How do I prepare and use Halloween matching cards?

What is in the Halloween pair list?

The printable list has 26 partner pairs in four groups: characters, a haunted house, snacks, and things outside at night. In each pair, the two cards belong together but are not identical. Witch and broom is one pair, vampire and cape is another, and hot cocoa and marshmallows is a third.

The page prints a list of pairs, not illustrated cards that are ready to cut out. You can use the picker to choose one pair for a demonstration, or print all 26 entries to keep beside you while you make the cards. Plan time to write or draw on every card yourself.

Keep the printed pair list for yourself, separate from the cards players handle. Print a test page before making all your materials. See how to prepare and use printable party games.

Some pairs need more explaining than others. Most children will see that a spider goes with its web, but an owl and midnight may not be obvious. Go through the pairs with everyone before you shuffle.

The full moon shows up twice: once with the black cat and once with a howl. If you use both pairs, draw a small cat symbol on the fronts of the cat-and-moon cards and a howling symbol on the fronts of the moon-and-howl cards. Keep the backs identical. For a smaller game, you can simply leave one of those pairs out.

The Christmas and Thanksgiving matching card pages have their own partner ideas. Their lists are different from this one, so don't expect the same pairs or printouts.

How to make the cards

You need one card for each half of a pair. A full set of 26 pairs is 52 cards, and a six-pair game needs only 12. The suggested materials are 200 gsm card stock, a ruler, a paper trimmer or scissors, and markers. Before you start, check that your printer can take that card stock.

Write the number of decks, which materials you already have and the remaining jobs, such as cutting and drawing, on one list. See what party supplies to buy, borrow or prepare.

• Print the pair list, or keep the page open while you work.
• Mark out equal squares on the card stock. Use as many sheets as your paper size needs, because the printout is not a fixed two-sheet card layout.
• Cut out the squares and put one partner on each card, for example a witch on one card and a broom on another. Use words, pictures or both, depending on your players.
• Round the corners if you like, then check that every card is the same shape and size.
• Give every card the same back design. Hold each card face down to see whether the picture shows through. A crayon pattern on its own may not hide it.
• Sort the cards into pairs and check that every card has its partner. Then bag one set per table with a note of the grid and a score envelope.

How to play memory with the cards

Choose how many pairs to use based on the youngest player and the space on your table. The grids below are suggested starting points. Use fewer pairs if the group finds the game hard.

• Show the pairs, shuffle, and lay the cards face down. The youngest player goes first.
• On each turn, turn over exactly two cards. Name each card as it is turned over, or have an adult name it.
• If the two cards are partners, the player keeps them and takes another turn.
• If they don't match, let everyone see them, then turn them back over in the same places. The turn passes to the left.
• The game ends when the last pair is found. The player with the most pairs wins.
• If there is a tie, you can share the win. Or use the optional tiebreak: players take turns naming pairs they remember for 30 seconds, then compare totals. Decide which you'll use before the game starts.

Announce how ties will be handled before the first card is turned. If a timed tiebreak would spoil a friendly round, choose a shared win. See how to keep party games from getting too competitive.

Before shuffling, show a quick example: who goes first, what happens with a miss and when a player gets another turn. Keep it short and friendly. See how to share party rules without sounding strict.

Prizes are optional. If you give them, decide before play what a winner receives, how shared wins are handled and who hands prizes out. See our party game prizes page.

How to adapt the game for young children and mixed ages

Face-up matching is a gentle way to start. Spread six familiar character pairs face up, which is 12 cards. Ask a child to find two cards that belong together, such as the witch and the broom, and say their names together. When that feels easy, play with the same six pairs face down in a 3-by-4 grid.

How to play a solo round

A solo round turns the cards into a game you play against your own score. The memory rules stay the same, but instead of collecting pairs to beat other players, you try to finish with fewer flips.

If a child would rather not keep score, a picture search is another solo table activity: they look for items in a Halloween scene at their own pace. You draw the scenes and check their answer pages before the party. For the search itself, plan roughly 10 to 15 minutes per scene to start, then adjust after trying your drawing. See the Halloween picture-search party pack.

How to play with a group or class

One deck works for a table of four to six players. Bag each table's deck separately so cards don't get mixed between tables.

Count everyone who will actually sit down to play, including the birthday child, any siblings and any adults who want to join in. For example, a class of 24 usually already includes the birthday child if that child is in the class. In that case, four decks for four tables of six is enough. Only add people who aren't already counted.

Once you've counted actual players, decide how many tables to run at once so no one waits long, and adjust if attendance changes. See which party games work for your group size.

For a classroom round, you could set a time limit such as eight minutes. If cards are left at the end, count the pairs each player has and offer a rematch. This is only a suggested limit, and not every grid will be finished in that time.

Example: two tables for 12 children

This is an example, not a fixed plan. Say 12 children are coming, including the birthday child. Six of them are aged 3 to 4, and six are aged 5 to 6. You would make two decks.

Table one, for the younger children, uses 6 pairs (12 cards) with pictures. They start face up, then move to a 3-by-4 face-down grid. Table two, for the older children, uses 10 pairs (20 cards) in a 4-by-5 grid. Altogether that is 32 cards, each 6 by 6 centimeters, with identical backs. How many sheets of card stock you need depends on your paper size.

If you'd like to spread out the work, here is one possible timeline. A week before, print the list, choose the pairs for each table and gather your materials. Over the weekend, cut and label the cards, add pictures and check the backs. The night before, check every pair and bag each deck with its grid note and score envelope. Before the guests arrive, set out one demonstration pair, lay the younger table's cards face up, and keep the other deck ready to shuffle.

This timeline ends when guests arrive. On the day, add time for teaching the game and resetting cards between rounds, then check the total against the invitation. See the party-day timeline from arrival to goodbye.

Checklist before you play

• Make sure every card has its partner, and decide whether to leave out one of the two moon pairs or mark them with symbols.
• Check that all the cards are the same size and shape and that no picture shows through the backs.
• Add pictures for any players who can't read yet.
• Write a grid note for each table based on its youngest player.
• Bag one deck per table of four to six players.
• Decide how ties will be settled, or agree to share the win, before you start.
• Show the pairs to everyone before you shuffle.

Sources and further reading

• Halloween matching cards

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