Halloween parties are popular and they always include the traditional Halloween games. (Halloween Party Game Ideas
Halloween party games for everyone. Easy to follow instructions and descriptions for each Halloween game. A really far out game collection.)

The most common is bobbing for apples, where apples float in a tub of water and the party goers must grab the apple with their teeth while on their knees with their hands behind their backs. Techniques include:

1. Open your mouth as wide as possible, and draw your lips as far out of the way as possible to avoid bouncing the apple off your lips, and "bob" down vigorously, clenching your teeth shut immediately as you feel the shock to your teeth.

2. Keep your lips slightly open and pursed as far in front of your teeth as possible. Use the tactile sensitivity of your lips to place the apple squarely balanced at the tip of your lips and slowly press it down under the water as far as you can. In one movement, open your mouth and when the apple "bobs" up towards your teeth, clamp down, relying on the apples momentum to slam it against your teeth.

Then there is the telling of ghost stories or showing horror films. You can also use a hollowed out pumpkin (without cutouts) to place cooked spaghetti or peeled grapes in. Have the kids put their hands in and tell them it is worms or eyeballs. You can take helium balloons and tie them tight so they don't get away, then tie small glow sticks to the string at the balloon and let them float over your yard or house.

Apples are probably the second most popular symbol of food objects, next to pumpkins. Candied apples are the most common treat. They are made by covering the apples in a sticky sugar syrup or usually carmel and then rolling them in nuts or cereals. Apples can also be used as candle holders. Find apples that sit well and cut a hole in the top (deep and wide enough for your candle) where the stem is, then place a taper candle in the hole. Candy corn is also a Halloween tradition. It is approximately the size of a whole kernel of corn and is usually tri-colored, yellow, orange and white. Candy corn has been around since the 1880s. Roasting pumpkin seeds is something that is done during the Halloween celebration. When you are carving pumpkins, save the seeds. Roasted pumpkin seeds have a nutty flavor and are packed with protein and fiber. They can simply be salted or can be spiced with cayenne pepper or Italian seasoning. You rinse the seeds under cold water to remove the pulp and strings. Then place the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and coat with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees until toasted, takes about 25 minutes. Let them cool and store in an air-tight container. A hollowed out pumpkin can also be used as a large punch bowl and serve apple cider with a large ladle (pumpkin cannot have any designs cut in it).

If you have a laptop or computer handy you can go to this fortune telling skull
and have fun letting people ask questions and get the answers.

Divide your party up into several smaller groups and send them all on a fun Scavenger Hunt. (Don't forget to have them get the autograph of someone at a funeral home.)

Food Decorating Ideas:

Freeze ice cubes with edible "insects" inside by filling a tray half full and freezing, then adding a gummy critter or a couple of raisins, fill the rest of the way with liquid and re-freeze.

Fill a new plastic household glove with lemonade, limeade or other liquids to create an eerie floating hand in your punch bowl. Use heavy duty rubber bands to secure the top of the glove, leaving a little room for expansion. Use a small plastic dish to prop up the secured end of the glove in the freezer. Freeze until solid, peel away the glove and float the hand in the punchbowl.

Consider using Mountain Dew soda in your drinks and punches, nothing else has quite the same green glow.