It’s October and that means the spooky season has arrived! It’s time to decide – how are you going to celebrate this fun fall season with your students? With the thousands ideas found with a quick search, trying to plan this student favorite party can seem daunting. How about you let us plan your entire party for you?! Check out our Halloween party guide for hauntingly fun party ideas.

Lucky Little Party Plan

As you can see below, our Fall Festival party plan is stocked with decor ideas, games, crafts, send home options, and more! This post will take a walk through each section of the plan. All you have to do is decide which ideas you want to use for your party, print and voila! Your party is ready!

Jump to:

I) Suggested Materials

II) Decor Ideas

III) Centers & Crafts

IV) Read Alouds

V) Party Games

VI) Party Playlist

I) Suggested Materials

The suggested materials section of the plan lists out things you may want to print out or send home prior to the party. For the Halloween Party, here are your need to prep materials:

Candy Exchange Note

A major part of this fall day is candy. Students love to receive it, but also have a blast passing it out to their friends. To make this easy, send home the note stating this candy exchange is optional, so not all families feel like they need to buy extra candy. Those who want to buy for the class can!

Snack Note

I have always had a rotating party snack schedule of who brings what. This means students are usually only asked to bring something for the classroom party once a year. The snack note for the fall festival party includes ingredients for Witches' Brew and Pumpkin Punch. Simply checkoff the item you would like specific students to bring. Or, send home to all families and ask parents to email you if you they wish to donate an item. If getting snack items donated is not possible for you, students can bring their own drink or snack.)

Witches' Brew

Sort of like trail mix, Witches' Brew contains a few yummy snacks mixed together. When I am brewing up this tasty treat, I always use a plastic cauldron I purchased at Walmart years ago. Of course I throw in a witch cackle or two while stirring. My ingredients list is below:

Pumpkin Punch

Even though it is called Pumpkin Punch, there is no scooping of pumpkin involved. Instead, use orange soda and vanilla ice cream for a fall twist to a normal float.

Costume Note

If your school allows students to bring in their costumes, send this note home about a week before the party to allow parents time to prepare the outfit.

Want to join in on the dress up fun? Check out these teacher-favorite costume ideas!

II) Decor Ideas

Although optional, decorating your classroom with fall accessories sets a fun tone for the party. Here are some easy decor ideas to kick your party up a notch.

Halloween Placemat

Use this placemat for morning work on this special day. This will help rein in the chaos and give students something to do when they arrive.

Fake Spider Webs & Spiders

Fake webs with spiders are very affordable and can be stretched so far….a little goes a long way! Try putting webs in the doorway corners, across the window or even on the bulletin boards.

Tablecloths

Use tablecloths or butcher paper to create a new environment for the party. Orange, green, black or a combo looks fun and festive.

Pumpkins

Real or fake pumpkins are the perfect finishing touch to your classroom Halloween party.

III) Centers & Crafts

As part of my classroom parties, I like to have students rotate around centers. All of the centers fit the theme while still practicing important skills. I do 10-15 minutes per center, depending on my class and the centers chosen. Project a spooky or fall themed timer, like the ones below, to keep students on track.

Here are the centers and crafts we recommend for your fall party.

Halloween Narrative Writing

Get your students thinking creatively with this Halloween writing prompt.

Fact Family Haunted House

Practice math while also creating a haunted house. This projects makes for a super cute hallway display!

Life Cycle of a Pumpkin

Tie in science with this cut and paste center activity. It may be beneficial to have students listen to a story about the pumpkin life cycle before completing the activity sheet. If you and your students use Epic Reading, Pumpkins by Gail Gibbons is available as a listening book. (It can also be found on YouTube.)

Leaf Painting Project

To tap into the artsy side of your students, try this leaf painting project! Take a nature walk to collect leaves to paint and stamp.

Haunted House Directed Drawing

Directed drawings are always a student favorite! Try having students draw their haunted house while also checking off narrative writing standards as they write their creative (and maybe spooky) stories.

