Let's take a look at a planning timeline for your Halloween party, as well as some cool Halloween party ideas.
If your party is geared solely for adults, then activities may not be your primary focus. In many cases, when alcohol is provided as a "social lubricant," nothing more is needed. But if your friends are truly the fun-loving type, then it makes sense to have a few fun activities scattered throughout the evening. You can use these ideas as a launching pad for your own:
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Costume Contest
This is arguably the single best way to encourage folks to dress up in costume for your Halloween gathering. You can let the party hosts choose the winners, have a panel of judges select, or let the party guests vote (hint: using the old "applause meter" is often much easier and less cumbersome than secret ballot). If you're thinking of making your Halloween party an annual event, then it pays to splurge on excellent prizes, to further inspire your guests to get creative with next year's prizes.
Some prize examples may include: bottles of booze, local restaurant gift certificates (-20 is a great amount), Halloween props that could be used for next year's costume, or if your budget is tight, then bragging rights could suffice.
If your party includes children, it's a wise idea to give a small gift or favor to every child who comes in costume, in addition to awarding prizes to the contest winners. A small toy, glow stick, or attractively wrapped popcorn ball would make a great "everybody wins" prize for this purpose.
Other Activities
For parties comprised of mainly adults, you want to keep the activities fun, short and simple, so as not to appear cheesy. You can set up a spooky room, darkened or lit only with black lights, with long threads hanging from the ceiling and appropriate props (ghosts, skeletons, pumpkins, etc.) and let people wander through at their leisure.
You could have folks make a list of scary movies and give a prize to the person who can think of the most. Or, you can simply let the evening's soundtrack provide the activities, by peppering familiar "spooky" songs in with regular party music. For example, try "Time Warp" from Rocky Horror Picture Show, or "Monster Mash" or Michael Jackson's "Thriller." If families will be attending the party, you may want to put together a simple craft table for the kids, or plan a separate activity for all the little ghouls.
Now let's look at a simple timeline to keep you on track for planning your party.
About a Month Beforehand
Set the date, time, and location, and create your invitations. Draw up your guest list and start talking up the party.
About Two Weeks Beforehand
Send out invitations if you haven't already, and be sure to reserve your rental projector. Now is a good time to start gathering material to display during the party.
At this point, you'll also want to finalize your menu for the party, and make your shopping list for groceries, paper products, props, etc. Remember to include materials and prizes for activities and your costume contest, if you choose to incorporate these into your party.
About 1 Week Before the Event
A week or so before the party, you'll want to start working on your "scary room" if you plan to have one, as well as completing your shopping for assorted props and items. Halloween stores tend to empty out within the week before Halloween, as many people are buying early to be able to attend events and parties before Halloween itself.
This is also a great time to send out a reminder to your invitation list (which is something you can set up automatically if you use an email invitation service like evite.com) and to gather the final RSVP's. Begin working on non-perishable props such as scary name cards for menu items, a scary centerpiece and props for the table and the party area, etc. Ensure you've got everything you need for your own costume!
Two Days Beforehand
Complete your grocery shopping, decorate the house, run through a final checklist to ensure you've got everything you need, and prep whatever food or make-ahead dishes you can (trail mix, dry goods, etc.).
The Day Before
Your rental projector will most likely arrive today, so you can set it up and test it out to ensure you're ready for the party tomorrow. Finalize your decorations, and handle whatever food prep you can (marinating meat, preparing desserts, ice down the drinks, cleaning the house, setting up outdoor decorations, finalizing your costume, making sure the cameras are charged or have fresh batteries, etc.) One of the most important things you can do today to prepare for your party is to get a good night's sleep. There will be plenty to do tomorrow, and if you are well-rested and well-organized, you'll breeze right through it and be able to relax and enjoy yourself during the party - which is the way it should be!
The Day of the Event
The only tasks you should have left for today are the ones that cannot be handled any earlier (for example, picking up dry ice for ambiance, mixing the punch, making finger sandwiches, last-minute touches, etc.) Today is about setup and final touches - putting out the food and drinks, lighting the candles, putting on the music, turning on the rental projector, etc.
Now go have some fun!
Planning the Perfect Halloween Party: Part 3 of 3
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