The Ultimate Halloween Party

The Ultimate Halloween Party checklist.
**Created by Katie Paige Moore**

Being a party host is a huge job, and you don’t want to be the one that throws a party filled with cheesy Halloween decorations, “Thriller” on repeat, and fluorescent lighting. So, how can you elevate your Halloween party to make everyone compliment you all night and talk about your party for the next month (or year)? This isn’t your boyfriend’s frat basement, this is your Halloween party that will make people forget about the Halloween Fraternity Lots. Let’s plan it together!

To learn more about planning the perfect party, I wanted to do my research first. Not to be biased, but my good friend Isabella Gonsales plans one hell of a house party. Here’s a Q&A with her to get us started on our party planning:

What are three things your guests should look forward to at this year’s Halloween party?

“First upon entering, my guests will see all the decor that me and my roommates have put up. This includes orange and purple string light along the living room and kitchen, a DIY spider web in the corner of the living room, and a black backdrop with caution tape and bloody handprints. Secondly, we will provide punch in blood bags we bought on amazon to really up the party and give a fun vessel for our guests to get punch. Lastly, our party will also be in our backyard where we will have fun games like corn hole and such to keep our guests entertained in our indoor/outdoor party.”

Where do you shop for decorations, and what do you buy to elevate a smaller space?

“We mainly bought our decorations at party city, the dollar tree, and amazon. To elevate our space, we bought many little Halloween related trinkets to put on our shelves such as skeletons, spider webs, and caution tape.”

What is your plan to make sure your guests have fun?

“We are going to ensure our musical playlist is fit for the occasion and provide Halloween candy in case our guests have a sweet tooth. We also will provide catered chick-fil-a to ensure no one goes hungry!”
If you could teach someone how to host a memorable Halloween Party, what steps would you give them?

“If I were to give advice to anyone throwing a Halloween party, my tips would be to ensure all of your guests have rides to and from your party, ensure EVERYONE comes in costume, and lastly make sure everyone is comfortable with the environment your party is at whether that's someone’s house or public space.”

Start off with a Pinterest board. Whenever I have a new project, I save, screenshot, and pin everything I see that could work for my event. We broke it down into categories to make it simple.

Lighting:

For a Halloween party, lighting is important. Turn off all your lights, and create some mood lighting with this affordable party light. I have one of these, and it takes up the whole room.

Costumes:

Make sure to let everyone know they are expected to wear a costume. This might be obvious, but some people are more clueless than you think. The party host should have the best costume, so make sure you wear something you feel confident and comfortable in.

Decorations:

This is the hardest part. You know your space better than anyone, so make sure when you’re buying things you can clearly envision them, or else it might not work out how you think. Establish a color scheme. Here’s one we came up with:

Food & Drinks:

The way to go is always a Chick-Fil-A tray. They’re inexpensive, delicious, and a crowd favorite. Since it’s Halloween, get a bag of assorted candy and make it look elevated with a tray. If you want to go the extra mile, add a fall themed charcuterie board like this one:

Spice up your drinks and make “ghost” themed drinks. Dip the rim in black sugar for extra flavor and decoration. You can even get plastic cups and draw ghosts on the front. Try this inexpensive pina colada from Target:

There you have it! Parties bring people together, give everyone an excuse to dress up, and allow your creativity to shine through your party planning skills. We wish you a spooky and sexy Halloween!

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