the winner gets a wrapped candy apple to take home or a Halloween toy.Or my personal favorite, simply cheer as each kid finishes and all the kids get a small toy at the end of the game.Place toy cauldrens on a table(outside) a small piece of burlap over each to hide the contents.Blindfold the "victim" and help him stick his hand into each,tell them not to pull the item out, just feel it and tell us what you think it is.Good items for this are gummie worms,sp.noodles,green jello.If you think the bday boy can handle a scare cut a hole in a cauldren switch it out with the last one on the table place a hand into the hole and grab his hand when he reaches in.My kids loved it when we would prank them,now they prank us!If there is room outside you could get a Halloween kickball(got ours at Target last year) and just play kickball with them after the Pirate leaves.Then cake and presents and the pinata and thats it parties over before you know it!Take lots of pictures and have fun,he will enjoy it more if he sees you playing and having fun to!

My daughter's bday is 5 days before Halloween and this year we are going to have a costume party, maybe a contest. Kids love to wear their costumes! We are also going to have a pin the nose on the pumpkin instead of a donkey, and then I would say the candy in the pinata is plenty as their goodie bag. Last year I made cupcakes but did not ice them and each kid iced their own. I had several flavors and colors of icing and several types of sprinkles and toppings. That was their cake and then I only had a mini cake for my daughter.

One year our "goodie bag" was one of those mini pumpkins/gourd, ....one year it was hand made chocolate lollipops in Halloween shapes, and one year I had baggies of pumpkin seeds with a small poem for them to go home and plant for next year. We planted our seeds and the next year we had grown our own pumpkin. You could also do a pumpkin decorating contest and if you don't want them carving, they could use sharpees. You could do an apple dunking contest, etc Any Fall games are fun. If you have a pirate coming, the pinata will be plenty, after they eat and open gifts, the time will fly by. Have fun!

Hi A.! I am a mother of four, my youngest is "almost 10 mom". I've had some experience in the birthday parties, I think. So here's a few suggestions if you want:
I would give the children a little baggie for the pinata. Also you could pass out "prize baggies" for best costume, cutest, coolest, scarest, or whatever. In the prize baggies, you could hit the Dollar Store. They have all kinds of Halloween theme goodies, coloring books, cups, spider rings, gummy skeletins..etc..You could also have them play pin the Hat on the witch! A game you & the boys could make! Have children's halloween music in the background. And Charlie Brown's Halloween Special (on DVD) playing on the TV,(and it's only 30 min). I'm sure you can come up with a few more ideas on your own. sounds like it'll be a good time! Have fun!
P.

I did a big Halloween party for my 8y.o. and played the two simple games of musical chairs and hot potato. They loved it! It expends their energy and I gave little trick or treat bags for prizes that they picked out of a cauldron. Since your party is pirate themed, you could play hot potato with a pirate's hook or a small stuffed parrot, etc. Musical chairs can be done with a pirate-y song playing. I agree with others, don't plan too many other things. See how the evening goes and if they're restless you can add these games in. It's always nice to just give them a little time to play on their own too, that way you're not so stressed with planning one thing after another. Most of all: HAVE FUN WITH THEM! Good luck!

My son's 5th or 6th bday party had a Halloween theme. It was so much fun! I made green punch with an ice hand in it (fill a rubber glove with juice or water and tie off. Put in freezer til solid). I made a monster twister game with a large square piece of felt for the mat with four different categories (spider, mummy face, witch hat, and bat)sewn on randomly. Play just like twister with a spinner. Whichever category it lands on, child playing has to put a body part on that picture on the mat. We played "wrap a mummy" with toilet paper with two people on each team. Also, I put different "body parts" in bowls and hid them under a cloth. Kids had to feel it w/out looking and try to guess what it wasy (like use a canned pear for a heart, grapes for eyeballs, bugle chips for fingernails, etc). We also divided all the kids into 2 teams and had a costume race - I had two large boxes full of clothing and costume pieces. Each kid had to run down to the box, put on all the clothes, strike a pose, take them off, then run back and tag the next team member. Familyfunmagazine.com may also have a lot of suggestions. Hope this helps!

Hi!I am sure the kids will love an excuse to wear their costumes again.What a great idea!I came across a magazine called Family Fun,FamilyFun.com.You can bet you will find lots of great ideas for food,decorations,and games.What you have planned sounds golden,and handing out little Halloween treat bags for the candy is perfect.You could always add a Halloween pencil and a sticker in each bag.Look for a pin the tail on the black cat game.You can also buy an inexpensive plastic Halloween mask,tape the eyes closed,fill it with fruit and juice or just water and freeze it(wrap it).Dump the scary ice face in your punch bowl!(Make sure you peel away from the plastic mask.)The kids will love it!Have fun!

