Kids PartiesNo. 3221 · The 2026 edition
Not Too Scary Halloween Birthday Party Ideas (Oscar the Ghost)
Spooktacular birthday fun for your tiny ghouls and goblins!
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at colleenmichele.com.
This collection of Halloween-themed birthday party ideas includes creative decorations, kid-friendly food, engaging games, clever invitations, and adorable costumes, all designed to make your little one's celebration both festive and fun.
About this
A Halloween-themed birthday party guide for little ones, built around a 'not too scary' ghost mascot named Oscar. It collects decoration, food, invitation, game, costume and favor ideas with links to products and outside how-tos. The vibe is cute rather than frightening, aimed at babies, toddlers and young kids having a Halloween-season birthday.
The plan
- Order Halloween-inspired treat favor bags so each kiddo has one
- Buy glow sticks in bulk so every child can take home a handful and keep the party going after they leave
- For outdoor birthday parties, plant a Trick or Treat Welcome Sign in the front yard — you might get honks and waves from passersby
- Download the free printable 'Happy Halloween' Trick or Treat lawn sign/poster for the yard, window or front door
- Sign up for the newsletter to receive the Trick or Treat sign freebie plus instant access to the Freebie Library
- Grab the free 'Little Pumpkin' banner printable from the linked post
- Pick up hand sanitizer party favors and set them in a basket by the door as kids arrive — a hit with kids and parents
- Sort out face masks: cute cloth masks for the birthday child or a box of disposable Halloween masks for all the kiddos
- Order 'peek a boo' paper plates with matching napkins, signs and invitations from the collection
- Use spooky Halloween stickers to dress up the treat bags
- Print Little Witch Halloween favor tags for favors
- Buy 'BOO' buttons as take-home favors for the older kiddos to decorate a jacket or backpack with
Decoration ideas
- Ghost decals featuring Oscar, the friendly candy-corn-chomping ghost, to decorate around the house
- Halloween-inspired treat favor bags for the kiddos
- Candy Corn used as decorations around the cake or as cupcake toppers
- Pumpkins from the pumpkin patch or artificial pumpkins for decorating
- Spider webs used both inside and outside
- Halloween themed balloons — pumpkins and ghosts
- Black spiders as an easy decoration for tables, cupcakes and more
- Orange twinkle lights for outside or in — an instant Halloween theme
- Bat stickers/clings for windows, doors and walls
- Trick or Treat Welcome Sign planted in the front yard for outdoor parties
- Glow in the dark light sticks and wands — great for outdoor parties and as take-home favors
- Black cats with light up eyes paired with a cute cat string light set
- Halloween themed birthday banner reading Happy Birthday with pumpkins, ghosts and green, purple and orange lettering
- Light up tree with little glowing pumpkins along the branches to set the mood
- Super cute ghost straws (section heading)
- Pumpkin teddy bear wearing his Halloween costume — a decoration that the birthday kiddo keeps long after the party
- Pumpkin felt stitchies embroidery pattern with pink cheeks and curly cue greenery for crafters
- Spooky Halloween stickers to dress up treat bags (black & white design)
- Little Witch Halloween favor tags
- Halloween Spiderweb return address labels in black for the return envelope
- 'Peek a boo' paper plates (matching napkins, signs and invitations available in the collection)
Food & drink
- Ghost pancake breakfast — whip cream and chocolate chips top the pancake stack; recipe at takingcareofmonkeybusiness.com
- Pumpkin emoji cupcakes — Betty Crocker video has complete how-to instructions
- Spider crackers — ritz crackers, pretzel sticks, a dollop of cream cheese and raisins (or pre-made eyeballs); how-to at mom.com
- Marshmallow pumpkin pops — super easy and sure to be a hit; step-by-step instructions at yellowblissroad.com
- Ghost cupcakes made with rolled fondant for the ghost shapes — BHG has the recipe plus a how-to video
- Ghost cake topper for the little one-year-old's cake — a 'not too scary' ghost decorating the cake
- Ghost sticks — cheese sticks and a sharpie make a super cute and healthy Halloween snack
- Candy corn inspired cupcakes with layers of white, yellow and orange frosting in polka dot cupcake liners
- Candy Corn for decorating around the cake or as cupcake toppers
Activities
- Free printable Halloween Bingo cards — the card features ghosts, candy corn, skeletons, vampires, spiders, black cats, bats and stars
- Ghost pinata — the little ones bust open the 'not too scary' ghost filled with surprises
- Temporary tattoos including pumpkins, zombies, skeletons, witches, lanterns and black cats — safe and environmentally friendly; the luminous tattoos must be activated under light for a few minutes so they glow in the dark
- Find the ghosts game — like an Easter egg hunt but with ghosts; make your own coffee filter ghosts (step-by-step directions at happinessishomemade.net), hide them in the backyard or party room, give each kiddo a pumpkin pail and let the hunt begin
- Monster bowling for the DIYers — paint some old cans, get a tennis ball or softball, and let the bowling begin
- Make your own slime — in no time
- Pin the spider on the web — put the spider in the center of the web; free printable from ellaclaireinspired.com
More photos
Photos hosted by colleenmichele.com.
