Traditional Halloween Party Games

Bobbing for Apples, Mummy Wrap & Sticky Face Game

Sep 17, 2009 Minka Gantenbein

Celebrate this Halloween with some good old fashioned fun. Bob for apples, eat treats without hands and get wrapped up like a mummy with these classic party games.

Traditional Halloween party games are still as popular as ever. From eating sticky treats dangling from strings, to getting wrapped up like a mummy, these vintage activities are sure to be the hit of the party.

Bobbing for Apples

The oldest and most well known Halloween party game is Bobbing for Apples, originally known as Ducking for Apples. The game, which originated in the British Isles, dates back to at least three hundred years and originally had something to do with fortune telling as noted by British author W.H. Davenport Adams. In Curiosities of Superstition, a book Adams wrote in 1902, he described the game in the following manner:

[The apples] are thrown into a tub of water, and you endeavour to catch one in your mouth as they bob round and round in provoking fashion. When you have caught one, you peel it carefully, and pass the long strip of peel thrice, sunwise, round your head; after which you throw it over your shoulder, and it falls to the ground in the shape of the initial letter of your true love's name.

Here's how to play the game:

  1. Fill a large tub or basin full of water.
  2. Place apples into the water, they will float.
  3. Have party guests try to catch and remove apples from the water by grabbing them with their teeth.
  4. Hands are not allowed.

Players will usually get wet when playing this game, so have some towels available for guests to dry off with.

Sticky Face

This old fashioned party game is played by hanging sticky treats from the ceiling on long strings, and having players eat the treats without using their hands. In the past, treacle or syrup-coated scones were used, as well as apples covered in toffee.

The updated version of this game can feature any kind of treat. Glazed donuts are a popular modern day choice for this game, as they are easy to tie on to a string and are very sticky. Any type of treat that can be tied to a string will work, the fun part is getting as sticky as possible.

Here's how to play the game:

  1. Tie long strings around sticky treats.
  2. Hang the strings from the ceiling, so that the treats hang down to a length in which players will be able to eat them with their mouths.
  3. Have players stand underneath the treat of their choice, and eat it without using their hands.

A variation of this game is to have a race to see who can eat their sticky treat the fastest. Either way, players will end up with sticky faces.

Mummy Wrap

This traditional Halloween game is a popular one for parties. Players take rolls of white crepe paper or toilet paper, and wrap their teammate like a mummy from head to toe. The object of this game is to see who can wrap the mummy the fastest.

Here's how to play the game:

  1. Divide party guests into teams of two or three.
  2. Give each team a roll of white crepe paper or toilet paper
  3. Say to the teams, "Ready, set, go!"
  4. Have the teams race to wrap the mummy in the paper from head to toe.
  5. The first team to wrap their mummy completely wins.

Be sure that the players know that they should leave the face of the mummy unwrapped so that their teammate can breathe.

Bob for apples, wrap up like a mummy or enjoy a sweet and sticky treat. These traditional Halloween party games are timeless activities that will no doubt be enjoyed by little goblins for years to come.

The copyright of the article Traditional Halloween Party Games in Kids & Teen Parties is owned by Minka Gantenbein. Permission to republish Traditional Halloween Party Games in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Sticky Face Game, Minka Gantenbein Sticky Face Game
   
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