Let your kids go crazy this Halloween

While there’s really nothing to fear about bats, and they don’t actually attack people to drink their blood or go blind, it’s fun to let your imagination run wild, especially on Halloween. The days are getting shorter, the air is crisp and the leaves are dying – the perfect conditions for your kids to run wild. This year, forget about ghosts and witches, follow the example of Edgar Allan Poe and plan your Halloween party around these fearsome black mammals. Find everything you need for a “creepy” party that will drive your guests crazy, from invitations to crafts and games.

invitations

• Use a white paint pen to write party details on black bat-shaped cutouts. Paste on orange craft paper and send out to guests.
• decorations
• Set the mood for your party by hanging inverted bats made of black construction paper from trees or on your driveway
• Trim the front door with bat decals or cutouts. Add a banner with a scary saying.
• Carve bat-shaped pumpkins and place them on the front porch and inside the house. For an extra ghoulish effect, light candles and place them inside the pumpkins.
• Using black and orange ribbon, hang bat shapes from the ceiling along with black and orange balloons.
• Make a bat banner out of construction paper.
• For a centerpiece decoration, paint a large, bare tree branch black and glue black construction paper or plastic bats on it.
• Sprinkle bat-shaped confetti on tables and counters.

bat hunting game

Hide some toy or construction paper bats around the house, inside or outside, before guests arrive. Give each guest a paper bag and a flashlight and turn off the lights or head outside. Have the guests search for the hidden bats. The person who finds the most bats is the winner. Give a small prize to the winner if you wish. (Variation: You could have a special bat for guests to find, and the person who finds that bat will also get a prize.)

Owls and Bats Game

You will need some plastic or rubber bats. There must be a time less than the number of players. For example, if you have 6 players, use 5 bats. Before the game, color or paint a spot on the bottom of each bat. Have the children sit in a circle. Place the bats, with the marks facing down, on the ground in the middle of the circle. Ask the children to choose a bat. The boy without the bat is the “owl”. Have the “owl” sit in the middle of the circle. The “owl” points to a child and tries to guess the color of the stain on that child’s bat. If the “owl” guesses the correct color, the boy with the bat runs around the circle and the “owl” tries to catch him before he sits back down. If the “owl” catches the boy with the bat, he will go back to being a bat. If not, the “bat” becomes the “owl”.

party favors

Visit your local party supply store or discount store for cheap bat-related novelties like key chains, plastic toys, jewelry, etc.

Bat Cookie Decorating Activity/Snack

Let the kids decorate their own sugar cookies in the shape of a bat. Set up a table with paper plates, plastic knives, napkins along with sugar cookies cut into bat shapes, different colors of frosting, sprinkles, candy corn, etc.

Appetizers/Drinks

• Top cupcakes with black and add edible bat-shaped decorations.
• Use bat-shaped cookie cutters to make bat sandwiches or pancakes. Using a bat-shaped cookie cutter, cut flour tortillas into bat shapes. Lightly brush both sides of each bat shape with oil. Pipe the tortilla shapes into a cookie cutter and place in the oven. Grill the tortilla shapes, flipping the fries once when they begin to brown. When they are golden brown on both sides, sprinkle lightly with salt or a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
• Bat grog: Combine 2 cups grape juice, 2 cups lemon-lime soda, lime sherbet, and lemon sherbet. Cool.