Comments on: How to Throw a Halloween Party for Teens

on 11/22/2005 The biggest thing about having a Halloween party is the fact that it's Halloween and you do things that are actually have to do with Halloween. Not just dancing and playing Truth or Dare. You get to do things like going down to the nearest graveyard and playing Truth or Dare there. And if you do got to a graveyard, don't be stupid and wreck it! Remember this is where people put loved ones to rest, so show some respect. I've been waiting till I was a teen to be able to go out Trick or Treating with friends (and without parents), so make the most of the one night where you get to go round and get free candy!

on 11/22/2005 Have a costume contest and watch plenty of horror movies.

on 11/22/2005 It's cool to play games with your friends. Most teens won't dance, plus you'll get rumors that your party sucked. It's cool to play games and you'll be the talk of school!

on 11/22/2005 I'm 20 years old and planning a Halloween party this year, and there will be older teens there. I am planning it with my girlfriend who is 18 and there will be friends of hers and mine there. Every age from high school kids to college kids are going to be coming and there is no alcohol involved!
Every person I've talked to that is coming, is excited to be dressing up and have contests with both costumes and pumpkin carving. I know that most of you teens think it's stupid to play games at parties, but I think it's just a stage you go through in life. Once you get older you will love planning all sorts of crazy and interesting games, just like your parents love doing for you now. So have fun with it and be very creative and open minded about your party.

To the Parents: The most important thing you can do, is let your kids do the planning. Let them decide what they want to do and trust their judgment on deciding what's going to be fun for their guests. Be creative and original with the games if you decide to do any.

For instance at my party, instead of playing pin the nose on the pumpkin(lame), we are playing pin the nose on Michael Jackson by getting a poster of him and then printing our own noses from carrot sticks, to pig noses, to even some of his real noses.

Just invite people you like and have a little fun with it and your party will be a hit. If the guests see you having fun and being enthusiastic they'll join in also.

on 11/22/2005 I have a haunted house party in my yard and house every year. The kids create a themed design, and build the haunted house and continue the theme into the party. The party ends up lasting for 3 weeks of fun before hand. I'll toss in a scary movie to chill out. At the actual party they run in the back ground for atmosphere, but not the main focus. I allow the kids to submit a play list of movies and music for consideration for the party. I do themed food also and have the kids help me before hand in this area. In the backyard spook zone, I'll have a bonfire for them. Last year it was Ghost Tales, so we set up tents all over the yard and the barn and that's where the party was held. This year our theme is Heart of Darkness.

on 11/22/2005 This is what I am doing this year:
*I'm decorating my backyard with Halloween decorations and lighting.
*I'm setting up a huge movie screen where we will be playing horror movies. Such as The Ring, The Exorcist, and Silence of the Lambs.
*Catered (does not have to be the most expensive restaurant).
*Witches cauldron punch bowl.
*No parents.

on 11/22/2005 I am 16, and though I agree some of these games are cheesy, my friends and I love cheesy stuff. At my last party we played a game we like to call Puke or Dare. A group of kids make a drink of anything out of the refrigerator. Pickle juice, mayonnaise, mustard, even spices like garlic or lemon pepper. Just be sure to taste it to make sure it doesn't taste good, we've had that happen. Then you number a paper, starting with two that say king, then the amount of people you have minus two. Example, you have 10 kids, two are kings and the rest are 1-8. Put the numbers in a hat and have people draw them. The kings will call out two numbers and go and discuss what those two people will have to do. It's more fun when the kings don't know who the people are.
The only thing is, you can't get too crazy with it. It's fun to see people drink the drink for not wanting to do the dare, but it's better to see them do the dare. We did things like acting out scenes from movies and making people sing songs to the opposite sex. It's fun and it's clean. It kept us entertained until 11:30 when the boys had to leave. The girls that stayed continued on for another hour.
As for the parental thing. My parents trust my friends and I, they know we do not drink, do drugs, and we are all abstainers (those who want to wait to have sex for marriage), so they check up on us only occasionally, and in an not too obvious way. I had my friends asking if they were even home. There are ways of checking in on us and knowing we're safe, without infringing on our teen rights.
It is fun for the teens to do this on their own, but know what they are doing. Going out shouldn't be an option in a large group, that could just be dangerous on Halloween night, but let us run around and be dumb teenagers, not all of us are the type that will get in trouble. The Ouija board is a good idea, but be careful.

on 11/22/2005 Just to sound completely self absorbed for a moment: News Flash! Teenagers are closer to adults than little children (I'm not talking about 13 year olds here, but 16-17 year olds). I haven't been to any adult parties, but I assume you all don't play pin the tail on the pumpkin. So, go for things more adult than little games like that.

