John Woodford’s 2nd Annual Spooktacular Halloween Carnival : 2022
Last year was SUCH a blast; I KNEW that I had to make this an annual tradition! If you know me, you know that I LOVE Halloween (well, any holiday, but ESPECIALLY Halloween!) and throw over-the-top events. I also love creating magical moments for my son, John Woodford, who had a blast last year and was equally excited for his second Spooktacular Halloween Carnival!
This year I could reuse some of the things I created last year, but I wanted to reshare them again just in case you are new around here! I also added even more fun this year with some special DIY decor projects I had time to complete!
You can find all my DIYs, Amazon finds, and local vendors I used (and highly recommend) to bring this event to life!
You can also check out last year’s Spooktacular Halloween Carnival by clicking here! And if you love decorating your home for Halloween as much as I do, check out my Easy + Affordable Spooky Halloween Decor roundup here!
Happy Halloween!
xoxo
Emily
Carnival Games
No carnival is complete without some fun games! Like last year, I decided to have a few age-appropriate games and add some Halloween fun to them! You can find the how-tos for each of the DIY portions for making these games and some links to my supplies!
Pumpkin Tic Tac Toe was such a simple DIY! I went to Lowe’s, bought a piece of 2ftX4ft plywood, painted on my background 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.
For the tin can toss, I went to Kroger and bought six 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!
I recycled a giant Amazon box for the spider web bean bag toss. 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 the 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.
For the pumpkin painting station you will need to gather up some small pumpkins, craft paint, and sponge brushes! I used some different baskets from around my house for the brushes, glue and googly eyes! You will want to find a disposable table cloth for this for each clean up, and have some cups of water for washing off the paint brushes!
A bounce house is always a big hit with the kids! While bounces houses are not always the most aesthetically pleasing, this white bounce house (vendor information to follow!) was the perfect addition to the Halloween vibe!
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 it! I mostly used items 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!
Outdoor Movie
I loved creating this cozy space for littles and their families to sit and relax while enjoying one of 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 and 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!
Spooktacular Picnic
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!
Apple cider is a must for any fall or Halloween gathering, so I wanted to create a whole station just for it. We displayed cute mugs and cups on arch walls rented from Lumi Accents, and this year it matched the theme even better since it was painted to look like a ghost! I also had both hot and cold cider available in dispensers with add-ons like fresh apples, cute + festive straws, and cinnamon sticks!
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!
No movie night is complete without a popcorn bar! We set up our own with a popcorn machine, toppings, and cute tableware!
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 carnivalesque food 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 perfectly matched our invites and vintage Halloween carnival theme! Finally, I grabbed some classic Halloween sugar cookies from our favorite local bakery, Mondelli’s.
Snack Bar essentials:
Spooky DIY Décor
I love to add spooky décor (but not too spooky so that it doesn’t scare the kids!) everywhere that I possibly can. I like to keep the pastel Halloween color pallet, and this year I had a little extra time to do some crafting for the event!
I did the same set up last year, because I had to figure out how to make the garden bed look cute since everything is dead at this time and we just plow and rake everything away. So, I had these tombstones last year but they were just black and silvery! This year, however, I had time to spray paint them to match the theme - pastel Halloween colors! I think they turned out pretty darn cute!
I saw a backdrop on Pinterest, and I knew I had to try to recreate it! Alex helped me cut the shapes out of plywood, and then I painted them to match the theme. Next, I hand-painted the details to make it come to life! Last, I put stakes on the back of them so that they would stand up in the middle of the yard.
Vendor Spotlight
Without the help from some stellar vendors this vision would not have been able to come to life! I’ve listed each of the vendors below and linked them in for easy access! This was truly a dream team, and I look forward to working with them all again for my future events!
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 setups for events! They even customized the decor and flavors to match our event perfectly! They were definitely one of the event's highlights for everyone - especially JW!
Aforementioned, 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.
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 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 ghost rice Krispy treats, and some fun Halloween-themed decorated sugar cookies!
This year we added face painting and balloon animals with a local vendor called MemoryLaine Parties! She did a great job bringing each child’s vision to life and it was a big hit at the party! She also will dress a your child’s favorite princess or character!
Abbie B Designs made our adorable custom treat totes for each carnival guest!
