Halloween is a fun and magical time for children. This holiday allows them to dress up as favorite characters or people that they would like to be. It is one of the few times during the year that a child can express another aspect of their personality without fear of reprisal. Even the tiniest tot can have fun with this holiday or at least add to the enjoyment of their parents with costumes as cute as a button. A toddler party is a great way to enjoy the season and provide a way for your child's friends to join in on the fun.
A toddler party with a Halloween or harvest theme can be easy to plan and it can also provide a way for a group of children to have dinner together before collecting bags of candy from the neighbors. A favorite Halloween dinner theme is the pumpkin feast. This theme is very simple to achieve. The main dish at this get together is a pumpkin stuffed with rice, ground beef or very mild sausage and light seasoning. Bake this entire pumpkin in the oven for approximately an hour and a half and it will make a great centerpiece and delicious meal. Decorations on the table can include mini pumpkins in white or orange, gourds or little edible creations. Children enjoy making decorations so let them make little ghosts out of pretzels, marshmallows and gel frosting. It is also fun for the children to get to decorate the mini pumpkins with paints or colored markers. The type of activities that you choose to do will depend on the age of the children at the party so plan accordingly.
A toddler party on Halloween can also be held in the early afternoon. This party can focus on party games as opposed to a sit down meal. Great ideas for foods include shortbread cookies in cute shapes, vegetables that have been made into little creatures such as ants on a log (raisins on peanut butter filled celery sticks), Jello cut-outs or fun creatures that are made of candy and cookies. Great ideas for Halloween creatures can be found in many children's and parenting magazines in September of each year.
Toddler party game ideas include pin the tail on the cat, coloring pages featuring large pictures that are easy to color such as pumpkins, witches and ghosts, decorating pre-made eye masks with glitter, sequins and other findings or a matching card game that you can make yourself with heavy colored card stock and Halloween stickers. The skill level of the children coming to your party will help you to choose games that will hold their interest.
For parents that want to skip the trick or treating aspect of Halloween because of the age of their children may enjoy a progressive toddler Halloween party. A progressive party starts at one house for the first course of a dinner and then progresses to other peoples houses for each course of the meal. The last house can serve dessert or serve as the place for the kids to play games. This may be an ideal way to spend the holiday when the toddlers are very young. Parents will enjoy the opportunity to get together with adults while not having to prepare an entire meal or plan a toddler party by themselves.
No matter how you choose to celebrate this holiday, treating your children to a toddler Halloween party will provide you with unforgettable photos and memories to last a lifetime.