What’s a Halloween party without some games? Keep in mind the ages and number of your guests, then have some fun deciding what you think would go over best.

Scarecrow Switch
What you need: 2 of the following; bib overalls, flannel shirts, work gloves, old hats, old boots, lots of straw.
How to play: Separate everyone into two teams and have them line up. On the word "go!" have each team dress up their smallest team member as a scarecrow. The team finished first wins.
Mess factor: You'll be sweeping up straw until February.

Wrap the Mummy
What you need: 4 rolls of toilet paper
How to play: Much like Scarecrow Switch, you line up into two teams, this time selecting your biggest teammate to be the mummy, which you then wrap with the toilet paper. First team who has their mummy completely wrapped wins.
Mess factor: Most likely you'll have strips of toilet paper everywhere by the time the game's over.

Pass the Orange
What you need: 2 big oranges
How to play: Line up into two teams, this time boy-girl-boy-girl. The first person in each time is given an orange which they then must place under their chin and pass to the next player. Oh and no hands allowed! The first team to get the orange to the end of the line wins. If you drop it you have to start back at the beginning.
Mess factor: Provided no one busts the orange, none. This is a good game for older kids and teens.

Pass The Parcel
What you need: Prize, several sheets of wrapping paper, music
How to play: First you’ll need to pick out a prize, which can be anything from a Halloween themed movie to simply a box full of candy. Keep in mind all the ages of your guest when deciding though. You then wrap the prize in several layers of wrapping paper or newspaper (orange and black tissue paper works well) and on each layer tape a piece of paper with instructions for the player to do something. Click here for a list of silly Halloween-themed ideas. To start the game have all the players sit in a circle with one person holding the parcel. Start the music and have the players pass the parcel around the circle, stopping only when you stop the music. The person holding the parcel when the music stops has to unwrap a layer and act out whatever it says, and then they’re out. The last person remaining wins the prize.
Mess factor: You’ll probably have lots of crumpled up wrapping paper on the floor by the time it’s over, but nothing major.
* An alternative to wrapping a prize in 37 layers of paper (or however many guest you have!) is having the slips of paper in a witch’s hat or a plastic pumpkin and passing that around instead.

Apples on a String
What you need: Several apples (as many as there are guest playing), string or a cord of some type.
How to play: If you’re just not into bobbing for apples (or worst, bobbing for *gasp* spam!) but still like the idea of attacking something with your mouth than this is the game for you. Have a long length of string or cord set up and tie the apples to it by their stems. Each player must eat their entire apple and the first to do so wins! Oh, did we mention that no hands are allowed? If you’d like to make it trickier you could also have everyone wear blindfolds. An outside clothesline works really well for this, if you happen to have one, if not, 3M makes wall mounting hooks that are available at most stores for about 4 bucks; they attach to the wall and come off clean and you can just tie the string or cord to both hooks.
Mess factor: It’s possible you’ll have some apple remnants left over on the floor; nothing a broom and dustpan can’t handle.
* An alternative to apples could be donuts.

Find the Fangs
What you need: Several packages of fangs
How to play: Packs of glow-in-the-dark fangs are pretty easy to find at Halloween and make for a fun game that’s good for little ones. Scatter the fangs around your party area and let your guests have at them. The person with the most can be given a prize but if you are opting to use this as a game for younger kids it’s a good idea to give out candy as prizes for everyone.
Mess factor: Provided everyone finds the fangs and they’re put back in their proper places (and no one throws down the wrappers of the candies you’ve given them as prizes) then this is zilch.
* An alternative to fangs could be spider rings but then you couldn’t call the game Find the Fangs, now could you?

Grab the Ghost
What you need: A candy filled ghost, music
How to play: You can be as elaborate or as simple as you want on the ghost (if you’re running short on time a white sock and a black sharpie can make a fantastic ghost, especially if the lighting’s dim!). Just stuff some candy in it, have everyone sit in a circle, crank up the music, and pass the ghost around in time to the song, stopping every now and then when a player’s out.
Mess factor: None. Hooray!

Terrible Telephone
What you need: Guests and some spooky or silly messages
How to play: Have everyone sit in a circle and pick one person to start. That person then whispers a message (only once!) into the ear of the person next to them and so on down the line. When the last person hears the message, they say it out loud. Seldom is it the same as the original message. You can either have the kids make up something to say on the spot or you can give messages to them.
Mess factor: Zero!

Goo Go
What you need: Goo, 4 witch cauldrons or buckets
How to play: Place 2 goo-filled cauldrons a few feet apart at one end of the room or yard, and the other 2 cauldrons several yards away at the other end. Have 2 teams form a line behind each of their cauldrons and on “Go!” the player at the front of the line grabs a handful of goo, runs to their other cauldron and deposits it. They then run back and tag their next team member who does the same until their cauldron is empty. The first team who fills their other cauldron wins.
Mess factor: Sky high. Goo will be on your guests’ hands, the floor, whatever you have the cauldrons setting on, possibly the walls, anything within a ten-food radius and probably even you. It’s a good idea to play this game outside or at least put newspapers down.
* You can use anything for goo. A good idea is to go through your refrigerator and pull out anything that’s gone bad.

Balloon A-Go-Go
What you need: Balloons and string, one for each player
How to play: Have everyone get into two teams and tie a balloon on each player’s ankle. When everyone’s ready have each guests try to pop the other team’s balloons. If your balloon gets popped, you’re out. The team with the last balloon left wins.
Mess factor: Balloon pieces will be everywhere.

Pretzel Pass
What you need: A twisted pretzel, straws for each player
How to play: Divide everyone up into two teams and have them stand in a line. The player at the beginning gets the pretzel and must pass it down the line using his straw. No hands allowed! The first team to pass their pretzel down the line first wins. If the pretzel gets dropped you have to start from the beginning.
Mess factor: Mess free!

Eyeball Run
What you need: 2 eggs painted to look like eyeballs, 2 wooden spoons
How to play: Have everyone divide into two teams and line up at the beginning of the “course.” The player at the beginning takes the eyeball and puts it in his spoon and races the other team across the course and back again, handing off the eyeball and spoon to the next player. The team to finish first wins. If an eyeball is dropped, another one can come into play. You can make this more difficult by having obstacles to climb over or under and other things to trip up the players.
Mess factor: Depending on how dexterous your guests are, this can be high. Splattered eggs are not even remotely fun to clean up so it’s a good idea to play this outside or put paper down.