How to Conjure up Halloween Fun For Teenagers

Trying to conjure up Halloween fun for your teenagers can be challenging. Middle School students are still young enough to enjoy the fun of Trick-or-Treating, but many of them can be quite tall for their age. This may put some people off when they answer the door to find a “big kid” standing there begging for candy. When my kids are at that stage I host a Halloween party on Trick-or-Treat night and turn it into a scavenger hunt. They have so much fun going door to door asking for items. My neighbors find it to be fun too. Read more to find out why.

Instructions
Difficulty: Easy

Step1
Prepare a guest list with your teenager and discuss a few refreshments to serve. Involve him/her in most of the party planning, especially in the category of what the prizes should be. It is very important for “cool” prizes to be given out at the party.

Step2
On your own (so your child does not know the items prior to the scavenger hunt), begin to create a list of unrelated/weird household items that your neighbors will be happy to give up. Suggested items may include, but are not limited to… Three squares of floral toilet tissue; condiment packet from a fast-food restaurant; used tea bag; a pair of underwear with lots of holes in it (freshly laundered, of course.) a really dirty toothbrush; a partially burned charcoal briquette (completely cooled) a bandage with a cartoon character on it; anything with Sponge-Bob on it; all the dust-bunnies they can spare; (The biggest collection of dust bunnies gets extra points. Pet hair does not count); a crispy spider carcass; a pink foam hair curler; gray beard hair from an electric razor; a spork; a Walmart receipt from last week Wednesday or Thursday; …I think you are getting the idea. Chose items that are common, with some of them being specific. Just look around your home/place of employment. You will come up with other ideas too. Don’t forget to add Halloween candy to the list.

Step3
Next compose a short paragraph of introduction for the top of the list to introduce the group. State your name, address, and phone number which gives your neighbors a feeling of comfort and a means of reporting any misbehavior.

Step4
When the guests arrive, feed them first, then send them off in equal- numbered groups with a bag and a list. Start them in different directions and on different sides of the street so they don’t all converge on the same house at once. Mark the time that each group leaves, and the time that they come back.

Step5
The group that comes back the soonest with the most items is the winner. (Be prepared with extra prizes for all of them to win. I found my neighbors to be very accommodating during the scavenger hunts.)

Things You’ll Need:

* A list of useless and weird household items (be creative)
* party food (See my other articles for suggestions)
* Prizes for all
* Special prize for the winning group

Tips & Warnings

* Invite their parents over too and build a camp fire to enjoy while the kids are on the hunt.

By: Marique