Have Yourself A Creepy Little Christmas
It’s that magical time of year between Halloween and Christmas when kids go from excited to extremely excited. As the temperatures drop and November creeps near, the season kicks off with spine-chilling costumes and escalates to mind-thrilling sparkling lights, with an endless supply of sugar and magic in the middle. But what if your boy or ghoul is done with LEGOs and board games and now has a thirst for blood? If your little one is more Hot Topic than Toys ‘R Us, they’ll love this top 10 list of the best creepy holiday gifts to bring out the wild side in every child.
1. OUIJA BOARD
This one is not for the faint of heart. If your crowd is up for a little creepy entertainment from the spirit world, there’s no better gift than the Ouija board. For over a hundred years, the Ouija board has been spelling out mystical fun for kids (and adults!) of all ages. Simply pull out the wood board, place the message indicator on it, and ask the board a question. Then, watch as the mystical board spells out the answer. Dim the lights and play some eerie music for a spine-chilling effect. Extra candy for whoever screams last!
2. ADOPT A DRAGON
Has your child been begging you for a pet dragon? Or maybe they’d love a gift that also helps others. Either way, the World Wildlife Federation can help make it happen. Visit their website to adopt your own Komodo dragon! You’ll get a plush animal, photo, adoption certificate, and species card that tells you all about the endangered Komodo dragon, the largest living lizard. One of the largest animals on the islands, these hefty dragons sit comfortably at the top of the food chain. They occasionally attack large prey like deer, horses, goats and water buffalo by ambushing and biting into them. For an added creep factor, you can let the kids know that they even have room for misbehaved children! Not only is it creepy cool to say you have your own dragon, but your adoption will also provide general support to the WWF, a charitable organization that is dedicated to worldwide conservation activities.
3. SKULL SPEAKER
There’s nothing like music blasting out of a human skull sculpture to scream “creepy!” These wireless bluetooth speakers are shaped like skulls floating around and are easily found on Amazon. Pick your favorite color, one with sunglasses or even one dressed as a pirate! One of the most versatile creepy holiday gift ideas, it even has LED lights in the eyes of the skull to be used as a table lamp, speaker and cool decoration all year long. Plus, if you want to make the transition into Christmas, simply add a Santa hat and really freak out any holiday guests that you may have…although it might put you on the naughty list.
4. WIZARDS & WEREWOLVES
There’s a lot of sugar floating around this time of year, and kids need somewhere to channel all that energy. This spooky, active group game is the perfect unique gift. Wizards & Werewolves is an epic glow-in-the-dark game that pits two mythical forces against each other in an exciting backyard battle of speed, skill and wits. It’s like an eerie combination of hide and seek, tag and scavenger hunts. Play as a wizard and embark on a perilous journey to capture glowing magical crystals. Or bare your teeth and howl as you join the werewolves, stalking prey, guarding the crystals and hunting down wizards.The game comes with 12 light games pieces and offers three levels of play ranging from easy-to-play for beginners to highly strategic for advanced game play. This game is sure to be a huge holiday hit as werewolves howl, hide crystals and hunt wizards, while the wizards use their mystical powers to avoid the werewolves and destroy the dark side.
5. RC TARANTULA
Everyone loves a friendly, freaky prank, so what better way to make any holiday party come to life? All you need is a remote-controlled, life-like tarantula. These creepy-crawlers look so real and can scurry forwards, backwards and even sideways. The furry bodies and light-up eyes really seal the deal. Turn it on with the touch of a button, and use the wireless control to creep it past your aunts and uncles at the Thanksgiving table to see who drops their drumstick and screams first.
6. TAXIDERMY BAT LANTERN
For some vintage gothic creep, these light-up taxidermy bat lanterns are the perfect addition to your decor any season. Available on Etsy, these antique-looking lanterns come with a real hanging taxidermy fruit bat. The lanterns include a battery-operated LED light that can change colors so you can use gold for Halloween and green for gothic Christmas. They’re perfect for when you’re just hanging around for the holidays.
7. VOODOO DOLLS
Halloween decoration, Christmas novelty gift or just a pick-me-up after a break up…you choose. Perhaps the most classic of all creepy holiday gifts, voodoo dolls offer a little humor and stress relief after a bad situation. You can even order kits to customize them to look like someone who has vexed you. Simply put a photo of their face on the doll and use the enclosed pins to poke your frustrations away.
8. ANGLER ATTACK DRONE
New for this holiday season on the drone scene is the amazingly creepy Angler Attack Drone from Alpha toys. This cool drone looks like a bionic angler fish with LED eyes that give it an eerie effect. The angler drone has a lightweight Exoskeleton with fabulous details including a bright light hanging down over its face.
9. CHIA ZOMBIE
The best part of the Chia Zombie is that you can start growing in in October and have it looking really good by the Christmas season. New from Chia Pets comes this creepy, crazy cool pottery planter that looks like a zombie head and will grow luscious green locks. The kits come with everything you need – including the planter, plastic drip tray, chia seed packets for three plantings and complete instructions. The fun part is to watch the head turn into a hilarious creation and to keep watching as the fun grows.
