It’s now spooky season, which means one thing: we have Halloween parties to look forward to!
If you’re looking to host your own Halloween party, there are plenty of things you can do to make sure it’s memorable and suitably scary.
Here, we’ve put together a guide to hosting the ultimate Halloween party in your home.
Create a theme for your decorations
One of the most fun parts of a Halloween party is decorating your home with skulls, spider webs, bats, pumpkin bunting, skeletons, ghosts…the list is endless. And while we love a mish-mash of Halloween embellishments, sticking to a theme will give your party a polished and professional look that wouldn’t go amiss on the big screen.
For a classic Halloween party, go heavy on pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns, cobwebs, ghosts and bats. You can also pepper in some black cat cut-outs or ornaments, A few witch statues or hanging skeletons will give off an old-school Halloween party vibe. You could also go for an afterlife vibe, with skeletons, ghosts, and zombie motifs throughout your home. We’ve even seen people throw Halloween parties based on their favourite films – whether it’s a magical Harry Potter party or a scary It-themed ‘do.
Extend the party outdoors
Is it really spooky season if you don’t venture outdoors and feel the chill as you look up at the moon? Extending your decorations and party into your garden is essential. What’s more, you can give your guests some good old-fashioned jump scares with motion-activated decorations that will cackle or shout “boo!” at them as they come in and outside.
We know British weather can be unpredictable, so to encourage your guests to go outside and enjoy the haunting atmosphere, make sure you’ve prepared for all eventualities. If you don’t have a canopy, hang up some windproof umbrellas to create a covered outdoor area. Bonus points if they’re in Halloween-y colours like orange, black, or purple.
Create themed food and drinks
Whether you’re having a crazy dance party or a sit-down affair, Halloween-themed food and drinks are essential for any spooky party. If you don’t have the time to cook a Halloween menu, there are plenty of pre-made items you could get, including eyeball-wrapped chocolate, fairy buns with Halloween-themed rings, or pre-baked biscuits shaped like bats and cats.
If you want to bake some treats yourself, the options are endless. You could make little ghosts out of marshmallows or meringues, a chocolate slime tart, severed toes made from sausages and pastry, cake pops shaped like classic Halloween creatures, monster pizza bites and so much more. Don’t forget about the punch too – make a huge batch and serve in a cauldron!
Organise some scares
They may not be for the faint-hearted, but a few scares here and there are quintessential to a successfully spooky Halloween. You could do this in a number of ways, from changing outfits and giving your guests a fright, to enlisting your fellow party guests, or even professional scarers!
Peppering in some scary sounds into your Halloween-themed playlist is also a great way to get in a few more scares, as well as those motion-sensor witches and ghosts that you’ll pop around your home and in your garden.
Play some Halloween games – with a twist
Games are a great way to add an extra element of fun to your party. Many Halloween parties will get a Ouija board involved, and that’s a classic All Hallow’s Eve activity. If that’s not really your thing, why not try a grown-up trick or treat? You could hide treats (think chocolate, boiled sweets, and maybe even some mini bottles of spirit) and a few tricks (like jelly, hard-boiled eggs, or spaghetti) around your home and get your guests to hunt for them. The person who finds the most treats wins!
You could also use your “trick” items in other ways – get your guests to sit down with their eyes closed and pass around your strange-feeling delights. Tell them they’re handling brains, eyes, and guts – it’s gruesome in the most fun way!
Halloween is one of our favourite times of the year. Not only do we get to indulge in our favourite films and guilty-pleasure playlists, but it’s one of the best party events of the year. By incorporating all of this into your upcoming Halloween party, your guests will have the fright…we mean night of their lives.
