Halloween party kit

Free Halloween printables that use your guest list

A lot of Halloween printables are fixed pages: the same bingo card, the same blank name tag, the same checklist for everyone. This kit works the other way round. You type who is coming, and the names appear on the tags and the checklist. You can add your own bingo words too, and the cards change to match.

It is free, it runs in your browser and there is no account to make. Choose A4 or US Letter, then print the pages or save them as a PDF. The date on the checklist starts at 31 October and you can change it, so the kit also works for a party on the weekend before.

What is in the Halloween party kit

The kit builds three things from what you type. You can print all of it or just the pages you need.

• A one-page party checklist with four groups: a week before, food and drink, decorations and the day itself. Each item has a tick box, and there are spare lines for your own tasks.
• A guest list on the same page, with a tick box beside each name so you can mark who has replied or arrived.
• Name tags that say "Boo! My name is" with each guest's name underneath. There are eight tags on a page, and you can enter up to 40 guests.
• Halloween bingo: pick between 2 and 30 cards, five squares across and five down with a free space in the middle. Every card is a different arrangement of the words.
• A caller sheet that lists every word, so you can tick them off as you call them or cut them up and draw them from a bowl.

A Halloween party checklist you can actually tick off

A party is easier to plan when the jobs are split by when they happen. The checklist follows that idea. Here is what sits in each group, so you can see whether it fits your plans.

The groups are a starting point. Cross out anything you do not need and use the blank lines for the rest.

• A week before: send invitations, plan costumes, choose games and print the bingo cards, buy decorations.
• Food and drink: plan the snacks, buy treats for trick or treaters, make a spooky punch, bake or buy a cake.
• Decorations: carve pumpkins, hang bats and cobwebs, set out candles or lanterns, print the name tags.
• On the day: set up the games table, lay out the treat bags, charge the speaker for music, take a group photo.

Name tags for a party where nobody knows everybody

Name tags are a small thing that helps a mixed crowd a lot. Costumes make people harder to recognise, and a tag saves the awkward second guess. Each tag opens with "Boo! My name is", so it feels like part of the party rather than a work event.

The tags come straight from the guest list, one name per line. If you add ten guests you get two pages: eight tags on the first and two on the second. Print on plain paper and use sticky labels or a safety pin, or print on sticker paper if you have it.

1. Type one guest name per line in the guest list box.
2. Check the first page of the preview, then scroll to the name tag pages.
3. Print or save as a PDF. Use the ink saver option if you are printing a lot of pages.
4. Cut the tags apart and attach them with a pin or a sticker.

Halloween bingo with cards that are all different

Bingo is a good party game because it works for any age and needs no skill. Everyone gets a card, you call a word, and players mark the squares they have. The first to fill a line wins.

If you leave the word box empty, the cards use a built-in list of 30 spooky words: bat, ghost, witch hat, black cat, pumpkin, spider web, candy corn, broomstick and others. To use your own, type one word or short phrase per line. Use 24 or more words for full cards; with fewer, some squares stay blank, and with fewer than eight the built-in list is used. The centre square is a free space.

Each card is a different shuffle of the words, so two players are unlikely to shout at the same moment. Choose how many cards you need, from 2 to 30. Two cards fit on a page.

• For small children, use short, easy words such as pumpkin, ghost and bat, and play for one line only.
• For a family party, add your own in-jokes, such as the name of the dog in a costume or a favourite sweet.
• For a classroom, ask pupils to suggest the words and print one card for each child.
• For teenagers or adults, play for a full card and give a small prize.

How to run a game of Halloween bingo

You do not need much equipment. Pumpkin seeds, sweets, buttons or small paper scraps all work as markers. Printing on A4 or US Letter is fine because the cards are sized to the page.

1. Print the number of cards you need, plus a couple of spares, and the caller sheet.
2. Hand out one card and a handful of markers to each player.
3. Cut up the caller sheet, put the words in a bowl and pull one out at a time, or just tick them off in order if you prefer.
4. Players cover a square when they hear a word that is on their card.
5. The first player to cover a full row, column or diagonal calls out "Boo!" or "Bingo!" and you check the words they covered against the ones you have called.

Printing tips and what happens to your guest list

Pick A4 or US Letter before you print, and turn on the ink saver if you want lighter pages. You can print the whole kit or just the pages you need. Use the save as PDF option in your browser to keep a copy.

Your guest list and bingo words stay in the link after the # in your browser's address bar. They are never sent to a server, so nothing about your guests is stored on our side. If you want to come back later, bookmark the page or copy the link.