10 Halloween Party Ideas for Tweens (without candy!)

I recently came across a fun Halloween edition of Better Homes & Gardens with loads of decorating and activity ideas. But I couldn’t help notice, much of it was geared towards smaller children – not the tweens (and soon to be TEENS!) I’ve got on my hands these days. So, since we do love both Halloween and avoiding processed food around here, I thought I’d share some fun Halloween party ideas for tweens without involving too much junk food. Well, except for one thing! Read on to see… :)

Halloween Activities without Candy

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10 Halloween Party Ideas for Tweens (without candy!)

1. Touch and Feel Mystery Box

You can have fun with this one at any age! Pull out some old boxes, cut a hole in the side (big enough for a hand to reach into, but small enough so you can’t easily see the contents) and decorate. For your creepy mystery elements, peel a bunch of grapes (eyeballs), fill a rubber glove with rice (a severed hand), cook a batch of spaghetti (then dry it in a plastic “brain” mold) and find some toy rats. Turn down the lights and invite guests to touch and feel the mysterious items (if they dare)!

Halloween themed touch and feel mystery box for party.

2. Glow-in-the-Dark Art

A simple black light can transform any standard highlighter into glow markers as you’ve never seen before. It’s a super fun and special art experience for kids of any age! Heck, even I have fun drawing in these conditions, haha. Just be sure to warn them it will no longer glow if they take it with them when they leave unless they have a black light at home, of course!

Kids participating in a Halloween glow-in-the-dark art activity around a table.

3. Fortune Teller or Tarot Card Reader

Find someone in your area (or ask a friend or aspiring actress to pretend!) to read the fortunes of your young guests. I just suggest sticking to the positives – tweens and teens can be fragile enough as it is!

Two hands of a fortune teller around a glowing ball for a Halloween party.

4. Laser Light Dance Floor

Turn down the regular lights in favor of a laser or disco light, enhanced with a fog machine (and some good tunes!), and the kids will go nuts on the dance floor.

Young girl dressed as a princess for Halloween at a party with a laser light dance floor.

5. Spider Ring Hung

I thought long and hard about an age-appropriate prize for whoever finds this most spiders this year, and I decided to go with a pumpkin-spiced bath bomb! You can hide either standard black spiders or the glow-in-the-dark variety depending on how dark it will be at your gathering.

Five black spider rings for a Halloween spider ring hunt.

6. Chocolate Fountain

Okay, so this is the one item that’s not exactly REAL FOOD, but if you pair “clean” chocolate with fresh fruit such as strawberries and bananas, as well as whole-wheat pretzels, it’s honestly not sooo bad. And if you’re really feeling up to it – you could throw in some naturally sweetened homemade marshmallows as well!

A chocolate fountain surrounded by fruits and whole-grain pretzels on a table for a Halloween party.

7. Costume Contest

So many categories to choose from … our personal favorites are best, scariest and most creative. And we even found some cool glass skull cups (at Michael’s) that we’re going to fill with homemade “mocktails” to pair with the award ribbons!

Halloween themed paper awards for a costume contest next to a spooky family portrait for a party.

8. Piñata

These don’t have to be only (or completely) full of candy! This year, some of my favorite alternative fillers for a Halloween piñata are syringe pens, emoji LED rings, and glow sticks. 

Young kids dressed up for a Halloween party with one boy holding a bat next to a skull piñata.

9. LED Glow Balloons

How cool is it that these are a thing? I had no idea until I was recently searching for something else and stumbled upon this brilliant little product. These LED color-changing balloons come in all colors (including Halloween themes) and would be fun filled with helium of course, or just strewn about the floor where people are walking (or dancing). These could serve as party favors as well – how fun!

A bunch of colorful balloons with LED lights inside glowing at a Halloween party.

10. Hands with Popcorn (a whole-grain food!)

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I am so glad popcorn (a fun food that kids love) is a whole-grain food! It’s so easy to make and even more fun adding it to hand-shaped bags that you string up for your Halloween party. Let each guest use a pair of scissors to “sever” their bag of choice upon their departure!

Clear plastic gloves filled with popcorn tied to ribbon hanging from the ceiling as party favors for a Halloween party.

I’d love to hear any other ideas I’ve missed to help older kids have fun and celebrate Halloween this year! Please share with us in the comments.

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8 thoughts on “10 Halloween Party Ideas for Tweens (without candy!)”

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  1. Did you mix the melted chocolate with any kind of oil for the fountain or did you just melt the chocolate?

      1. Oh ok! We’re having my son’s 10th birthday party this weekend and he’s requested a chocolate fountain. Everything I’ve been reading says it has to be mixed with oil. I was going to use coconut oil but I know some people don’t like the flavor of coconut or are allergic. You not adding any oil sounds perfect! Thank you so much!