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6. Provide Themed Snacks

Instead of caramel apples, try making black toffee apples and calling them poison apples. Serve witch brooms and mummy pizza bites. Create a fizzy green monster drink with frozen lemonade, Sprite and green food coloring. Go all-out and serve roasted red peppers with this delicious anti-vampire garlic hummus recipe:

Ingredients

• 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• Cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine everything but the olive oil in your food processor.
2. Turn the food processor on and slowly drizzle in your olive oil until it is well incorporated and your garlic is no longer chunky.
3. Serve with roasted red peppers, pita and veggies.

7. Play Games

The best haunted houses have games. Here are some classic ideas:

• Hide gummy worms in a plate of whipped cream and have the kids find them. Beware: It gets messy!
• Create a spider web on the wall and play “pin the spider on the web.” The winners receive fancy plastic spider rings.
• Fill a large jar with candy corn and have guests guess the total number of pieces. The one with the closest guess takes home the candy corn.
  

8. Turn Up the Music

No haunted house is complete without spooky music. There are dozens of free songs and background noises on the web and CD for sale at any big box store. Whatever you do, don’t forget the tunes. Even a good old song like “Monster Mash” could start a haunted house dance party!

9. Create a Science Lab with Mystery Boxes

Using Tupperware and blindfolds, have the children guess what type of food is in each different “mystery box.” Try using cooked spaghetti for brains, corn kernels for monster teeth and peeled grapes for eyeballs.

10. Take It Outside

Don’t limit a haunted house to the indoors! Set up a maze of hay bales in the backyard or a Jack-o-Lantern trail leading to a bonfire for families to enjoy. Let the kids play flashlight tag outside with sheet ghosts hanging from the trees and spooky music playing.

Take this quiz to find out what your Halloween decor “Spook Level” is for decorating, and remember to keep in mind the age of the children you are inviting as you plan your spooky haunted house. Whatever you do, have fun and take tons of photos!

Sommer Poquette is a popular mom blogger, proud mom of two, children’s book author and social media consultant and strategist. She loves to decorate for Halloween and provides great decor ideas to amp up the fun. Get more Halloween decor ideas like these by visiting The Home Depot.