Helping with a school Halloween party can be lots of fun. My favorite part is getting to see all the children dressed up. I like to bring either a Polaroid or a digital camera to capture the kids in their costumes. Ideally, I like to download and print their pictures before the day is over, but that rarely happens. Even if they don’t get the pictures back until the next day, it still makes a nice souvenir.
For food I’ve found that vegetable and cheese trays balance out the sugar and overexcited children, too. I usually make spider crackers. I spread peanut butter (if there are no allergies) or cream cheese between two Ritz crackers. I place four pretzel sticks for legs on each side and press the crackers together. On the top surface I place two m & m’s or candy corn for the spider eyes.
For crafts I like to make the paper pumpkins, or clothespin bats. You can also make a picture frame from squares of foam for their Halloween pictures.
Here’s a few tips I’ve learned over the years:
* Schools don’t don’t allow open flames, so bring a flashlight or a glow stick to light your jack o’ lanterns.
* If you are doing anything messy like homemade slime, make sure the weather is nice enough to be outside. Otherwise, you may never get to host a class party again.
* Have a backup plan if the weather turns bad.
* Make sure your own costume won’t get in the way of serving food or helping out with the games.
* My favorite room mom tip is to carry everything in a laundry basket. Nothing gets lost or forgotten that way. I try to always bring tape, scissors, permanent markers, extra plates, plastic ware, and cups. Small Ziploc bags come in handy for sending things home with the children.
* Make sure any crafts can be completed during the party. It’s best if there’s not a lot of glue or paint involved since those can take a long time to dry.
* It’s not a party without punch. Juice boxes would be easier, but you can’t float plastic spiders in ice cubes in a juice box. You can’t have gummy worms frozen into ice cubes in juice boxes. The kids love punch with gummy worm ice cubes.
* Never turn down offers of help. The more adults at the party, the smoother it will go.
* At the end of the party, load everything back into the laundry basket. Teachers appreciate parents who clean up the party mess.
Also See:
Paper Pumpkin Faces
Magic Halloween Paint Project for Preschoolers