Our Halloween party was a success! We had perfect weather and the kids had a lot of fun which makes for a successful party in my eyes. With this Halloween party, I really wanted to share how you can have a great party without spending a ton of money. If you get creative and shop clearance after holidays, you really can throw a fun party without breaking the bank. This “no-spend” party made the planning a lot of fun. We made most of the games and decorations with things we already had on hand and we also used games I picked up during last year’s Halloween clearance.

What’s a party without a photo booth? I put this one together in no time and used things I already had. I had two window dividers in our garage (waiting for a project) so I secured them together with zip ties. Then, I clipped a white, plastic tablecloth over the dividers. I attached the “Trick-or-Treat” sign I made with my Cricut and some scrapbook paper to the tablecloth.

Then, I grabbed a black chair and some other things I had to dress up the booth. I set two boards (that we just stained for a different project) on the sides to “frame” it out a little bit. A pile of leaves were added to the bottom of the booth. Then, I set some pumpkins around. I think it turned out really cute and the kids loved it.

I took pictures of all the kids in this booth and sent them to the parents after the Halloween party.

The backyard is the best spot for games. I picked up a couple of games at Target last year on clearance (jack-o-lantern bean bag toss, jack-o-lantern ball toss and a skeleton game). I love shopping this way. You get great deals and then the following year, you aren’t spending a ton of money buying new things for parties you host.

We made the other games. We had “Toss A Ghost” and “Guess The Leaves”. For “Toss A Ghost”, I hot glued Halloween bags to a foam board. Then, I drew ghost faces on white ping-pong balls (all supplies I already had). The kids had to try to get the ghosts into as many bags as they could. This game was a lot harder than the other ones which was perfect for the older kids at the party.

For the “Guess the Leaves” game, I stuffed fake leaves in a glass jar and the kids had to guess how many leaves were in there. Kids love guessing games.

Inside the house, I set up a ‘mask-making’ station on the dining room table. I picked up the mask kit on clearance last year at Target. It was nice to have different stations throughout the house and yard for all the party guest to meander around.

All the food and drinks were set up on the deck in the back yard. This makes for easy clean up when kids are dropping popcorn all over. The squirrels and chipmunks are the best clean-up crew ever! 

We had a popcorn bar set up with “ghost poop” (marshmallows), “monster scabs” (Golden Grahams), “pumpkin teeth” (candy corn) and “witches warts” (chocolate chips) so the kids could add different things to their popcorn.

They thought this was the best thing ever!

The prizes for the games were Halloween novelties I picked up last year on clearance.

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At the end of the Halloween party, each guest received a “Monster Slime” kit to take home. I found this idea on All Things Simple. Some glue and Borax was all I needed. Putting the “Monster Slime” kits together was simple. I used monster bags I already had, printed off the “Monster Slime” card from All Things Simple, put a bottle of glue and some Borax (that I had put in a Ziploc bag) in the monster bag and stapled the card to the outside of the bag. Easy and cost next to nothing!!

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This party was a huge success and it was so much fun to put together. If you plan ahead, shop clearance and use a little creativity, hosting parties does not have to take a ton of time or cost a lot of money. Don’t take it too seriously. Have fun with it. Don’t make it stressful. After all, it is a Halloween party isn’t it? It is supposed to be fun. If you think outside of the box and use what you have on hand, then you can come up with a fantastic party that no one has to know cost you next to nothing.

Happy planning!

If you liked this Halloween Party post, find more Halloween ideas here:

Halloween Crafts: Easy Mummy Banner

Free Halloween Printables For Your Halloween Table

Easy Monster Party Plan