For many years now, children have followed the tradition of trick or treating whenever Halloween night comes up. That is, they go from house to house in the scariest or cutest costumes they can think of and ask for candy from their neighbors to put into their jack o lantern of goodies. Every year, children look forward to this event.



Times have evolved since, and while trick or treating has not escaped the vocabulary of today's children, fewer and fewer of them are going out on the streets to ask for candy the old way. Also, because of the risky times, parents are now opting to hold Halloween parties, instead, so they can keep a closer watch on their children.

Halloween parties are just like any other parties, only that the kids are in scary costumes and the food is served in an equally scary way. In short, a Halloween party is a themed party - and everyone is required to be in the freakiest best. Trick or treating is not passe just yet, but it might just as well be in the near future because of the rise of children's Halloween parties.

Of course, as with any other children's party, children's Halloween parties will not be complete without the fun entertainment and games. You can modify traditional party games and rename them to sound scary and you already have fun games for your Halloween party.

For instance, the Bean Bag Toss can be modified to use liver (use beef liver that is thawed and washed thoroughly because it is easier to handle) and you can name it Liver Toss. Just turn a simlpe mixing bowl into a ?witch's cauldron? and accompany with scary background music to get that dark feel.

Another cool children's Halloween party game idea is the Treats ?N Guts game. Place sweets and little toys inside a ziplock bag and bury under a pile of spaghetti (or guts). Have the kids dig for the prizes with the lights turned off. You'll all have a blast laughing at each other when the lights are turned on once again.

One interesting way to serve food at your child's Halloween party is to decorate and rename name to resemble dead-like objects. For example, you can mold cookies and little cupcakes to look like bloody eyeballs (all you need is some food coloring), or you can give traditional party treats like spaghetti and meatballs a new name, like "guts and intestines".

Children are not usually squeamish with names and will even find your food offerings extra interesting if you give them unusual names.

In sum, all you need to pull off a successful children's Halloween party is a lot of creativity and ingenuity. Consult your child for probable game and food names so he or she will feel that he or she has a big contribution to the event. Of course, don't forget to tell your guests to come in costumes. Have fun!