Tag: halloween

Guide to Halloween: 7 Steps to Throwing a Children’s Party that Adults Can Love Too

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Putting on a party can be stressful at the best of times. Add in the fact that you’ll need to scare, but not terrify, a bunch of tykes while also entertaining the parents and you can have quite the conundrum on your hands.

Luckily enough, it’s an issue that has been faced by Halloween mums and dads for decades, so there’s plenty of advice out there to help you put together the perfect bash.

1. Get the Invitations Right
There’s plenty going on during Halloween, so make sure you send out invitations at least a month in advance so all the other parents can make space in their diaries.

2. Costume in Teams
The best way to get adults into the fun of costuming is by making group costumes the theme. You can have a group of mummies, a coven of witches, or even a few of The Avengers turning up on your doorstep.

3. Break into Trick-or-Treat Groups
Try breaking your main party into groups of four or five children, plus a couple of adults, to go out trick-or-treating. It’s more fun to go as a group, but you don’t want to lose control with a large one. Head out five minutes apart to avoid bunching up.

4. Veer Away from Sweets
Your kids could feast on chocolate bars all night, but adults won’t be so keen. For your own snacks, make small cakes and other more adult-friendly edibles that are still spooky-themed.

5. Get a Mix of Games Going
Halloween games are great, but you don’t want all the kids getting bored queueing up for one after another. Try instead getting a range of games going at once, mixing the loud and manic with the more subdued.

6. Pick a Spooky Movie
To make sure the adults have their own slice of Halloween fun, try ending the children’s night with a movie or two. There are plenty of kid’s films out there that provide a few jumps without getting too blood-curdling. While the kids relax after their night of fun, the adults can do something themselves. A Halloween murder mystery dinner in the kitchen, perhaps?

7. Phone a Babysitter
It might sound like a bit of a cop-out, but consider calling on your favourite babysitter to lend a hand. You can ask them to take care of tasks that you might feel a little bossy asking other parents to do on their night’s off, and they’ll be great at getting into the spirit of things with your kids.

Halloween: What’s On in Hull and East Riding

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There’s a whole host of events that are taking place across Hull and the East Riding this Halloween season, and here are just a few of our top picks:

  • Whistling Goose Children’s Party: To get your little ones into the Halloween spirit without causing too many nightmares, try the party at Whistling Goose in Sutton Fields. Traditional party games will be combined with face painting, balloon modelling, and a ghost hunt.
  • Story Readings: Literary scare-seekers should try heading to Bridlington’s Spa Theatre. Supernatural fiction writer M.R. James will be enthralling and unnerving listeners with four gripping ghost stories
  • Ghost Cruise: The Bridlington harbour-based Yorkshire Belle pleasure boat is providing a chilling twilight Ghost Cruise. Call ahead to book your spot.
  • The Deep’s Spooktacular Halloween: For over-18s only, The Deep will be hosting a fancy dress Halloween party on Saturday evening for all ghosts, ghouls, devils, and witches able to attend. Ticket prices include a goblet of witches’ brew, plus a three-course Halloween buffet. Prizes are awarded for the best costumes.
  • Halloween Fright Night at East Park: Combining fun fair with stunt show, East Park will become a favourite haunt from 6pm on Friday to 9pm on Monday. The Stannage International Stunt Team and Flaming Eye Stunt Show will be there, and you can look out for anything from stilt walkers to ghost walks.
  • Frightwater Valley: Lightwater Valley will be reanimated as Frightwater Valley for two days in order to provide a Halloween to remember. All manner of petrifying beasts will take residence to scare any who are brave enough to venture inside. Stick around until 6.30pm on Saturday or 5.30pm on Sunday to take in spectacular firework displays.

Other events include:

  • Half-term Halloween fun for kids at St Stephen’s Shopping Centre on the 29th
  • Halloween Night at the Yorkshire Waterways Museum on the 29th
  • Most Haunted Nites at Fort Paull on the 29th
  • RSPCA Hull and East Riding Halloween Ball on the 29th
  • Halloween Fancy Dress Disco at Greatfield on the 29th
  • Halloween at the Prospect Centre on the 30th
  • Ings Library Halloween Fun Days and Craft Session on the 30th
  • Alex’s Smile Halloween fancy dress party at Marist Church Hall on the 30th
  • Singles Together Halloween disco at Goodfellowship in Cottingham Road on the 30th
  • Madcap Magic Mike at Bridlington Spa on the 30th
  • Bransholme Woods Halloween event on the 31st
  • Freedom Centre Halloween Party at the Freedom Centre in Preston Road on the 31st

No matter what you’re looking for, Hull and East Riding have plenty of options to provide all kinds of thrills and scares.

JC Leisure’s Top UK Halloween Events

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We’ve hit the spookiest time of the year with Halloween weekend just round the corner…! So, as a special spine-tingling treat, we’ve scanned the UK for some of the scariest attractions to keep you petrified this season…

#1. Nottingham Ghost Walk

Nottingham Ghost Walk is celebrating it’s 21st Birthday this year which means it’s at it spookiest! Founded in 1993 by psychic medium Jenny Cross, it has become one of the most successful ghost walks in Nottingham. This haunting experience will take you past Nottingham Castle, to a graveyard, ancient sandstone caves and through the Galleries of Justice.

You can experience the Nottingham Ghost Walk all year round, but booking near Halloween is a must! And with time slots still available for this Halloween weekend for only £7 per person, get booking now!

#2. The Making of Harry Potter – Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London

The new Dark Arts feature at the Warner Brothers Studio couldn’t have arrived at a better time. On until 3rd November, you can not only go behind the scenes of the Harry Potter film series, but until Monday you are able to see a section of the feast from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Hogwarts Great Hall, walk beneath the dimmed lights of Diagon Alley and bump into the Death Eaters patrolling the wizarding shopping street.

You can even get up close and personal with Lord Voldemort’s 20-foot snake, Nagini, which sits atop the Malfoy Manner table.

#3 Scare Kingdom Scream Park in Blackburn, Lancashire

Full of fright-filled attractions, the Scare Kingdom Scream Park celebrates it’s sixth season this Halloween. Running until the 8th November and with tickets starting at just £14.50, Scream Park is a must for fearless families, thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies and courageous kids alike!

 #4 Legoland Windsor’s Brick or Treat in London

Up until the 3rd November, Legoland will be running many spook-tacular activities for Brick or Treat! Hunt for the LEGO spiders as you venture through the eerie Forrest of 5,000 Pumpkins and even have a go at building your own LEGO pumpkin to add to the patch and end the trip by showing your best monster mash at the Monster Ball.

A spooky puppet show and daily fancy dress competition will make it a blast for the little. Prices are £41.40 for children and seniors and £46.80 for adults at the door.

#5 Dungeon Lates in London (18+)

The popular Dungeon Lates is an absolute scream at Halloween – so much so that the London Dungeon is offering several more Fridays of after-hour scares this year. Starting on the 7th November, the after hours fun will begin with a gin cocktail, a raid through the dress-up box and an hour of dungeon scares – for £40 a ticket, you will get a fantastically eerie, cocktail-filled experience this Halloween!