A preschool Halloween party can be easily done on a tight budget if you get creative with your craft, games, food, and drinks!
Recently, I posted the recipe for the Pumpkin Shaped Rice Krispies Treats I made for the Halloween Party for Ryan’s preschool last year. Today, I wanted to share how I planned and executed his preschool Halloween party on a budget.
At the beginning of the year, each child was asked to make a donation to go into a party fund. Then, whichever parent was responsible for planning the party would be refunded for their purchases.
For the Halloween Party, I was given a budget of $40. That was to cover decorations, food, drinks, a craft, a game, and a goodie bag. When you start to divide that all out between the 12 children in the class, you have to get creative.
Originally Published On: October 11, 2018
Last Updated On: October 14, 2020
Preschool Halloween Party Craft
For the craft, we made some headbands that the kids colored. The teachers already had some that they weren’t going to have time to do with the children, and we used the classroom set of crayons.
I was lucky they already had that. But another cheap option would be to buy one coloring book and tear a page out for each child. Or find a cute printable coloring page that you can get copies made. Most schools will already have a copier, so that won’t cost much at all.
Preschool Halloween Party Game
The game had me stumped for a while. As usual, I scoured Pinterest but a lot of the games were either too complex for the two-year-olds, would be too messy, or couldn’t be easily done inside a small classroom.
When I was out shopping for items, I found an orange Jack-O-Lantern bucket in the one dollar section. I grabbed that to use as a goal and some bean bags from home. The kids had to toss (underhand!) the bean bags and try to get them in the bucket.
Of course, at this age, they just had fun being able to toss something and everyone got a prize. Some of the kids really worked at getting a perfect score. Others just wanted to throw the bean bags at each other.
The prizes also came from the dollar section. I found a few items that were listed as “alternates for Trick-or-Treaters”, meaning it wasn’t candy. There were some ink stamps, small notepads, temporary tattoos, and a few odds and ends. Those were put together in some cellophane bags as the prizes.
Preschool Halloween Party Food and Drinks
Most of the budget was going to food and drinks. Partly because I (obviously) enjoy the food part of everything. But also because I knew I could find the craft, games, and prizes for really cheap.
Knowing the party was at 10 am and the kids would have eaten breakfast but not be ready for lunch, I had to figure out the best foods while also trying to balance it out. I didn’t end up with any protein, but I wasn’t sure what the kids in class would eat, anyway.
The Good For You Stuff
Top on my list was to get a variety of fruits and vegetables. Originally, I planned to buy them whole and cut them myself, but I found a small tray that was already done and cheaper. Since the kids are so young, they don’t eat a lot. It would have been cheaper to get each item individually if this was for adults. But the kids still had leftovers after the party.
I took the fruits and veggies and dumped them into a small plastic cauldron that I’ve had for years. Of course, I made sure to clean it well before adding the food.
And if you are planning fruits and veggies for young kids, make sure you cut anything that needs to be. I sliced the baby carrots in half and made sure to cut the grapes so there wouldn’t be any choking hazards.
The Good Stuff
As I mentioned, it was still early in the morning, so I went ahead and grabbed some doughnut holes for the party. I wasn’t wanting something that sweet at first, but it was cheap and easy, and the kids ate them all.
The boys had also helped me make some Pumpkin Shaped Rice Krispies Treats for the party. You can read more about them on that post, but they went over really well with the kids. They all enjoyed the silly faces!
Drinks
I really don’t like buying juice boxes because they are so wasteful. But when you are planning a party for a dozen two-year-olds, most of whom don’t know how to use a regular cup, your options are limited.
For most of the school parties, I’ve noticed the parents like to get the Honest Kids drink pouches. I don’t know how much better they are than others, but since that’s a common one, I knew the kids should like it. And really, you can’t go wrong with apple juice for a bunch of preschoolers!
These are great ideas for a Halloween party for younger children. I love the pumpkin shaped Rice Krispie cakes, they’re so cute!
How resourceful of you! You’ve done an amazing job! Cheers to those of us who enjoy the food part of everything the most! 😉
I have two toddlers and they just love halloween. Thanks for sharing these great tips. Fruits and veggies are so important to have at all child parties.
This is very resourceful, I remember those days. My younger daughter is in 7th grade now. By the way, I save your Pumpkin Shaped Rice Krispies Treats recipe which she will make over the weekend.
I love it all – how fun and precious. The rice krispies especially made me smile. Have fun with yours while still little like this. Way to go Mom!
From the pictures, I would have no idea that you pulled off such a great party on such a small budget! The pumpkin rice mrispy treats are such a perfect snack. They’re yummy and decorative!
Love the pumpkin shaped rice krispy treats! Those are going to make the Halloween party extra special!
Brava! You did a great job with this one, Stephanie! Another practically zero cost party game that my kids’ kindergarten classes used was “bowling” – stack up toilet paper rolls into a pyramid (for holidays, call them snowballs or marshmallows – for Halloween, put three black circles on each like a ghost face), then have the kids roll a ball or a small pumpkin down the hall and try to knock over the pyramid!
Whew, $40 is a pretty tight budget for 12 kids! I think you did a fantastic job getting this party done on budget. I think your choice for the game was brilliant and those rice krispy treats are adorable!
Some great tips! Really wish Halloween was celebrated more passionately in the UK because it’s a holiday that deserves all the effort like this!
great ideas! Halloween is such a great creative holiday! love your pumpkin shaped Rice Krispies treats !
You did a brilliant job! I’m thinking of doing a Christmas party for my son’s school friends this year so I’ll be using some of your creative thinking from this post for that 🙂
Louise x
I think you hit the target on the bulls-eye. You had my preschooler peeking at my screen!
Oh, you definitely were very creative in this case! Everything is perfect for a Halloween party, and the ideas are great for a cheap school event. There was everything to be funny – snacks, drinks, games, and of course prizes. Great! Thanks for sharing!
Aw I used to love the days of Halloween pre school party. So much fun and the kids get so excited. It is so nice that you can actually keep things pretty simple at that age.
These are really resourceful yet cool tips + the ideas are great for a budget school event. Thanks for sharing!
This saves tons of money. Thank you for sharing. I can save so much on drinks
We all love this time of the year but having Halloween parties can be expensive. thanks for these tips. We can keep parties simple and cheap
These are great ideas. We can save so much on food and drinks
AWE… these are all great tips. We all want to have an amazing party for our littles, but man can it get expensive. Thank you for your tips.
I haven’t had a rice krispie treat since I was a kid, love the pumpkin shape! I have no idea how you were able to pull anything together on a $40 budget. Kudos!
These are so lovely and resourceful. It’s been a long time since I’ve planned a party for this age but I always remember to be a lot of fun. A decent amount of hard work too.
Awesome party ideas, the food in this looks cool. Would love to try it with my little brother
I loved all the stuffs you prepared here, especially the rice crispies and vegetables. They’re so festive.