Bonus Center Ideas

Math Activities

Use October themed math centers during your math block the entire week of the party! Check out our wide collection for both 1st and 2nd grade!

• October Math Centers (1st Grade) 
• October Math Centers (2nd Grade) 

Try Ghost Spelling

IV) Read Alouds

As mentioned above, set the stage for your fall festival day with read alouds either the days or morning leading up to the party. Although there are tons of Halloween and fall themed picture books to choose from, here are some of our team's favorites.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

Written by Linda Williams, this books is always a student favorite. After listening, use the accordion book template to further comprehension.

Bonus activity: Try the Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything interactive movement activity! My students have always loved this as a brain break or morning meeting activity.

• Students form a big circle around the desks. Stop moving on the lyrics, “Turn around!”
• Walk in a circle while singing along to the song, incorporating repeating movements on the movement of each clothing item.

At the Old Haunted House

This book, written by Hellen Ketteman, has a catchy rhythm and rhyme students will devour.

Spiders & Bats by Gail Gibbons

If you have been teaching in the primary grades for any length of time, you know that Gail Gibbons is an author/illustrator with an enormous collection of nonfiction books full of beautiful illustrations. Take a deep dive into her books on Spiders and Bats, using the Bats & Spiders Lapbook as a follow up activity.

Spiders

Bats

Download the Bats & Spiders Lapbook

Bonus Read Alouds

• Pete the Cat Trick or Pete
• Creepy Pair of Underwear
• Hey, That’s My Monster! 

V) Party Games

After centers are done, it is time for party games! In years past, parent volunteers have come in to help run the games, which can be helpful if you want groups of students to rotate through the games. However, many of these can be played whole group as well.

Halloween Musical Pictures

Musical pictures is the less chaotic version of musical chairs! Think no running or fighting over chairs!

Witches Brew Math Game

Tap into students' love of technology to have some spooky themed learning fun! In this digital game, students will be practicing 2-digit addition.

Download the Witches Brew Digital Math Game

Halloween Bingo

You can never go wrong with a simple bingo game. Try covering the spaces with fake spiders or candy corn.

Pumpkin Toothy

Toothy is an engaging way to practice any skill! Browse the Toothy sets available on All Access or in our Shop, and pair them with the pumpkin themed Toothy mat!

Bonus Game Ideas

• Pictionary with Halloween Objects
• Halloween Hangman
• Halloween Scavenger Hunt (Give your students a list of fall things to find around the room; the first person/ team finished is the winner (i.e. something orange, something creepy, something black, something that rhymes with ghost or cat, etc.)
• Halloween Truth or Scare
• Halloween Themed Conversation Cards (For example, what scares you more, snakes or spiders?)
• Guess the Witch’s Brew Ingredients: If you can serve food at your party, this game offers a few healthier choices. If you can’t serve food, you can still play this game visually. Display the “Ingredients” at the front of the room, labeled with numbers. Tell your students that each ingredient is a different body part. Have kids number a piece of paper from 1-5, then write down their guesses. Reveal the answers to see who got the most correct guesses!
  • Cooked spaghetti = brains
  • Carrot sticks = fingers
  • Peeled grapes = eyeballs
  • Corn kernels = teeth
  • Monster ears = dried apricots
• Tarantula Toss: Before the party, spread spiderwebs across the four corners of the classroom and place a piece of tape on the floor a few feet in front of each web. Divide the class into 4 teams. Give each team a bowl of plastic spiders. Send one team member at a time to the teams’ web. When the teacher says, “Go,” each student throws spiders at the webs, trying to get them to stick. The first student to get 3 spiders to stick earns a point. Play continues until each student has had a turn. The team with the most points at the end wins.

VI) Party Playlist

Top of your party with a spooky playlist!

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Want a closer look at this party plan?

Join me, as I walk through each section of the fall festival or Halloween party plan!

Our best hope is that your fall festival or Halloween party can be a fun and memorable event for your students!

Happy teaching!