The Ultimate Halloween Party Guide

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For some, Halloween is all about the costumes and candy, while for others it’s the haunted houses with scary decor. Either way, it is spooky season! And what better way to celebrate than to host your own spook-tacular Halloween party?! This Halloween Party Guide will help you throw an event full of tricks and treats for your guests!

Choose a Theme

First things first, before any other details can be decided upon. . . a theme must be chosen for your holiday soiree! Are you going to be hosting a family event where all ages will be in attendance, or an adults only party? If you’re looking to host a family friendly party, there’s nothing wrong with regular Halloween decor of orange and black with spiders or witches and wizards. Other fun ideas include a Hocus Pocus or Stranger Things themed event! For an adult party there are other themes and options for a spooky time, such as a circus with scary clowns or an abandoned haunted house. The options are endless!

Now that you’ve got a vision for your Halloween Party, it’s time to create your guest list and send out invitations. Whether you’re looking for printed invitations that you can mail out or that your children can give to their friends, there are a lot of great options available. Many Halloween Invitations from Etsy also come with a digital option that can be emailed or shared across social media platforms. Invitations are a great way to build anticipation and excitement for your friends and family about the upcoming Halloween gathering.

Outdoor Decorations

Next up on your party planning checklist should be the outdoor decorations! As your guests arrive, whatever decorations you have in the yard or on the front porch can help set the tone for the event. If you have a decent amount of space in your front yard, there are several great options to consider. Regardless of whether or not your party is geared towards families or adults, this giant spider and web will work for any theme. For those wanting more of a scary vibe, the front yard could become a graveyard instead, with these fake tombstones! If there are trees within the yard or even a covered porch, you can complete the graveyard look with these spooky hanging ghosts.

Another great way to “wow” guests as they arrive is with different forms of outdoor lighting. Who says it has to be Christmas time to put lights up on the house?! There are a wide variety of orange and purple string lights out there that serve as fantastic Halloween decor along banisters, gutters, and posts. Aside from that, if you have any sort of walkway or path, spooky walkway lights are sure to grab everyone’s attention!

Once your guests have made it through the graveyard or the eerily lit pathway, you’ve got one more chance to surprise them before entering the actual party. The entryway decor is one of the most significant decorations for your event. Whether you are following a theme and want to continue to use some of the other outdoor decorations previously mentioned or if you decide to go with an entryway kit full of spook-tacular goodies, don’t skip out on decorating the party entrance!

Indoor Decor

Now for the inside decorations! Obviously if you chose a specific theme, that’s what you’ll really want to incorporate here. Regardless of what theme you chose, there are several “must have” items that not only work for just about any design, but are also super simple to implement! Of all the creepy-crawly things, spiders seem to always remain at the top of the list for Halloween. While it can be a bit messy, cobwebs can be used to accentuate other holiday decor or be used on furniture and windows as a simple addition to any room in the house. Likewise, creepy black drapes help to create an abandoned spooky vibe throughout any area of the party. Lastly, adding a random skeleton by the window, on the couch, near the food, or even waiting in the coat closet (eek!) can really help tie any theme to Halloween!

If you’re looking to step it up a notch with the inside decor, animated decorations and figures are sure to frighten up the party a bit. From mystic cauldrons that light up, to motion censored characters and books that shriek, there’s no shortage of ways to scare your guests. Larger creatures such as werewolves or Freddy Kruger can catch anyone off guard and provide a laugh for those close by. An additional scare feature that is fairly inexpensive, is a fog machine with lights! 

Just picture it: pure surprise as a guest makes their way through a dim, red tinted and smoky hallway only to find a talking, creepy clown waiting for them at the end! It’s terribly wonderful!

Food and Beverages

Now that we’ve covered most of the tricks, it's time to focus on the treats! Every party needs snacks and drinks, but Halloween opens the door to all kinds of creative options. Whether you are wanting to concoct an adult beverage or just something that looks a little spooky, using a cauldron for the event’s signature drink is the way to go! There are plenty of recipes out there, similar to this, that explain how to make your witches brew bubble. It also doesn’t hurt to have some fun holiday koozies on hand, for those who may be afraid of the spooky liquid and prefer to stick to their own canned beverages. 

Once you have your beverages set, it’s time to move on to the food! Generally, snacks are easier for a Halloween gathering rather than a full meal. There are so many different ways to create spooky snacks to fit your theme that range from quite simple, to much more complex. It all depends on how much effort you are willing to put in, but we recommend searching your theme on Pinterest for different recipes. If you are short on time or creativity in the kitchen is not really your thing, catering is always an option! Whether you’re ordering party staples such as wings, or looking for festive sweets such as those from Love Hope Cookies, the options really are endless!

One of the best things about Halloween is that it really is for all ages and can be a fun event for anyone! Regardless of the age range of your guests, everyone loves a take home goodie bag. Whether you want to take the kid friendly route with burlap bags or humorous adult versions, there are plenty of fun fillers that you can get. Obviously, candy should be included, but you could also add anything from little toy trinkets to airplane bottles (for the 21+ attendees, of course!). A custom Halloween card, thanking your guests for attending is a great final touch to include with the goodie bags.

Party Experience

Now that all the decorations, snacks, and beverages can be checked off the list it’s time to focus on the party itself and different ways to make your guests’ experience even more enjoyable! Make your party one to remember by going beyond a contest for the best costume or karaoke, and instead try one of these exciting options! Even for those who are not fond of pictures, it’s an unspoken rule that pictures will be taken throughout the night. Why not make it more enjoyable with a Halloween themed photo booth?!

If there is not a company that provides photo booths in your area or if you don’t have enough space to have one at your event, you can always make your own! There are a lot of different Halloween type backdrops that you could hang in your home as a photo op. The other option, and the one that will stand out the most, is a balloon wall! Regardless of what you choose to do, remember to take a lot of photos so you can relive your spook-tacular event for many years to come. 

Lastly, if there is enough room in your yard, there’s one more way to really make your event stand out compared to any other Halloween gathering out there. A bounce house! Yes, that’s right. . . just hear me out here. Of course this will be a hit for a family friendly party, but I guarantee if adults are given the chance to join in on this kind of fun - they will! Remember, Halloween is the time of year when people can be anything they desire, including a child at heart. 

Once you have a plan in place, all you need to do is gather all your supplies and follow this guide. Your Halloween soiree is sure to be frightfully delightful! Now all that is left to do is choose this year’s costume!