Summer’s gone, and with it, the long, hot days full of possibility and potential. We’re already mourning its departure.
Fortunately, Spook Season, more commonly known as Halloween, is somehow just around the corner. The seasons have changed at the drop of a hat, and we are mere weeks from one of the defining holidays of the autumn months. Naturally, you will want to throw a party to celebrate, because, well, any excuse, hey?
But how should you go about planning your own Halloween shindig? Here’s our guide to hosting the ultimate spooky Halloween party.
Pick A Theme
No Halloween party is complete without a suitably spooky theme. While you could easily type the words ‘fancy dress’ on your invite card and hope for the best, where’s the fun in that? It’s a low-effort, low-stakes call to arms that many may simply choose to ignore. Instead, there are so many excellent ways you can get creative and refine your Halloween party plan.
For example, you could set the theme as ‘Dead Celebrities’, inviting your guests to come up with innovative ways to dress as spooked-up versions of beloved, long-gone household names. Think of the late greats, from silver screen sirens to rock ‘n’ roll icons, all with a ghoulish twist. To add an extra layer of authenticity to their costumes, why not suggest the use of patches for cosplay? A well-chosen patch can transform a simple outfit into an elaborate costume, adding depth and detail that will set your guests’ ensembles apart from the usual Halloween fare. Imagine a sequined glove with a zombie twist for a ‘Thriller’-era Michael Jackson, or a patch emblazoned with a lightning bolt for a David Bowie look that’s come back from the dead.
Alternatively, why not have everyone dress head-to-toe in black? When the lights are down low, it can be a super scary experience to bump into guests around every corner. The simplicity of the colour scheme means that the devil is in the detail. When the lights are down low, it can be a super scary experience to bump into guests around every corner.
Check out a few more alternative fancy dress themes for Halloween here!
A Prop Bar
For those spoilsports who simply ignore the theme, turning up sans-costume and as their standard selves, firstly, get those ‘’what a scary costume!’’ jokes out the way. Then, point them in the direction of the prop bar you’ve so helpfully set up.
Some guests of course won’t commit to a costume, so set up a table full of props so that they can get into the Halloween spirit in an impromptu and, admittedly, half-arsed way. Stock it with facepaints, scary masks, and a few handheld props like broomsticks, wands and wings.
Invest in some instant or polaroid cameras, too, and leave them around the house for guests to capture their most terrifying poses. Add a photo booth to the mix and you’ve reached event-based nirvana!
A House Of Games
Your party could be livened up with some brilliant Halloween-y games – or even a dastardly trick or two, to keep your guests alive and lively. Bobbing for apples is quintessential Halloween fare, as is any game involving spaghetti and food colouring – whether digging for treasure or simply creeping out an unaware guest.
You could also devise some simple spooky takes on popular party games. The horse racing game, for instance, is a luck-based drinking game played with a set of cards that could be easily spookified with a themed set or some distinctive props.
Refreshments
One of the most important aspects of any event is keeping your guests well fed and watered. You can provide all of the raucous Halloween entertainment you could dream of, but without refreshments both solid and liquid, things just aren’t going to kick off.
Halloween, Trick or Treat and the rest, is a very sweet-focused affair, so you’d be a fool not to offer your guests an array of sugary snacks alongside some savoury bites. It’s the latter where your creative skills can really come into their own – think pumpkin vomit guacamole served with tortilla chips, octopus cocktails and Frankfurter fingers.
From tarantula eggs with venom dip to poisonous meringue mushrooms, check out our article on 9 IDEAL recipes for your Halloween party for more inspiration!
A Spooky Playlist
They did the mash, they did the monster mash – and now it’s your turn to do the monster mash, too! Music is nothing short of essential for any kind of party, and especially so for your themed Halloween bash.
A playlist of Halloween bangers and esoteric creepy music can go a long way to setting the mood; you could even set up a Bluetooth speaker in secret to play scary sounds in quieter parts of your home and venue, to send chills down the spines of your more intrepid guests.
All-Out Décor
To cement the vibe of your party, you should not be afraid to go all-out on the decorations. Even with a tight budget, you can achieve a lot more than simple supermarket Halloween decorations. Creating your own cobwebs is so simple, and some crafty replacements of lighting with programmable LEDs can allow you to nail the vibe on a room-by-room basis!
And with that, can we expect our invite in the post?