John Woodford's Spooktacular Halloween Carnival
I’ve dreamed of doing a Halloween carnival for YEARS! If you’ve been around for a while you know I love all things Halloween and throwing over the top events! This year I was able to bring my dreams to life with a fun filled carnival for John Woodford. Below you will get the inside scoop of how I made this happen through local vendors, Amazon finds and plenty of DIY. I hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween!
XOXO
Emily
Every carnival needs games! I decided on easy, age appropriate games and put my own Halloween twist on them! Below you will find the how-to for the DIY portions of making these games as well as links to supplies I used!
Pumpkin Tic Tac Toe was such a simple DIY! I went to Lowe’s bought a piece of 2ftX4ft plywood, painted on my back ground and grid, and added the decals with a Cricut machine. I bought small pumpkins in orange and white for the game pieces and then placed these on top of a hay bale for height.
For the ring toss, I grabbed another 2ft x 4ft plywood board from Lowe’s and also cut some small plywood feet to prop it up at an angle in the back! I spray painted sports cones black and screwed them onto the board. For the rings I ordered these from Amazon, another option could be glow stick necklaces! I again used a Cricut to add the special designs and lettering.
I went to Hobby Lobby and found a foam pumpkin and cut the mouth out with a box cutter. I then used craft acrylic paint to paint on the eyes and fill in the mouth black. I bought one yard of faux grass turf at Hobby Lobby, another option would be green thick felt. The putter and balls were found on Amazon!
For the tin can toss I went to Kroger and bought 6 cans of food, you can also easily save up empty cans. I used craft paint and painted on the various designs, stacked them in a pyramid shape, and used a ball we had already for tossing (orange of course!).
For the Boo-Loon Pop, I wanted to make a kid-friendly alternative that didn’t use any darts. I took a piece of plywood and painted a ghost on it then glued on thumbtacks all over the ghost shape (with the pointy tac facing OUT). I also nail gunned clothepins all over the ghost shape. Then I blew up some black and white balloons (keeping them pretty small) and attached them to the board matching the ghost shape by clipping them inside the clothespins (carefully not to pop them on the thumbtacks)! Then we gave the kids some corn hole bean bags to throw at the board and try to pop them! The balloons should easily hit the thumbtacks and pop on contact!
For the spider web bean bag toss I recycled a big Amazon box. I cut it open and spray painted it black. I then used a box cutter and free hand cut out the varying shapes. I made sure to look at the size of bean bags to know that they will fit through the holes. I then took white craft paint and painted on the spider webs. The bean bags were found here. I did add some garden stakes behind the board to help stabilize it throughout the night.
This is a another classic Halloween game that could not be simpler! Simply tie some donuts with twine or string from a tree branch or anything that hangs overhead (a deck or playground or ceiling would work too). All participants need to try to eat the donut without using their hands at all and you can even race each other! It’s so fun and definitely accounts for many laughs!
Gather up small pumpkins, craft paint, and sponge brushes! I used these cauldrons for the paint brushes. I also ordered small craft paint palette trays. The paint you can find at most craft stores, Wal-Mart, or order from Amazon. I was sure to add a paper tablecloth here that we could dispose of after too and had some cups of water out for washing brushes. I placed a wheelbarrow full of pumpkins nearby for the kids to select from for painting. I just used a coffee height table for this and let the kids stand to paint (no chairs).
A bonfire is essential for any fall party and what’s a bonfire without some s’mores! I set up a cute Halloween s’mores station using ghost and pumpkin marshmallows, graham crackers, and lots of Halloween candy ! I also set skewers, plates, and napkins here so guests could help themselves. We placed some more hay bales around the fire with blankets for cozy seating too!
Lumi Accents made this picnic possible! This was one of my favorite things to design for the Carnival. I wanted a fun, spooky and cozy spot for all the kids to enjoy their treats while keeping it beautiful to look at and enjoy! You can find links to the items we used below that weren’t part of Lumi Accents rentable inventory!
I loved creating this cozy space for littles and their families to sit and relax while enjoying one JW’s favorite Halloween movies, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! I used my all-in-one projector for the movie (it’s old but has a built-in dvd player and speakers!) and just hung a sheet on our fence to project on. We used hay bales with blankets on top for seating as well as some picnic blankets, floor pillows, and more on the ground! I added these cute pumpkin string lights on each side to create a perimeter around the space and hung lanterns in the trees above to make it extra festive! We made the Great Pumpkin sign ourselves with plywood, paint, and the Cricut (again!) for the letters!
No movie night is complete without a popcorn bar! We set up our own with a popcorn machine, toppings, and cute tableware!
Since I already had the greenhouse in the yard and wanted it to fit in with the rest of my spooky decor I decided to transform it into a small haunted house! Nothing too scary so the little kids could still enjoy! I mostly used items I had left over from my regular Halloween/spooky decor. Of course, adding some creepy cloth and spider webs is an easy way to transform any space into a haunted house!
Apple cider is a must for any fall or Halloween gathering, so I wanted to put together a whole station for it. We displayed cute mugs and cups on arch walls rented from Lumi Accents. I also had both hot and cold cider available in dispensers with add ons like fresh apples, cute + festive straws, and cinnamon sticks!
We kept our food simple for the party but also carnival appropriate (especially since we had so many treats throughout!) and we served hot dogs and chili with all the fixings! I wanted to use carnival-esque food trays and hot dog trays in addition to some cute Halloween tableware! We also had an adorable cake and rice krispies by Daisy Cakes! Sissy Cooks It Up also made the most incredible decorated cookies that matched our invites and vintage Halloween carnival theme so perfectly! Finally I grabbed some classic Halloween sugar cookies from our favorite local bakery, Mondelli’s too.
Snack Bar essentials:
I wouldn’t have been able to make this dream come true without help from some stellar vendors! Below I will highlight each of them with some links to see more about each and book!
This event was taken to the next level through all the amazing balloon installations throughout courtesy of Amanda with Elevated Balloons + Design Co! She created several different installations customized to my requests and color schemes exactly! She also added lots of special add-ons to each like vinyl, special balloons, honeycombs, extra decor, and more! I could not have put this event together without all of her help throughout. Definitely contact her for any and all of your event planning needs (she does full event planning and floral design, not just balloons!)
No carnival is complete without cotton candy! Cotton + Cone is a local cotton candy cart that offers custom set ups for events! They even customized the decor and flavors to match our event perfectly! They were definitely one of the highlights of the event for everyone- especially JW!
Use code GATHERED when booking Cotton + Cone for 10% OFF your event rental!
JW loves bounce houses so I knew I had to hunt down the perfect all-WHITE bounce house that we could deck out with all the cute Halloween balloons! Big White House has several sizes and options available and this castle bounce house was the perfect size and shape for our event.
Use code EMILY10 for 10% OFF any rental!
Lumi Accents were such a huge help! I rented the drink wall from them, had them create my “Welcome” sign that tied in with the invites, carnival game signs, and picnic tableware. They also put together the entire picnic set up and provided lots of rentals for that.
Alpha Lit is always my go-to for any event! These light-up letters add such a fun touch to any party and are a perfect focal point or photo booth centerpiece!
Daisy Cakes made the most delicious pumpkin spice cake that was perfectly decorated and adorable! She also made some fun monster rice krispy treats!
Sissy Cooks It Up also made the most incredible decorated cookies that matched our invites and vintage Halloween carnival theme so perfectly!
Abbie B Designs made our adorable custom treat totes for each carnival guest! She also made some custom tees for all of our carnival workers!
