A few weeks ago I shared some Halloween party ideas I’d found on Pinterest, and told you all how I hoped to convince Mia to have a Halloween-themed birthday party.   Well, after some discussion, she was game to wait an extra week for her party and we’re in the final planning stages.

You can click the invitation to see it bigger- but in general it’s going to be a costume party, and we’ve invited her 1st grade class.  I kept the time between lunch and dinner so that I don’t have to worry about feeding the kids an entire meal.

I’ve done a bit of procrastinating, but the invitations have gone out… so now it’s time to finish figuring out what exactly we’re going to do with all these kids next Saturday!  What snacks to feed them, games to play… should we make a craft?  Have a pinata?  Who knows?

I absolutely adore the way the invitations came out, and I hope it’s a sign that the rest of the party will be just as amazing.  In general, we do birthdays with just the family- dinner out, a few gifts, cake at home.  The last birthday party we had was when the twins turned one, so despite all the kids we have, I really don’t have much practice with party planning.

For decor, I have some stuff already in the works.  I have the Halloween Topiary that I made, which is safely stored on the top of the fridge so the boys don’t try to eat them.  I plan on putting them on the table as a centerpiece.   I also already have a string of Halloween lights hanging from the curtains in the living room, and bat wall decals on the dining room wall.

Additionally, I have a couple of great signs to hang from Halloween Express that I received when I got Lili’s costume.  I’ll probably put at least one of them on the front door.  The girls are working on a banner to hang as well, so I think the decorations are coming together nicely.

As for food, we will definitely have cupcakes.  I bought a Halloween cupcake stand as well as cupcake papers in regular and mini size. I love the idea of candy bars, but I don’t want to do all sweets, especially if we decide on a pinata. I want to stick with finger foods- and just love this veggie tray (with ranch, of course) and these caramel apple slices:

I found a really cute game, but I’m not sure how we’d get it together… The balloons are filled with candy and confetti, and it’s on a thick foam board. I don’t know if the expense of making it would be worth it for a few minutes of balloon popping!

I am totally going to do the donut-on-a-string game though.  I can’t wait for it.

These games are great because they have built in prizes.  I don’t want to have to pick winners and have kids get upset if they don’t get a prize.

What kind of things should I give out in goodie bags, if we decide to do them?  I always hate the cheap toys and candy… I’d rather give out practical stuff, but I don’t want to spend an arm and leg.  It’s also why I hesitate to do a pinata- the last thing kids need is more candy!

Would a Halloween snack mix be lame?  I am thinking of making something like this:

And putting it in little bags.  Isn’t this adorable?  It’d make great decor too, at least until the party is over and the kids all take theirs home!