1. To Costume or Not to Costume
When throwing a Halloween party, your biggest decision will probably be if you should have guests come in costume or show up in their everyday clothes. This is entirely up to you, depending upon which you think your friends will be more comfortable with, but of course, a Halloween party gets into the spirit of the season when all invitees are in full masquerade.
If you decide to go the costumed route, consider doing a theme for your own get-up. For instance, grab your spouse, significant other, best friend, or mom and plan a costume extravaganza. Like you could be Frankenstein’s bride to your hubby’s Frankenstein or you and your best friend could dress up as the devil and an angel.
Or if you really want to be imaginative (and have your guests get their creativity working hard) plan a black and white party. Party goers can dress in all white or all black or a combination of the colors. You might have partiers dressed as cows or in white with polka dots and you may have some guests who aren’t in a costume at all, but are dressed to fit with the theme. And the best part is that the outfits will go perfect with your darkened, shadow-filled Halloween party.
See Our Costume Store Reviews Here
2. Dark-Themed Decorations
No Halloween party would be complete without the right decorations to add doom and gloom for such an event. You can buy decorations at a store or make your own or do a little bit of both. Grab a large rectangular-shaped box and cut the top off of it. Now, paint it black or dark gray and you’ve got a great coffin decoration –you can also hide in it to scare your guests if you want!
Purchase dark-colored bulbs to put in your lamps and you’ve got your Halloween lighting in place. Place spider webs complete with rubber spiders draped off of your ceilings and your friends will be brushing up against creepiness all night long.
Of course, add decorations of orange and black to your party room to bring the entire Halloween experience together.
3. It Was a Dark and Foggy Light
Add lots of atmosphere to your party with something really creepy and fun like a fog machine. With the proper lighting in your home or the hall where you are hosting the party, a fog machine will create dramatic effects like the spooky cemetery next to your local church. Expect your guests to look extra mysterious when they are walking through the foggy graveyard, er downstairs family room.
While your fog machine is whooshing away, add lots of candles – think pillar candles in all sizes – to further lighten the mood without the use of lamps and electric lights. Not only will candles give you a more old-fashioned, shimmering look to your party but the shadows they cast on the walls will further play tricks on the eyes of guests.
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4. Frightening Flicks
If you are having the Halloween party at your home, you might want to contribute to the mood of the evening with a continuous running of scary movies on your DVD player. You don’t even need to keep the sound turned up on the TV, but if you have an array of creepy flicks to play during the evening of the party, your guests might enjoy taking a breather for a minute or two in front of the tube.
Not sure what to add to your Halloween movie collection for just such an occasion. You can start out with typical monster classics like Halloween, Psycho, the Shining, the Amityville Horror, and the Exorcist followed up with more recent additions like Se7en and the Blair Witch Project.
See Our Halloween Movie Reviews Here
5. Your Scary Soundtrack for the Evening
Hoping that your guests cut a rug at your October 31 gathering? Well, give them music they can use! You can create your own CD of tunes for fun and laughter and dancing with lots of creepy songs available off of the Internet. Of if you would rather, you can simply buy a CD with Halloween party songs on it.
If making your own is your type of thing, here are some suggestions for tracks to add to your party hardy CD:
- Witchy Woman by the Eagles
- Black Magic Woman by Santana
- Thriller by Michael Jackson
- The Monster Mash
- Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
- The theme music from Halloween
- Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.
- Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
Better yet, use your new spooky music CD for a karaoke game for your guests. Let them choose their favorite spine-chilling track and then go for it with a microphone and all! The best singer at your party should be awarded a special prize.
As a party favor, you can burn CDs for all of your guests and give them out as the party winds down. Your guests will surely get to relive the fun of your party when they play their new CDs.
6. Adult-Friendly Party Games
You have a houseful of adults together for a night of good times and fun, so let’s get this party started! You don’t have to play silly games like Twister, but you can be creative with what you want your guests to do for entertainment.
You can divide your crowd into teams of three and play the Mummy Game. Each team declares one person the mummy and the other two members have to wrap up the mummy. Hand out a few rolls of toilet paper to each team and give the crowd three or four minutes to wrap their mummy. Whichever team has the best wrapped mummy wins a prize.
Another idea for a game is to have enough pumpkins per the number of people at your party. Let each person choose an orange gourd and then you provide them with carving tools (standard sharp knives are fine or jack o’lantern carving knives can be bought at a Halloween-themed store). Set a timer and allow your guests 10 minutes to carve their best work.
7. Food for Fright
You can’t host a party without offering your guests sustenance. But what’s a Halloween party without a little bit of guts and gore? Make everything from your drinks to your desserts perfect for the holiday with food coloring, plastic spiders, or a combination of spooky additions. Here are a few ideas:
- Serve an orange juice and soda-based punch (spiked or virgin) in a big punch bowl. Add bright red ice cubes (made with food coloring) to the punch along with a large rubber hand or plastic eyeballs for cool effects.
- At your dessert table, offer pumpkin bread or pumpkin muffins decorated with candy corn.
- Turn your basic yellow or white cake mix bright red with a few drops of red food coloring and watch your guests gasp when the cake is cut!
See Our Pumpkin Recipes Here
It’s All about the Fun
When hosting your party, remember to keep the mood light and fun. If you are enjoying yourself, your guests will, too.
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