But teenagers can let loose sometimes. So, bobbing for apples may (or may not find out what your teens friends might want to do) be a fine idea. I plan to do jumping for apples by hanging them from the ceiling. Now, I assume that, as parents, you might not want to next part of my jumping for apples game to take place, but each apple is going to have a name written on it: you have to kiss the person who's name is on your apple.

Truth or dare, Ouija, tarot, food, and movies are a must for the party. And don't forget to check up on your teen every once in a while.

We teens understand that you want us to be safe, and many of us appreciate that. But how would you have felt as a teenager playing truth or dare or perhaps spin the bottle with your parents watching you the whole time. You wouldn't do it, because it wouldn't be fun.

And please, always ask your teen what he or she wants to do. If her ideas are close to yours, then great! If not, than find a middle ground. Then everyone will be happy.

on 11/22/2005 In my experience as a teen, games are not a good idea. No teen likes to be told what to do. If you tried playing the wrap the mummy game, than that's pretty much asking them to toilet paper your house. The fun things to do is put up tons of black lights, strobe lights, and invite a ton of people that you know are fun to be around.

Parents can unintentionally undo any good they've done by letting their teen have a party by ruining it. Don't tell the guests what to do, and let the kids to what they want. Set a time limit, but don't make everyone feel like they're going to be thrown out at that time.

on 11/22/2005 I am a teen and my friend and I are having a Halloween party this year. We need space but our parents want us to be safe and they want us to have fun. I'm 17 am we are doing a haunted house. Our parents are the actors. That's how our parents are checking up on us. They're not there to spy on us. We are having games like a scavenger hunt. We are also doing this game called "what is it" where you have two buckets of water and you have two teams blindfolded. Using only their mouth, they have to pick an object out of the bucket and get two guesses as to what it is. If they guess wrong, they have to pass the object to the next person. We do it in a boy/girl/boy/girl pattern.

on 11/22/2005 We like to dance, socialize and watch movies. We don't want to play games. We are not babies!

on 11/22/2005 I know you want us to have fun and be safe around Halloween, and you're doing your best to help us. However, what we really want is to spend a night hanging out with our friends. We would rather sit and talk and enjoy each others company than to play games. We're young adults, imagine what it would be like for you as a parent to go to a party and be told that you are going to play relay games or limbo in costumes. Funny, yes, but I don't think you would be too pleased. Let us hang out and talk in the basement. Check up on us every so often, but please don't make us play games.

on 11/22/2005 I've been throwing parties since I was 13, and they've all gone wonderfully. I'm planning a Halloween party right now, and I can tell you that things like costumes and popular music goes over really well. From the past, I can say that Truth or Dare only works if everyone's really into it, and karaoke only works for so long. For a Christmas party, do a grab bag, because everyone loves gifts. At my last party, we had a dance competition with prizes; such as CD cases. It was really fun (even for high school kids who are hard to impress). Do really bizarre categories though, such as break dancing, tango, ballroom, and interpretive. Otherwise, just make sure there's plenty of food, and parental supervision every once and awhile. Tip to parents: your kids love you dearly, but they don't want you stopping the party to check on things. During a check up, just peek in or discreetly ask your child how things are going. Chances are, they'll appreciate this much more than having you announce yourself to the group.

on 11/22/2005 We don't want parental supervision. Just give us the basement and leave us alone.

on 11/22/2005 Do not play any games for two year-olds. Don't even try to have a specific schedule. Just make sure you have a lot of food so that no one is left hungry. Plan something out of the ordinary. Example; if you live by the woods, go in them with your friends and a video camera and film your own version of the Blair Witch project. And if you want something extra, pay your little brother to hide behind a tree to give your girlfriend an extra scare. Just keep everybody going, such as playing Manhunt at 11:00 PM.