Cheap and Cheerful Children’s Halloween Party Ideas (UK Edition) 🎃👻

Halloween is one of those magical times of year when children can dress up, eat too many sweets, and let their imaginations run wild. But if you’re a parent, you’ll know the costs of throwing a party can quickly creep up like a sneaky ghost. The good news? Here are some Children’s Halloween party ideas to help you host a fun, affordable Halloween party for kids that’s full of thrills and spooky excitement—without breaking the bank.

This guide is written with UK parents in mind, packed with affordable ideas, weather-proof activities, and inspiration for goodie bags. Whether you’re hosting at home, in a village hall, or just having a spooky playdate with a handful of friends, these tips will help you throw a party your little monsters will never forget.

Setting the Scene: Simple but Spooky Décor

Children don’t need elaborate decorations—a few clever touches are enough to get them squealing with excitement.

Budget-Friendly Décor Ideas

Fairy Lights & Poundland Finds – String up orange or purple fairy lights (often found in Tesco, B&M, or Poundland this time of year) for instant atmosphere.
Balloon Bats & Ghosts – Blow up black and white balloons, draw faces on with marker pens, and hang from the ceiling.
Window Silhouettes – Cut out bats, pumpkins, or witches from black card (The Works sells big packs cheaply) and stick them on windows.
Pumpkins Without the Mess – If carving feels like too much effort, let kids decorate mini pumpkins with stickers, googly eyes, and felt-tip pens.

💡 Money-saving tip: Raid your recycling—old glass jars can become lanterns with a tealight are a string of battery operated fairy lights stuffed instide the jar- magic!! For inspiration CLICK HERE

Costumes: Keep It Fun and Affordable

You don’t need pricey fancy-dress costumes from supermarkets. Kids love being creative.

Easy Costume Ideas:

Homemade Ghost – A white sheet with eyeholes never fails.
DIY Witch – Black leggings and a t-shirt with a cardboard hat.
Zombie School Kid – Old school uniform splattered with (washable) fake blood or red paint.
Skeleton T-Shirt – Cut bone shapes from white felt and glue to a plain black top.

Most kids love joining in the making process—so costume prep can double as a craft activity.

Food & Treats: Simple but Spooky Snacks

Children’s party food doesn’t need to be expensive or elaborate. A few themed items mixed with classics will keep them happy.

Spooky Savoury Snacks

Monster Pizza Faces – Use muffins, wraps, or pitta bread with tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings to make scary faces.
Hot Dog Mummies – Wrap hot dogs in strips of ready-rolled puff pastry and bake. Add mustard “eyes.”
Creepy Crisps – Buy multipacks from Aldi or Lidl and serve them in plastic cauldrons (often in Poundland).

Sweet Treats

Graveyard Biscuits – Rich Tea biscuits as tombstones stuck into chocolate pudding (or Angel Delight), sprinkled with crushed digestives for “soil.”
Spider Cupcakes – Ready-made fairy cakes topped with chocolate icing, liquorice legs, and Smarties eyes.
Monster Apples – Slice apples, spread with peanut butter (or chocolate spread), add sunflower seed “teeth,” and pop in a jelly tongue.

💡 Budget Tip: Stick to homemade basics and use decorations (like icing sugar spiderwebs or jelly worms) to make them spooky. Kids care more about the look than the cost.

Drinks: Safe but Silly

Skip expensive fizzy drinks and serve simple juices with Halloween names.

Witch’s Brew – Blackcurrant squash with lemonade for a bubbling effect.
Vampire Blood – Cherry or cranberry juice.
Swamp Juice – Orange squash with green food colouring (just a drop!).

Serve in clear cups with googly eyes stuck on the sides for extra fun.

Activities: Keep Them Busy (Indoors or Out)

Since UK weather is famously unpredictable, plan for indoor activities with outdoor options if it’s dry.

Indoor Activities

Mummy Wrapping – Kids team up and race to wrap each other in loo roll. Cheap, hilarious, and a guaranteed hit.
Pin the Hat on the Witch – A Halloween spin on the classic party game. Print a witch picture and use a cut-out hat.
Pumpkin Hunt – Hide paper pumpkins or plastic ones (The Range sells multipacks) around the room for a scavenger hunt.
Pass the Parcel (Spooky Edition) – Wrap sweets or small toys in orange and black layers. Play Halloween music while passing it around.

Outdoor Activities (if dry)

Pumpkin Bowling – Use a small pumpkin as the “ball” and empty plastic bottles as pins.
Witches’ Relay Race – Kids run while balancing a balloon (the “pumpkin”) on a spoon.
Torchlight Treasure Hunt – If it’s dark, kids use torches to hunt for glow sticks or sweets in the garden.

Music & Atmosphere

Set the mood with a kid-friendly playlist:

“Monster Mash”
“Ghostbusters”
“This is Halloween” (from The Nightmare Before Christmas)
“Thriller” (a short version—kids love the dance moves).

💡 Tip: YouTube has ready-made family-friendly Halloween playlists if you don’t want to make one.

Cheap & Cheerful Goodie Bags

Every child expects to go home with a little something, but you don’t need to spend much. Aim for 4–5 small items per bag. Poundland, Wilko (if still open in your area), and supermarkets usually sell multipacks of Halloween goodies.

Goodie Bag Fillers

Mini chocolate bars or Haribo Halloween packs (buy big tubs from Tesco or Aldi and divide them).
Glow sticks (packs of 10–20 are £1–£2 in Poundland).
Halloween stickers or temporary tattoos.
Mini bubbles (often sold in multipacks in party aisles).
Plastic spiders, rings, or bouncy balls.

Here are a few cheap suggestions for goodie bags – Click here

50Pcs Halloween party paper treat bags with 10 different designs and colors, 5 bags of each design, enough to meet your needs for various sized parties, with 60pcs stickers for sealing the candy bags, paper bags match stickers well.

For contents to fill the goody bags, have a browse here

Budget Alternative:
Instead of bags, let each child take home a decorated pumpkin or a craft they made at the party. It doubles as entertainment and a keepsake!

Hosting on a Tight Budget: Quick Tips

Share the Load – Ask each guest family to bring one snack or treat to share.
Skip the Hall Hire – Host at home or rotate with another parent each year.
Reuse Decorations – Invest in a few sturdy items (like plastic cauldrons or reusable bunting) and bring them out every year.
DIY Entertainment – Kids don’t need entertainers—simple games and music are plenty.
Limit Guest Numbers – A smaller group is easier on the budget and the stress levels!

Sample Budget for 10 Kids

Decorations & balloons: £15 (Poundland, The Range, B&M)
Food & drinks: £25 (homemade + Aldi snacks)
Games & craft supplies: £10
Goodie bags: £15 (sweets + cheap toys from multipacks)

🎃 Total: About £65—that’s under £7 per child for a full party!

Suggestions for Halloween Party Decorations – click here

Final Thoughts

A children’s Halloween party doesn’t need to cost a fortune to be fun. With clever use of Poundland treasures, homemade snacks, and simple games, you can create a memorable, laughter-filled celebration that kids will talk about long after the night is over.

The key is to focus on atmosphere, excitement, and imagination. Kids won’t notice if the cupcakes aren’t professionally decorated or the decorations are made from recycled jars—they’ll just love the spooky fun with their friends.

So, grab your loo rolls, pop on a playlist, and prepare for a Halloween that’s cheerful, charming, and budget-friendly. 🕸️🦇

Check out our selection of Halloween Invitations, see a suggestion below. Click here for more

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