A good source for treat bags, pinata and candy and small toys to fill it with is Oriental Trading Company. You can find it on line at www.orientaltrading.com
I would advise not trying to outdo yourself on this first party....just make it fun. You will find yourself trying to do a bigger and better one every year and that will get expensive and with two kids ... twice as expensive. Just a fun party with some treats is always good.

Don't forget the invitations. Go to parents magazine's website. A couple issues ago they had some great ideas for invitations. Using an airport theme: Arival time, plane number. I took the idea and made my own for my son's 3rd birthday. A Nascar theme: the Caleb 500, Nascar sippy cup series. Maybe you could use something like: The Haunting begins at....The ghosts and gobblins are to float to..... something like that. You may also mention things in the invitation: whether or not to wear costumes, bring clothes to change into (incase the costume becomes uncomfortable). If you haven't met the parents of the other children make sure to include you phone number, many parents like to meet. Put an RSVP on the invitations also. That way you can get an idea of how many are showing up. But always account for a few more or less. Definitly a Halloween cake, Wal-mart has some good selections. Decide if your going to have a meal (pizza) or just snacks (chips, cake and ice cream). We had a pinata at my sons party last year and the kids loved it. Just watch for the other children that they don't get in the way when the swinging starts. You may think about turning one room or garage into a mini haunted house, just something for them to walk into when they come through the door. You can also usually get Halloween music too to play. Good luck!!

My children are all teenagers, but when they reflect on their birthday parties...the ones we hosted at home are always top on their list. Knowing that you are having it the day after Halloween, remember the kids will be still enjoying all their "trick or treats" so you might want to focus most of the party on activities. A pinata is always fun, but must be supervised carefully. Even after it opens, you may get hands that were stepped on or tears because of the uneven distribution of candy. You may want to focus on the Pirate theme and have different activities based on that; such as hiding some "buried treasure" (coins) in a sandbox for the party guests to find. Face painting is always a hit and easy to do. Practice a few simple designs and maybe even have a teenager come to the party as a "mom helper" and they can be in charge of face painting or putting on "tattoos". Playing games with a pirate them (change up "pin the tail on the donkey" to "pin the sail on the ship." A simple art project can also be fun and they can take their project home as their treat. They can decorate pirate hats or try to make binoculars from paper towel rolls. Have fun and happy birthday to your son.

We just had my sons 5th borthday party, we had rented an inflatable water slide and had a pinata. The pinata was a big hit, but it took a while for them to bust it...but they had fun. I did goodie bags and just put play-doh, tattoo, and a bouncy ball and a couple of small pieces of candy. The pinata I put suckers,the small things of bubbles and some bubble gum so they could just add it to the goodie bags. I choose to do the goodie bags because as I expected not everyone would get something out of the pinata...a few of the smaller ones didn't know they were supposed to dive for the stuff until after it was all gone.

Another idea for a pirate theme is if you have a sand box you can have a treasure hunt. Get some different shape jewel pieces from Michaels or Garden ridge and hide them in the sand. We did this at one of my daughter's party and it's a good game because they can pretty much come and go as they please to do it... it doesn't take a whole lot of supervision, they just dig when they want.

another game isn't really necessary if the pirate is going to last an hour, the the pinata will be at least 10-15 minutes and then cake and ice cream... you will be up to 2 hours before you know it.

My first party was for a 6th birthday (but there were a number of 5 year olds there). I found it was a bit like herding cats. The kids were all over the place and didn't stay involved in any one activity for very long. It was very helpful to have another adult who helped me keep the kids occupied and entertained. A friend suggested that I have an activity for the kids as they arrived (I had a big banner that they helped decorate.) We also found that an hour and a half was enough for them. (and me!) I would probably check with your pirate that he is experienced with this age group - and then with cake and maybe pinata, I think you have about as much as they need. (If they are just sitting for his 45 minute show, they will need a run-around activity after it...)

Good luck!

A.

pinata is a good idea. If you want to build on the pirate idea you could so a treasure hunt. My nephew did one for his birthday when he was 5. My sister found a box that looked like a treasure chest and put lots of goodies in it for the kids to share. Then we made a scavenger hunt type map with clues. he obviously couldn't read yet so they were pictures with a little writing underneath because he did have a 9yr old cousin who we put in charge of helping the little ones. We gave him the first clue which lead him somewhere else to get the second clue and so on. I don't remember how many clues we did before they lead him to the treasure. Inside the chesst were the goodies bags my sister had put together.

