Throw a Howling Halloween Bash Without Crying Over the Expenses

Here are some cost cutting ways you can throw a fabulous and fun Halloween party without crying when your credit card bill comes in the mail.

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1. Evite ghosts, ghouls and goblins. While physical invitations can be darling, they can also be expensive. It's not just the expense of the invitation itself either. You also have to consider postage, which seems to increase at the blink of an eye. There are plenty of online websites that offer free invitations that you can send online. These evites are just as adorable as paper invitations, but you're also saving money on invitations-and the environment at the same time.

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2. Pick a theme. Believe it or not choosing a theme for your party can help you to save money. A specific theme helps you to focus your efforts and spending on items that relate to your theme. A theme can be as complex as modeling your party after the HBO series True Blood or as simple as choosing a color theme of purple and black.

3. Use what you have. You can use common household items or craft supplies you already have and turn them into decorations for your Halloween party.

* Use black construction paper and downloadable free templates from the Internet to create bats, ghosts or other Halloween symbols you can hang from the ceiling or porch or hang on the walls.

* Turn your candy and clear jars into apothecary jars. Use brown food coloring to turn water brown and then fill with plastic rats and items that resemble things you'd find in mad scientist lab. For example, a cabbage can be used to look like a brain or a softened red pepper can be made to look like a heart.

* Candelabras adorned with spider webs make great centerpieces. You can also add melting candles or burning candles to help set the scene.

4. Limit food choices. A great party spread doesn't mean that you have to serve a dozen different foods. One or two drink options and 3-4 food options is usually more than enough to please guests. Typically, you'll have plenty of food and probably still have leftovers without going crazy trying to create the perfect menu.

5. Keep it simple. You don't have to turn your entire home into a haunted house when decorating one room is sufficient. Guests will appreciate your efforts and have as much fun at a simple Halloween party as they will at one that costs you thousands of dollars to create. The point is to have fun and mix and mingle with your friends, not to deplete your bank account.

Halloween can be a fun time of the year to throw a party. You can throw a great event without having to spend a lot of money. Keep it simple, use items you have and only buy what you need. You and your guests will have fun and you won't have to recreate the scream from a horror film when your credit card bill comes due.

Throw a Howling Halloween Bash Without Crying Over the Expenses

Kristie Lorette is a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant specializing in helping small businesses and entrepreneurs. Visit http://www.studiokwriting.com to learn more about Kristie and see samples of her work. Kristie also produces The Inky Dot, a weekly e-newsletters that includes writing and marketing tips for businesses. Subscribe to The Inky Dot at http://www.studiokwriting.com

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Planning the Perfect Halloween Party: Part 3 of 3

Let's take a look at a planning timeline for your Halloween party, as well as some cool Halloween party ideas.

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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

Need an LCD projector rental for your Halloween party or next social get-together? Renting a projector is as easy as 1-2-3 at http://Projector123.com Discover the fast, easy, affordable, hassle-free way to procure a professional grade rental projector today.

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Halloween Birthday Invitations - Two Parties in One!

There's an old saying that a person who was born on Halloween can see and talk to spirits. There was also a belief that people who were born on Halloween are creepy and rather odd. But in this modern technological age, we know better. People born on this special date can be very normal, and rather sweet! Sweet enough to deserve cleverly-designed Halloween birthday invitations, certainly.

For someone who's celebrating his or her birthday on or near this favorite holiday, Halloween birthday parties are pretty much a given. You can celebrate more than one occasion with just one party! Besides the savings you could make by rolling two gatherings into one, you could make the celebrant feel more special if you acknowledge the holiday that coincides with his or her birthday, as well. Making Halloween birthday invitations would be a great way to express your appreciation for this special day.

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It may be hard to find ready-made Halloween-themed birthday invitations in bookstores and stationery shops. Halloween is generally not thought of as a "happy" occasion, after all - most of the motifs used for this holiday are associated with doom and gloom. Even the colors are not so festive! Halloween-themed decor is typically done in red, orange and/or black. Not a typical color combination to find on anything related to birthdays!

So instead of going from one end of the shop to the other trying to find a design that brings the best of both worlds together, as it were, why not make your own design? Combine familiar motifs and color combos in order to come up with witty, eye-catching invitation covers. An old-fashioned Dracula-type vampire wearing a party cap, for example, is sure to be a scream. You can also have a smiling witch riding on a broomstick, ready to deliver a birthday cake! Or a few lines of cartoon bats with their wings spread out, spelling out "You're Invited!" on their bellies. A cutaway orange pumpkin lit up by birthday candles would be another good design idea.

Birthday invitations sent out on or near Halloween need not be drab. Some people choose to make out their Halloween party invitations in black or red paper, and this may work for a birthday party invitation as well. If the person you're going to throw the party for is inclined toward gothic themes, you should have no problem with sticking with dark or scary colors - but if the birthday celebrant happens to be the cheerful sort, your Halloween birthday invitations could have some glitter on them, or colorful paper, even if you're using dark-colored cards.

