Keys to a Kid-Friendly Halloween Party

No bones about it! A kid-friendly Halloween party starts with choosing fun, friendly decorations in bright colors, with smiling characters like ghosts and goblins instead of scary versions that are better for adults. Get inspired by the photos above to fill your haunted house full of fun instead of fright!

Whether you're having your kids Halloween party during the day or at night, start the fun at the front door – and focus on brightly colored decorations. Banners and door decorations make a big impact without being frightening, while fuzzy spiders and friendly ghosts add Halloween fun without making your front porch too scary for the little ones.

Make sure the inside of your entryway is well lit, and keep the not-too-scary decorating scheme going here too. Hang brightly colored garlands and cheerful Halloween character-shaped dangling decorations around doors and windows. They'll dance happily each time the door is opened!

Use an inflatable cooler guarded by a silly character like a skeleton or jack o'lantern to keep drinks chilly. Halloween treat buckets make handy holders for cutlery. Glitter pumpkins add friendly faces all around, and Dark Krazy Straws can be cleverly arranged to look like spiders' legs!

Hang window decorations like this haunted house scene behind your blinds to make them appear further in the distance. It adds a little mystery without being too scary.

Party games can help kids who don't know each other warm up and feel right at home. A pinata is always the perfect kids party game, especially when it's shaped like an eyeball or skull! And it'll give your Halloween party the same familiar feel of a kids' birthday party.

Pull off your own little trick with this easy table decorating idea: Create a sparkly-not-spooky centerpiece from a cupcake stand and Glittter Pumpkin favors filled with candy. Then coil garland around the bottom to tie the look together with your tableware. Or, just set favors out near each place setting to bring your table look to life. The kids will love having a little something extra to take home after the party.

Ghosts, spiders, bats and monsters seem far less scary when they take flight with a wide smile on shiny, puffy balloons! A few oversized foil balloons in friendly Halloween character shapes will get your house ready fast for a kids Halloween party. You'll need helium – pick up a tank at your nearest Party City store or order a tank online.

Set up your very own trick-or-treat street indoors so small kids can go on a treasure hunt to fill up their favor containers without even leaving the house. Add fun favors like Halloween Pop-Ups or Glow in the Dark Bounce Balls, and set up trick cauldrons full of garland to surprise the kids and make the activity more interesting.

Add a few small and non-threatening Halloween favors to the food table or buffet, like a look-but-don't-touch collection of creepy crawlers and squishy eyeballs. This frightfully delightful display is guaranteed to get the kids giggling.

A graveyard at a kids party? It's not as spine-tingling in the daytime, especially with a "funny bone" to soften the effect so kids will see there's no reason to be afraid. With his arms behind his head and legs crossed, this skeleton decoration is positioned to look like he's just kicking back and enjoying the sun.