I LOVE planning theme parties for my kiddos! I also have an Aidan who just had his third birthday last week. Anyway, a friend of mine has a little boy whose bithday is in October and she always has the cutest fall-themed birthday parties for him. Last year, all the kids wore their costumes to the party, just long enough to get a group picture then they all changed. They then decorated small pumpkins with markers, paints and stickers. She had the party outside since the weather is so nice that time of year, and decorated with pumpkins, gourds, and mums on the tables. The also bobbed for apples and ate yummy stuff like caramel apples. Good luck - it is a great time of year to have a party!

Hi A.,
Invite about 5 of your son's friends to your house; tell them to bring their Halloween baskets and wear their costumes if you like. Have a cake or some cute Halloween cupcakes and sing "Happy Birthday." Do the pinata and let the kids scurry around and fill up their baskets. Forget gift bags. Besides this, don't stress. Let them play in your backyard for awhile. The kids will have fun, you won't go crazy, and your 3-year-old can participate. Have a fun day!

just an FYI.... many areas since halloween is on a school night will be doing trick or treating on saturday. this might just be the easiest thing for you.

There is going to be a 45 minute to one hour show for FIVE YEAR OLDS??? I can't imagine them sitting still that long. That said, if you have that kind of entertainment I wouldn't worry about anything else, just cake and ice cream. If you do decide to do a pinata just provide bags for the kids to put the candy in. Good luck!

when i was little my parents always had halloween parties. we had the pinata, and a spook room. my mom was awesome at halloween she really decked the place out, andwe had one room that was all dark, covered with styrofoam peanuts, had all the classic fakeout stuff to scare ppl with-bats and spiders tied hanging off the ceiling, you know. i would do a low key spook room or a little halloween trail..kids love stuff like that!!

We went to a great party at a friend's house last year.

1. She had small rocks painted white or orange on a table and black permenant markers. The kids got to decorate a ghost or a pumpkin rock.

2.Each kid was given a white lunch bag to decorate. Each bag had numbers on it (1-7, I think). Once the bag was decorated, the kids went to different stations to get a treat (such as a piecoe of candy or a small toy) Each station marked off their station number on the bag so the kids could only get 1 thing from each station. Sometimes they had to play a game at the station to get the treat.

3. They had a costume parade.

4. Pinata.

5. Follow the map to find the treasure.

6. Fill empty water bottles with rice. Add small items like googly eyes, a safety pin, a pom pom, letters, felt pirate pieces, sequins, a bell, or other small things. Put the top on and seal. Shake up the bottle. Thd kids have to turn the bottle to find the items inside. Make a pre-printed list of the itmes to find and attach to the bottle. Each kid makes their own bottle. Use funnels to pour the rice. The kids had a blast!

Check out Oriental Trading Company for cool cheap toys for the stations or to give as prizes, etc. Go to www.orientaltrading.com

Hope this helps. Good luck!

I am a theme person so since you are having a pirate come to the party, make the invites something to do with pirates. Instead of a pinata, I would try to figure out a scavenger hunt with a treasure chest at the end. Maybe games could revolve around ships and treasures. I quick idea would be to have two sets of "pirate clothes" and they do a relay (two teams) to run, dress themselves, undress, and then go tag the next person in line. The thing about having a pirate theme is that it will seem more like a birthday party and a little less like a Halloween party.

I just had my son's 4th birthday and we had a pinata. Two pieces of advice: 1) get a pinata that has strings instead swinging a bat - there are about 30 different streamers that hang down but only one will actually pop open the pinata. It is much safer. 2) As part of the activities, let the kids decorate plain goodie bags to put their loot in. This will give them something to do & will make sure that everyone goes home w/their own bag - 5 year olds can get mighty upset if they think they did not end up with the bag they filled.

Hi A.,
A Pinata is a great idea and is a goody bag and game in one! You can have a Hallowee-ish cake or even cupcakes...my Mom makes the coolest cakes, email me and ill send you a pic, she has the greatest ideas! Other than that, you could probably find a Halloween themed pin the tail on the donkey...I've seen one that is a pin the eye patch on the pirate at Party City!!!
Good luck!
P.
____@____.com

There is a website at birthdaypartyideas.com. It gives all these great ideas for birthday parties. I use it for any party I do especially if I am going to do it at my home. I hope it can help you make your sons birthday party wonderful. A lot of the ideas you have to make yourself. Which is cheaper usually. I used it for a March Halloween party one year for my daughter's birthday and it turned out great.