10. BRANCH OUT
To top off your creepy holiday season, find a vintage Christmas table-top tree or stick some tree-branches in a planter and create your own Nightmare before Christmas holiday tree. Spooky ornaments are everywhere this year to haunt your beloved pine. Try replacing ornaments with gory eyeballs in glass balls, morbid zombies, crazy clowns or disturbing dolls. There’s even a Horrornament Gingerbread Man that is an evil twist on holiday cookies. Use your own imagination to branch out and create a spellbinding, sparkly tree that gives a ghoulish glow to your space during this magical time of year.
Have ideas for more creepy holiday gifts? Let us know in the comments!
BRING LIFE TO YOUR HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY
Dressing up in costumes for Halloween is definitely one of the best parts of the holiday. What other day of the year can you pretend to be anyone, or anything, that you want? Plus, kids of all ages love to dress up – including teens and adults. If you’re planning a party this Halloween, make it the best one yet by adding some frightful fun to your monster bash with these costume party games.
1. PLAN A MURDER MYSTERY.
Of all costume party games, this might be the most classic. If you’re looking for an idea your guests will die for, host a Halloween-themed murder mystery. It’s best to make a guest list of of who you’ll be inviting first and then choose a theme that is fitting of those invitees whether it be friends, co-workers or family. You can create your own murder mystery theme or you can shop online for downloadable Halloween-themed mystery party games such as “Haunted Halloween Homicide” or “Murder at Skull Manor.” Next, choose a place to host the event. This can be as simple as your living room or backyard, or you can choose a public place such as a park or restaurant.
Once the guest list and venue are locked down, it’s time for the really fun part: Creating characters for each guest. You’ll want to assign roles beforehand so guests can arrive in character. The charming debutante, the crotchety butler, the mysterious painter – the possibilities are endless! Have some fun crafting the party invitation. It can be either digital or printed but should explain the theme, as well as their character roles and costume suggestions. Your invitations could look like a newspaper article detailing the “murder” or a police summons alerting your guests that they need to present themselves for questioning. The night of the party, give guests time to mingle and get to know the other “characters” at the party, as well as give clues. Then, the victim is announced and the investigation begins. It’s sure to be a killer costume party!
2. PLAY HALLOWEEN-THEMED CHARADES.
This crazy group activity combines parts of your favorite party game and Halloween trivia into one, and being dressed in costume adds an extra element of fun and silliness. Each guest writes down the name of Halloween movies, scary television shows, and spooky Halloween characters on slips of paper and puts their slips in a hat. Then, guests divide into two teams and take turns guessing the movie or character that their teammate is acting out.
The beautiful thing about Halloween Charades is that it can be whatever you want to make it. For younger party guests, you can have them act out Halloween activities like carving a pumpkin or trick or treating. For parties with teens or adults, you can choose harder characters to act out, play multiple rounds, incorporate props, or whatever you’d like to do. Once the competition between teams gets going, this game is sure to have your party guests cheering and laughing.
3. GO ON A ZOMBIE WALK.
Take your party crew on a zombie parade through the neighborhood! Invite everyone at your party to dress like their favorite monster, creepy character or evil being before hitting the road. You can easily turn any costume into a gory zombie by splashing on some blood and adding fangs. Cowboy, cheerleader, pirate – all can be zombie-fied! You could also have some guests dress like “the living” with regular costumes then let the zombies chase them down your street. After your walk, keep your crew entertained outside with a game of zombie tag, hide and seek or a zombie version of Capture the Flag REDUX. This is the classic Capture the Flag game revolutionized with futuristic glow-in-the-dark lights. The zombie costumes will add a creepy effect as players sneak into enemy territory, protect their base, break teammates out of jail and steal the glowing flag to win.
4. MAKE YOUR OWN HORROR MOVIE
You’ve got the cast, you’ve got the costumes – why not make a frightening Halloween movie starring your party guests? You don’t need a Hollywood crew of camera and lights to make an eerie, action-packed movie. In fact, using your cell phone or camcorder can give your movie that spooky Blair Witch Project feel! Shoot some horrifying scary scenes then piece them together on a movie app like iMovie or Andromedia Video Editor. Add some creepy music or sound effects, and you just might have the next blockbuster on your hands. At the very least, it will be a fun night of craziness and creepiness. The best part is you can have a follow-up party to watch the finished product and break out the popcorn!
5. WIZARDS & WEREWOLVES
As your Howl-oween party creeps closer, give your party guests an option to dress like a mystical wizard or a ravenous werewolf. You may even want to have some extra costume accessories on hand like fangs or capes. Then, let your Creatures of the Night come to life with this glow-in-the-dark game! Think of it as a combination of hide and seek, tag and a scavenger hunt. Wizards & Werewolves is a pulse-pounding outdoor game that pits two mythical forces against each other. Play as a wizard and embark on a perilous journey to capture glowing magical crystals. Or bare your teeth and howl as you join the werewolves, stalking prey, guarding the crystals and hunting down wizards.
The game comes with 12 light games pieces and offers three levels of play ranging from easy-to-play for beginners to highly strategic for advanced game play. With or without a full moon, this is the perfect backyard game to play on Halloween. Werewolves howl, hide crystals and hunt wizards. Wizards, on the other hand, use their mystical powers to avoid the werewolves and destroy the dark side. Learn more here!
What other ideas do you have for costume party games? Let us know in the comments below!