A kids' Halloween party is easy to picture and surprisingly easy to over-plan. A simpler party is often easier to run: sort the guest details early, keep the food straightforward, and let a couple of games do most of the work. This checklist works back from the day, starting a week out, so the last 24 hours are calm.

The quick answer

• A week out: guest list, invitations, and a note of any food needs
• Three days out: shop for food and decorations, and check the costume plan
• The day before: prep food, decorate, and choose the games
• On the day: a simple running order, and a few jobs given to named people

A week out: guests and invitations

Decide who's coming and send invitations early, with the date, time, address, and the finish time, so parents know when to collect. Ask parents to tell you about any allergies or food needs when they reply, and to let you know whether they're staying. Keep a simple note of who's replied. If you're hosting the day before or after Halloween itself, mention it, so parents who are planning trick-or-treating can fit it in.

Three days out: food and decorations

Keep the food simple, easy to eat by hand, and easy to make ahead. Ask about allergies when people RSVP. If a child has a serious allergy, check directly with their parent or carer what is safe for them rather than guessing, and read ingredient and allergen labels carefully. For younger children, prepare round foods like grapes appropriately, and don't serve whole nuts or hard sweets to under-5s, or leave them out of the party altogether.

• Food: a savoury plate, a fruit plate, something filling like mini sandwiches or pizza, and one themed treat like cupcakes
• Drinks: water, and one special drink in a big jug, like apple juice or a fruit punch
• Decorations: pumpkins, paper bats, cobweb-style lights, and a spooky corner for photos
• Costume check: ask guests to wear something they can move in safely, that doesn't trail on the floor or block their vision, and to keep masks off for eating and games

The day before: prep and games

Do everything you can the day before: bake, chop, decorate, and set out serving dishes with sticky notes saying what goes in each. Then choose two or three games. A few tried-and-tested ones: a mummy-wrapping race with toilet paper around the arms and body, keeping the face and neck clear, a costume parade with a small treat for every child, a pumpkin-decorating table with stickers and markers, and a "monster freeze dance" for the youngest.

For safety, keep candles and open flames out of reach, and use battery lights inside pumpkins. Check any costume with a cape, wig or trailing fabric isn't close to a heat source.

On the day: a running order and named jobs

A loose running order stops the party drifting. For a two-hour party, it could look like this: arrivals and a craft table, then a game, then food, then another game, then a costume parade and going-home treats. Give one or two jobs to named people so they don't all fall to the host: someone on the door, someone on food, and someone on photos.

In Petal Home, a household reminder can be assigned to one person, with a due date and time, so the nudge for "collect the cake" or "blow up balloons" reaches their phone, and each plan on the calendar can have a reminder before it, like the day before. With Premium, a countdown shared with the household can hold the party date, a note with the running order, and the party list, so everyone can see how many days are left.