Guess what? As per CDC guidelines, parties and festivities are back and most likely a yes for the rest of 2021! (I’m not tearing up, you are). It’s the perfect timing because the spooky season is right around the corner. It’s Halloween, the eve of All Hallows’ Day.
We’re going to let you in on our secrets to throw the best Halloween party there is. Whether your idea of a perfect Halloween is going all out on the decor or simply having a few close friends over for a quiet night, we’ve got something for you. Let’s channel our inner Claire Dunphy from Modern Family – the one true queen of Halloween – to throw the perfect Halloween party.
1. Party invitations
First things first – who’s invited? Will there be kids? Only college students? Is it adults only? To pull off the perfect Halloween party, it’s crucial to know the crowd and the theme.
So design that invitation and set the tone. Here are some examples:
We know – why make actual party invitations when you can just text them a time, date, and location? That’s because invitations are a lot more important than you may think! We don’t believe in mediocre parties, and party invitations let your guests know that you mean serious (party) business.
It’s where you can list down all the essential deets: dress code, address, time and date, if there’s a Best Costume prize, food, music, etc. You get the drill.
Don’t forget to share the invites via social media or whatever messaging apps you use! If you prefer to go old school, print them out and send them by *gasp* mail. Either way, invitations get the excitement going!
2. Keep Your Guests Happy By Stuffing Their Faces (With Food)
One of the best parts about parties is the food! (We’ve all gone to a party solely because there’s free food.) Better yet, Halloween is that one time where the grosser and more unappetizing your food is, the more impressive it is!
Pigs in a blanket, mummified? Severed fingers made from hot dogs? Squid ink pasta with eyeballs? A cake in the shape of a coffin, sprinkled with chocolate crumbs and cocoa powder to create a realistic dirt effect? The options are endless and to die for 😉 Just let your creative juices flow – you’re bound to whip up some killer recipes!
It can even be as simple as bowls of store-bought vampire fang gummies or BeanBoozled jelly beans if you’re short on time. But these aren’t going to keep your guests satiated, so don’t forget the last-minute Halloween hack of ordering in some Halloween-themed pizza.
And if it’s an adult-only party, don’t forget the essentials: drinks!
Witchy potion cocktails? A Bloody Mary? And for the Potterheads, what about some Polyjuice Potion? Chill the drinks by using skull or skeleton-shaped ice cubes. Bone Appetit!
Want to be extra? Add some food-grade dry ice into your drinks for some serious smoke effect!
Tip: Guests will want to keep their glasses full while they’re mingling around, so be sure to make extra batches. Nothing worse than a party running out of drinks (and ice).
3. Decor Ideas
First impressions matter. That goes for the entrance – the first thing your guests see when they pull up to your crib (or wherever you’re having this party). Spend a few extra minutes to start the spook on the outside. It’s also a bonus since it’s so much harder to miss – no more lost guests!
Some decorations that can easily be pulled off are spiders and cobwebs, cheesecloth ghosts, and a ton of jack-o’-lanterns. Place them at every corner, and have a variety of them. Angry, silly, smiling, melting, evil-faced jack-o’-lanterns. Most of these props could be found at the dollar store and reused over the years; score!
If you have access to a fog machine or motion sensor decor, great! That will definitely amp up the spooky atmosphere.
Decors such as scarecrows or DIY styrofoam tombstones might take a little more preparation. Use a soldering iron to carve out the details of the tombstone and give it a gray and silver spray paint to make it look realistic. Then prop it up in your front yard.
Now that the entryway is done up, it’s time for the interior.
Our personal favorites are bloodied candles. Light a red candle and drip the wax around the edge of a white candle. Bloody easy.
Another easy classic is the preserved head in a jar. Print out a photo of a head, stick it around the perimeter of a glass jar and fill it up with “preservative” (add some green and red coloring to the water to make it look like formaldehyde). Put the jar in an unsuspecting location like the refrigerator or on a bookshelf!
Of course, the decor highly depends on the crowd of the party. Is it a cutesy, comedic costume party, or a slightly more creepy take with zombies and witches? Plan and decorate accordingly!
Either way, classic decor like Jack-o’-lanterns can never go wrong. And don’t forget, the devil is in the details!
4. Costume Ideas
From pop culture icons to traditional Halloween creatures, there are so many amazing costumes to choose from!
Costumes don’t have to be expensive either. Shop outfits at your local thrift store or at the prank stores. Similarly, you’ll be surprised by what you can put together with the items from your and your friends’ closets. If part of the fun is making the costumes, look up some fun DIY projects!
Nevertheless, here are some classic costume ideas:
Clowns
Bunny rabbit
Vampires
Zombies
Pirates
Ghost
Mummy
Frankenstein
Show off your creative flair and opt for some special effects makeup! Play with face paint, add a sixth eyeball, put on some white contact lenses. For some added comedic value, you can even go as a strip of bacon, a used sanitary pad, or a giant furball. It’s that one night where you can be anything, and we mean ANYTHING.
Struggling to find the right costume? Try matching up with your partner, friends, or family for a group costume! Think the shoulder angels (devil and angel), a bar of soap and a loofah, Beyonce and Jay Z, The Powerpuff Girls, The Addams Family.
P.S. If you want your party to have a theme, let your guests know about it on the invitation!
5. Have some activities
Here’s a fun game: Drink every time you see someone dressed as Harley Quinn or Joker. Kidding!
It might seem that adults don’t like fun games, but the last thing you want is for your Halloween party to turn stale and boring. Especially if you have booze and guests are letting loose, games could be a fang-tastic way to lift some spirits up!
Some of our personal favorites have to be bobbing for apples! This game needs no explanation, but if you do need a picture for reference, here it is:
Fill a tub of water, add apples, and get bobbin’.
Other favorites include chubby bunny, pumpkin carving contest, murder mystery, beer pong. These are probably games you’re familiar with, but just add some touches of gore to ‘Halloweenify’ it. Catch me on my way to get some pumpkins at the pumpkin patch!
If children are present in the neighborhood, you have to go trick-or-treating. No exceptions.
For the adults who want a nice twist on that – Trick or tequila (I guess it also works with whatever preferred alcohol). All you gotta do is prepare cups of fruit juice, with some of them spiked with alcohol. You won’t know what you get until you drink it.
Let’s get partying, witches & wizards!
Need spooky ghoulish font inspiration for your Halloween party invites? Check out these 5 Halloween Fonts! Want to know how to enhance fall vibes in your photos? Here’s a guide on Foolproof Ways to Enhance Fall Colors!