Halloween Party Planning Tips and Inspirations

When you’re a kid, you count down the days until you can put on your costume and race from house to house collecting as much candy as you possibly can. It seems like a feast is sitting in your plastic pumpkin or pillow case. Life can’t get any better (at least until Christmas). When you’re an adult, Halloween is really just an excuse to act like a jackass and drink a lot of alcohol.

The one thing adults and kids alike both look forward to when Halloween rolls around every year are the parties. Obviously for different reasons, but that’s beside the point.

Planning any kind of party can be difficult and tedious, but trying to plan a Halloween party has got to be one of the more stressful events. It’s different from a Christmas or holiday party, where everyone expects some fancy dinner, rolls, an array of cookies and candy canes, and small gifts. Here are some tips, ideas and inspiring images to get your brain in gear for a frightfully fun time.

Guest List and Choosing a Party Theme

First, are you throwing a party for teenagers? Adults? Kids? A mixture of all three? Figure out your guest list before deciding on a theme for your party. Depending on the guest list, what you want to do (beyond a typical costume party with candy, punch, and a lot of junk food) may change. Use the following themes just as a way to get the creativity flowing. The possibilities are endless.

Great Kids Halloween Party Themes:

–          Charlie Brown Halloween Party (remember The Great Pumpkin?)
–          Haunted House Party (this can all be accomplished by visiting a local party store, and it won’t be too scary for little kids)
–          Monster party (they’ll do the mash… the monster mash!)

Great Adults / Teen Halloween Party Themes:

–          Murder mystery (in reality it can be fun for all ages, but there’s mature rated ones for adults)
–          Zombie parties (teens and adults alike have a growing infatuation with zombies, so pretend it’s the zombie apocalypse!)
–          Horror Movie Night (just scare the crap out of one another with the bloodiest, scariest, nastiest movies you can find)
–          Rocky Horror Picture Show (a classic for adults)

Alright. Now you’ve got some inspiration for a theme for your party (remember, a theme isn’t necessary, it’s just fun to do for Halloween), now you need to come up with the party details.

–          When?
–          Where?
–          Time?
–          RSVP
–          Directions
–          Come in costume or not?
–          BYOB? (adult parties only, guys!)

Sometimes, those simple tidbits can get overlooked when you’re bogged down with planning the party and getting decorations and food taken care of – so make sure you address all of them!

Halloween Party Invitations

Now you’ve got all of the details for where and when ironed out. Now you need some Halloween invitations. You can opt to be a real stick in the mud and just email people, text them, or tell them when you see them in the grocery store – or you can live a little and actually get creative with your invitations.

You’ve got choices ranging from traditional paper stock invitations to going all out and sending a jar of candy corn with a hidden scroll inside with all the details. Draw inspiration from the following:

Remember, Halloween parties are a time to get real creative and think outside of the box. Anything goes, really. If you want to send an invitation in the shape of an eyeball – do it. If you want to send an invitation with a cute ghost wearing a tutu – do it.

Probably the toughest part of planning any party, Halloween especially is what to serve in terms of food and refreshments. In basic terms, you’ve got two options when it comes to Halloween parties.

1.) Serve simple snacks like Cheetos, Chips, Pretzels and soda in red plastic cups.

2.) Go all out and serve Halloween inspired foods.

The choice is yours obviously. It depends on the types of guests you invited and how much time you have allotted to actually planning food and refreshments. Let’s pretend you’ve been planning for months and you really want to go all out on the food and refreshments.  See if any of these treats are visually appealing and if so head to the sources for the full recipes.

Food and Refreshment Ideas for Adults

Food and Refreshment Ideas for Kids

Remember, Halloween (like every other holiday) only comes once a year – so make the most of it. If you’re planning something for your kids and their friends, make it memorable and a party they won’t soon forget. If you’re planning an adult party, please be safe and responsible.

Sources
http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/best-halloween-snacks-793734/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicaandjo/4003887552/
http://www.peanutandmagoos.com/servlet/Browse
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/scary-good-halloween-snacks/pictures/index.html
http://www.divinedinnerparty.com/halloween-party-appetizers.html