Last year we went a little Halloween crazy. We had a wonderful party and a few weeks of activities and crafts. 

This year we will be away at my in laws for Halloween and we will have a spooky garden trail for the boys to enjoy and maybe a swim in the dark. (We are super lucky that they have a pool.) 

So instead of lots of new party ideas here are some of the highlights from last year which you may find handy if you are planning a party! Some were using new bits and bobs and others were recycling old things I had lying around or I picked up at the charity shop.

Play a game of Spider Name Hunt - use foam spider shapes and spell each guest's name on the back in individual letters. Turn them all over at the start and see who can spell their name first!  You can see more photos here.

Make a family portrait of ghost feet! Ours will be coming out again this year!

Make a simple handprint spider jigsaw. 

Book pumpkins are a great way to decorate although steer clear if you couldn't bear to cut up an old book! 

Easy peasy bunting, which I made at the same time as the feet portrait. Use coloured scrap book paper in between you ghosts. 

A party lolly tree is a simple way of creating an eye catching centrepiece for your party table. Plus you can use it as candy for trick or treaters! 

We have this door mat ready for next week. Hand stencilled ready for the Heath Bros at Halloween. 

Mummy juice cartons are so effective! Easy too just remember to leave a space for the straws! 

I hung these muslin ghosts everywhere last year as it was a way of recycling all of Ollie's old muslin cloths!  I am sure every parent has a bag of these in the loft somewhere so get them out and make some good use from them!

There is nothing cuter than these mini broomsticks! I dotted them all over the house and they take only minutes to make. 

I loved making our little party guests name paper skeletons which I framed above their trick or treating bags. I used potatoes to stamp pumpkin and skull faces on them!

I went a little mad on all the party food ideas last year - you can see the full party post here but they all were worth the effort! My old painted dresser was absolutely perfect for the Halloween Party buffet and I use our upcycled mini bar dresser to hold the drinks!

We played loads of games including: 

• ghost toilet roll bowling
• sensory slime
• apple bobbing
• face painting

A big party will have to wait until next year! I'm still collecting lots of inspiration on my Pinterest board so do follow and share ideas. 

What have you got planned for Halloween?

A party in pictures! I will blog all the little details, games, suppliers, party bags and thank you's at some point! It's a mammoth post just with the photos! 

Ollie was so grateful, so happy, it was a pleasure to have gone to such efforts to give him a wonderful party. Everything he saw he exclaimed "oh wow!" and when we brought out his cake he shouted "Happy Bird-day!" Love him. 

One of my favourite photos is the one of him and I in front of the "hospital curtain" where everyone was singing in front of us. I had written out the words to Miss Polly had a Dolly who was sick sick sick and everyone sang it to him! He adored it.  

Enjoy - best theme we have done to date! 

I can't wait to blog the "Monkey Surgery" lucky dip (The 50p monkey toy from the charity shop came in very useful as did the 50p sheets which I used for the "hospital beds" and the sweet table table cloth!) and all the other DIY ideas. The old vintage tin bath made a great party favour storage basket and I reused a lot of the paper pom poms and table covers from Sammy's Circus Party. Which reminds me - I only ever gave you all sneak peeks, that has got to be rectified! 

Special thanks to delights for supplying a number of the party supplies!  

Parties - we all love them but we all could do with making them less stressful. 

Sometimes I find it's easier to enjoy the 'after party' which happens in our kitchen, with everyone having a glass of something lovely and discussing all the details and reliving the great times we had, more than the party itself!

A little trick I have learnt, which helps to cut down pre party planning stress, is to make up the tea in advance. 

I am not a big fan of great huge buffets, with lots of plates of the same thing at 2 feet intervals.  

I find you end up with a long queue of parents, hungry, impatient children at the party tables and wobbly plates, too thin to handle the load! And the birthday boy or girl always seems the last to eat, as the parents are busy filling up cups of squash from plastic jugs!

I love party boxes.  

Party Boxes are not expensive and super effective. A winning combination. 

They come in a variety of patterns and colours and make very child feel more special. Like they have a mini food present to open at the table. 

The best thing is you can make them up in advance. I laid them out on my office desk and filled them bit by bit, over the week before the party and added the yoghurt and "hotdog" rolls on the day! But you could be super organised and do everything that doesn't need refridgerating. 

The thing to remember with a party tea is it doesn't have to be about show casing your ability to serve up all 5 of their Five a days. You are allowed to serve sweet treats - and lots of them! It's not about a perfectly healthy balanced meal, it's about a party tea. And a bonus if you can err on the healthy side. 

My Perfect Party Tea: 

• Mini sausages in rolls - minimal effort sandwiches!
• Box of yoghurt covered raisins
• Cereal bar
• Fruit pouch
• Dried fruit stick
• Fromage Frais

I save the chocolately and seriously sweet things for a candy sweet table. But they are always at arms reach so it ends up being a free for all!

I love the American style sweet tables - you can check out my tips to perfect candy sweet table at home here. 

I am busy this week preparing for Ollie's Doctor Disco 2nd Birthday! He has just learnt to sing Happy Birthday so I can't wait to see his face beaming with huge smiles at his medical theme party!  

This post was kindly sponsored by delights