Halloween Birthday Invitations - Two Parties in One!

Find loads of birthday invitation information and advice, articles and Halloween birthday invitations at your #1 Birthday invitation resource: http://www.birthday-invite.com

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It's Halloween Party Time!

Are you thinking about having a Halloween party this year? Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday in the US. Christmas is the first and second is October 31st. And why not, with all the costumes, decorations and spooky fun ideas you can use, it is easy to plan a spooky celebration for your kids or your friends. I love to drive around during the month of October to see all the fun decorating ideas people use. It is fun to come up with unique Halloween decorations year after year, and it is also fun to check out everyone else. I think the costumes get better each year too, don't you?

Don't worry about how to plan a Halloween party, it is easy. You can find free guide books to help you plan every detail. Right from choosing the theme and the party invites to what spooky food ideas are easy to make. You will also get to choose from several scary games, well, they are funny, scary games. Take all the stress out of your holiday party planning. Do you know what that means? It means you are going to have as much fun as your party guests!

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How Do I Plan a Halloween Party

How easy is it to say, A B C? That's how easy planning your Halloween celebration is going to be. You just need to figure out the basics of planning a party. So...how many people do you want to invite to your get together? Where will you have it and how many guests will fit there comfortably?

Now, for the theme of the party. Halloween is perfect for a costume party, a fortune telling party or a horror movie marathon. Or you can just ask everyone over for a game night.

Party Invitations

You can make or buy your party invites. To make your own fold a piece of black paper in half and cut it. Then fold each half. Put some Halloween stickers on them, glue in a piece of light orange paper with your party details on it and you've just made some party invites. Or buy some you like, perhaps they will match your party supplies and then fill in all the pertinent information. Send them out...make sure you put down an RSVP number. This way your guests can call and you will have a pretty firm guest count. That will help you to prepare the right amount of food. You can also use an online invitation site like Evite and send out e-invitations.

Decorating Ideas

Next, it's time to plan your Halloween decorations. This is the really fun part of party planning. I go online and window shop at all of the party supply catalog sites. It is easy to pick the theme I like, the costume I want to wear and even get some fun and easy party decorating tips. I can also find lots of Halloween supplies on sale in the clearance sections of these sites. Pick out your favorite, it might be a pumpkin or a witch or a bloody scary looking design. You will find plates, cups, napkins and even some decorations to match. Pick out what you need.

Spooky, Fun Food Ideas

With your party supplies on the way it is time to plan a menu for your celebration. Will you decide upon movie food or are you going to set up a scary buffet table. You can find lots of gory and gross Halloween party food ideas. Ideas like Deviled Eggs that look like eyeballs or a cake that has a graveyard scene on it. There are even molds you can use to make jello that looks like a severed hand or a brain. Add some raisins to your ice cube trays and it will look like there are bugs in the drinks. Yep, gross, but funny on Halloween.

Wear Some Costumes

Are you planning a dress up costume party? Get some fun little prizes to hand out to your guests who come in disguise. Use categories like best costume, the most funny costume, a really big costume or the smallest costume. Plan on having music and call your party a Monster Mash. Play some Horror Movie Trivia and give out bloodied popcorn as a prize. That is popcorn with melted butter that has some red food coloring in it. Vampires are always a fun theme for a Halloween party. The Twilight Saga, The Vampire Diaries and True Blood are all fun party themes to use if you like the bloodsucker theme. You can also go goth and dress up in dark Victorian vampire costumes. What ever theme you decide to go with, you are going to love hosting a Halloween party. They are just frightfully fun for everyone.

It's Halloween Party Time!

Ms. Party Ideas is Jillian Gallo and she writes about fun party stuff! Find everything you need to plan, decorate and host a Halloween party, the costumes, the recipes and the fun party activities. We have a free Halloween party planning guide and you can find everything you need for celebration at Halloween party supplies page It's almost October so it is time to begin with your planning. Have a frightfully fun filled holiday!

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How to Plan the Perfect Halloween Party: Part 1 of 3

Planning a Halloween party for family, friends or neighbors (or all of the above)? You'll love our perfect party planning guide for the most spooktacular event around!

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Step 1: Choose the date (and choose wisely!)

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Seems like an obvious first step, right? But you would be amazed at how many Halloween parties have flopped because they weren't careful in choosing the party date. Here are some simple tips to keep you on track and ensure the best possible turnout:

1. If you're planning an adults-only soiree, but you're inviting couples who have children, don't host your party on Halloween night. Parents of young children won't want to miss out on Halloween family fun and even if they did, it would be nearly impossible to get a sitter.

2. Avoid weeknights, no matter what night All Hallow's Eve falls on this year. It's better to have your party a full week early (if, for example Halloween falls on a Friday night) rather than the weeknight or two beforehand. Even families without school-age children have obligations such as work, and won't be able to party well into the night.

