Your Halloween party does not have to be overloaded with sugar, nor break the bank. Be creative with healthy foods to turn them into a Halloween delight. You can also find free printable Halloween party invitations and decorations online. Invite guests to participate in the planning and food preparation to share costs. Use items from previous Halloweens for party games and decor. With a bit of preparation, you can pull off a party that won't ruin your diet or family budget.
Step 1
Find Halloween recipes with fruits, vegetables and protein ingredients. You can make fun, spooky foods out of apples, carrots and cheese sticks. Check out some of the creative and healthy recipe ideas from FamilyFun in the Resources section.
Step 2
Serve foods made out of pumpkin, a healthy vegetable with very few calories and no fat. A full cup of pumpkin has only 30 calories. You can make pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin seeds, sweet and sour pumpkin and more. Check Resources below for recipes from the Food Network.
Step 3
Use apples for a healthy, popular Halloween treat or for playing games. Bobbing for apples is a Halloween classic, and the cost of setting that game up is minimal. All you need is a large bucket of water and apples. You can also have caramel dip for guests to dip their apples in if they catch them.
Step 1
Print invitations or use an e-mail invitation for cheap Halloween party invites, or you can print out invitations from a website in ghost or pumpkin shapes. See Resources for free printable Halloween invitations.
Step 2
Save money on food by having a potluck in which you invite friends to bring their favorite Halloween treat. You can ask them to bring one crockpot item, such as chili, and one bag of candy. Or encourage guests to make a favorite fall food, such as pumpkin cookies or caramel corn.
Step 3
Make homemade decorations. You can make ghosts out of paper napkins and hang them with string around the room. Go to a local dollar store and get orange or black paper goods. Carved pumpkins can also easily serve as a centerpiece. Make witches' hats or bats from colored construction paper to hang on walls. You can even dig out old Halloween costumes and hang them around the room. Stuff them with straw to give them body shapes.
Step 4
Pick games that have a minimal cost for set up or delivery. You can try pin-the-wart-on-the-witch, cake walks or find the pumpkin. You can play musical chairs with broomsticks too.
Tips and Warnings
- Host a pumpkin carving party. It's affordable and easy to create fun Halloween memories. Have each guest bring a pumpkin to carve and their tools. Print out carving picture ideas for guests. You can also have judges and prizes for the best pumpkin carvings. Host a Trunk or Treat party if you live near a large parking lot or secluded roads where you want to make trick-or-treating easier. Have each car decorate the trunk with spooky items such as cobwebs or pumpkin lights. Line cars up in a circle or straight line and let kids go trick-or-treating from car to car. This is a safe and affordable party because most of the kids will know the families they visit.
- Keep the party simple and don't be afraid to ask guests to contribute. Most people feel more comfortable bringing an item to share at a party.
Things You'll Need
- Halloween recipes
- Pumpkins
- Apples
- Computer printer
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