Hosting A Halloween Lock-in

By Author: Paul Hulse
Total Articles: 3698
Comment this article

More and more parents are becoming concerned about the safety of allowing their children to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night. With an increase in crime and danger, and a general decrease of friendliness with one's neighbors, the celebration of Halloween is becoming a declining trend in some areas. However, instead of foregoing the holiday entirely, why not consider hosting a Halloween lock-in.
Guaranteed success
A well organized lock-in is a guaranteed Halloween success. This is because you can invite anyone - a range of ages or all the same, boys, girls, or both, your neighborhood, friends from school, or even friends from church. You need enough adults to supervise, and enough activities to keep the kids busy, but other than that your Halloween lock-in requires little to no planning.
Planning activities
Activities should be age appropriate, so if your Halloween lock-in features a range of ages you will need multiple activities. Make sure that all rules and boundaries are clearly defined.
For contests, such as costume contests, competitive games, or pumpkin carving contests, you should ...
... have prizes divided into age groups.
Video games and board games can be great ways to pass the time, provided that you choose ones that are appropriate for all the ages attending.
An adult can dress like a gypsy and read fortunes from a crystal ball or tarot cards in one corner of the room.
If you have space, one room or floor of your lock-in facility could be converted into a haunted house.
Halloween movies can also be a fun way to pass the night.
If you want to encourage participation, consider having partygoers earn tokens by playing games or participating in events that will gain them admission to the haunted house, having the fortune read, or other activities.
Feeding the masses
Since you will be likely feeding a large crowd, you will probably want to keep your Halloween menu pretty simple. Most kids will love the basics like pizza, chips, dips, and other party foods. You can also encourage parents to create some Halloween desserts like brownies shaped like tombstones and cookies made to look like pumpkins. Throw in some fake eyeballs, body parts, or bugs into the dishes and you have a spookier feel. For drinks, consider brewing up some creepy punch or having large coolers with push button dispensers. Of course, the older crowds are sure to be dependent on caffeine.
Sleeping arrangements
If your lock-in is going to involve the teenage crowd, chances are they won't sleep. Younger lock-in participants, however, probably won't make it through the night. This leaves you with two options - end the lock-in at midnight and have parents pick their kids up, or arrange for the kids to bring sleeping bags and other overnight gear. You will want to separate boys and girls into different rooms and make sure that there is adequate adult supervision.
Halloween lock-ins do not need to be complex. Remember, half the fun is just letting the kids hang out all night together. So enlist the help of some responsible adults and plan some activities, and then just let the kids entertain themselves.