John Woodford's Spooktacular Halloween Carnival

I’ve dreamed of doing a Halloween carnival for YEARS! If you’ve been around for a while you know I love all things Halloween and throwing over the top events! This year I was able to bring my dreams to life with a fun filled carnival for John Woodford. Below you will get the inside scoop of how I made this happen through local vendors, Amazon finds and plenty of DIY. I hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween!

XOXO

Emily

Every carnival needs games! I decided on easy, age appropriate games and put my own Halloween twist on them!
- Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe
- Witches Hat Ring Toss
- Pumpkin Put Put Golf
- Bobbing For Apples
- Tin Can Toss
- Boo-loon Pop
- Spider Web Bean Bag Toss
- Donut On A String
- Pumpkin Painting Station

S'mores Station - A bonfire is essential for any fall party and what’s a bonfire without some s’mores! I set up a cute Halloween s’mores station using ghost and pumpkin marshmallows, graham crackers, and lots of Halloween candy !

Spooktacular Picnic - This was one of my favorite things to design for the Carnival. I wanted a fun, spooky and cozy spot for all the kids to enjoy their treats while keeping it beautiful to look at and enjoy!

Outdoor Movie - I loved creating this cozy space for littles and their families to sit and relax while enjoying one JW’s favorite Halloween movies, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Popcorn Bar - No movie night is complete without a popcorn bar! We set up our own with a popcorn machine, toppings, and cute tableware!

Haunted Greenhouse - Since I already had the greenhouse in the yard and wanted it to fit in with the rest of my spooky decor I decided to transform it into a small haunted house! Nothing too scary so the little kids could still enjoy! I mostly used items I had left over from my regular Halloween/spooky decor. Of course, adding some creepy cloth and spider webs is an easy way to transform any space into a haunted house!

Apple Cider Station - Apple cider is a must for any fall or Halloween gathering, so I wanted to put together a whole station for it. We displayed cute mugs and cups on Ghost arch wall I created. I also had both hot and cold cider available in dispensers with add ons like fresh apples, cute + festive straws, and cinnamon sticks!

Food + Desserts - We kept our food simple for the party but also carnival appropriate (especially since we had so many treats throughout!) and we served hot dogs and chili with all the fixings! I wanted to use carnival-esque food trays and hot dog trays in addition to some cute Halloween tableware! We also had an adorable cake, cookies, and rice krispies by Daisy Cakes! Finally I grabbed some classic Halloween sugar cookies from our favorite local bakery, Mondelli’s too.

• What People Ate

  We kept our food simple for the party but also carnival appropriate (especially since we had so many treats throughout!) and we served hot dogs and chili with all the fixings! I wanted to use carnival-esque food trays and hot dog trays in addition to some cute Halloween tableware!

• What People Drank

  Apple cider is a must for any fall or Halloween gathering, so I wanted to put together a whole station for it. We displayed cute mugs and cups on a ghost arch wall I created. I also had both hot and cold cider available in dispensers with add ons like fresh apples, cute + festive straws, and cinnamon sticks!

• Desserts

  We also had an adorable cake, cookies, and rice krispies by Daisy Cakes! I also grabbed some classic Halloween sugar cookies from our favorite local bakery, Mondelli’s.

• Party Favors

  Abbie B Designs made our adorable custom treat totes for each carnival guest!

• Activities / Games

  Every carnival needs games! I decided on easy, age appropriate games and put my own Halloween twist on them! - Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe - Witches Hat Ring Toss - Pumpkin Put Put Golf - Bobbing For Apples - Tin Can Toss - Boo-loon Pop - Spider Web Bean Bag Toss - Donut On A String - Pumpkin Painting Station

• ABBIE B DESIGNS

  Party Favors

  Abbie B Designs made our adorable custom treat totes for each carnival guest!

• DAISY CAKES

  Cake designer

  Daisy Cakes made the most delicious pumpkin spice cake that was perfectly decorated and adorable! She also made some fun ghost rice krispy treats!

• ALPHA-LIT LEXINGTON

  Decorations

  Alpha Lit is always my go-to for any event! These light up letters add such a fun touch to any party and are a perfect focal point or photo booth centerpiece!

• LUMI ACCENTS

  Graphic Designer

  They create my “Welcome” sign that tied in with the invites, and the carnival game signs.

• Magical Inflatables

  Entertainment

  JW loves bounce houses so I knew I had to hunt down the perfect all-WHITE bounce house that we could deck out with all the cute Halloween balloons! Magical Inflatables has several sizes and options available and this castle bounce house was the perfect size and shape for our event.

• COTTON & CONE

  Cotton Candy

  No carnival is complete without cotton candy! Cotton + Cone is a local cotton candy cart that offers custom set ups for events! They even customized the decor and flavors to match our event perfectly! They were definitely one of the highlights of the event for everyone- especially JW!

• ELEVATED BALLOONS AND DESIGN CO.

  Decorations

  This event was taken to the next level through all the amazing balloon installations throughout courtesy of Amanda with Elevated Balloons + Design Co! She created several different installations customized to my requests and color schemes exactly! She also added lots of special add-ons to each like vinyl, special balloons, honeycombs, extra decor, and more! I could not have put this event together without all of her help throughout. Definitely contact her for any and all of your event planning needs (she does full event planning and floral design, not just balloons!)