3. Don't be a Johnny-come-lately. Nearly everyone feels foolish dressing up AFTER Halloween has passed, so resist the urge to have your party the day (or week) after Halloween night.

Step 2: Set the time

The next most important decision after the date is the time itself. Here are a few pointers.

1. Start early in the evening if children are welcome. This allows families to enjoy the party together, without fussy kids (at least, until the sugar crash kicks in).

2. Consider what time it gets dark where you live. It's much more fun to go to a Halloween party in the dark, rather than while it's still daylight.

3. Think about duration. If you're fine with guests lingering until the wee hours, then you can leave the ending time open-ended. However, if you prefer to get your beauty sleep, you may want to put an ending time on the invitations. Four hours is plenty for a Halloween party - anything longer would be considered more of an open house (which may be ideal for parties held on Halloween night itself) and in that case, expect people to come and go as their evening allows.

Step 3: Invitations and Guest List

Now that you've got your date set, it's time to hammer out an invitation list. You might want to include neighbors, friends, family members, co-workers, associates, etc. If children are welcome, be sure to let your kids invite their friends and send out invitations about two weeks ahead of time.

Here is some information to be sure to include on your invitation (besides date, time, and location of course):

- whether or not costumes are welcome (or required)

- if you want people to bring a dish or beverage to share, or if it's BYOB

- what (if any) activities are planned (costume contest, haunted yard or room, etc.)

- whether little "ghouls" and boys are welcome, or whether it's adults-only (this not only lets people know whether or not to get a sitter, but also gives an indication of what kinds of costumes are appropriate).

Mailing invitations (especially for an informal gathering such as a Halloween party) really isn't necessary - if you have email addresses, why not use a free service like evite.com? You can create an online invitation, send it out to your entire guest list, and then track who's read the message, who's coming, how many guests they're bringing, and what (if anything) they're bringing to the party to share.

If you're mainly inviting neighbors, why not hand-deliver invitations if you don't have their email addresses? Invitations can be as simple as typing all the information in a spooky font, and printing it on orange paper. Just keep it clean, simple, thorough, and attractive, and you're sure to make a great impression.

How to Plan the Perfect Halloween Party: Part 1 of 3

Need an LCD projector rental for your Halloween party or next social gathering? Renting a projector is as easy as 1-2-3 at http://Projector123.com. Discover the fast, easy, affordable, hassle-free way to procure a professional grade rental projector today.

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Celebrating Halloween - Tips and Tricks for a Fun and not so Scary Event!

Halloween isn't just for kids anymore. In fact it seems that more and more adults - young and old - and especially singles, are celebrating this holiday. It's a great opportunity to meet new friends and a possible date while disguised! So for a truly awesome, no not gruesome, Halloween get-together, follow the tips and tricks here.

Set the mood! Yes, you do need to decorate for the season. And like most other major holidays, a tree is in order, only this one is more twiggy, and black in appearance, and bedecked and festooned with spider webs, (yes, you can used the left over Christmas angel hair), ghostly goblins, pumpkin ornaments, and howling witches. There is a large assortment of Halloween ornaments readily available and you can always make your own. Just check in with Pier 1 Imports, Bed Bath and Beyond, Linen's and Things, Seasonal Concepts, and even your local Hallmark Store. Beyond the Halloween Tree, you'll want to consider adding some festive lights (ghosts and pumpkins are most popular) to an outside railing or surrounding the door, you can even run these up a stair rail inside and around windows. You aren't going for elegant, this is Halloween.

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Okay, so you've got the tree planned, the lights ready, now add a Halloween wreath to the door or better yet, a favorite skeleton that glows in the dark to really add some spook. Certainly strategically placed webs with large black spiders are effective, and it isn't complete without jack o lanterns lining the walkway and greeting visitors at the door. Make it interactive, and ask everyone to bring a carved pumpkin, you can supply the candles. It is a great ice breaker, and you can always come up with a prize for the scariest, most creative, most recognizeable, biggest and more.

Of course, you will need invitations, and in this high tech age, it's a lot more fun and unusual to get an invite by snail mail with a follow up by email, rather than just another evite. Why not include a set of pumpkin seeds and roasting instructions. You can either provide the food, or do it pot luck style, but make it easy and ask for specific types of dishes.

Not interested in sponsoring a pumpkin carving contest? How about a mask decorating soiree and you provide the goodies and masks to decorate with (order in bulk from an online party source.) You could even include a cape decorating festivity, ordering a dozen or more from a local party supply store. You could ask guests to bring a Halloween ornament for the tree. It's important to make this interactive and a good way to mingle. Be sure to award favors and prizes liberally, so everyone goes home a winner.

© 2005 Melissa Galt

Celebrating Halloween - Tips and Tricks for a Fun and not so Scary Event!

Melissa Galt, Lifestyle Designer, Speaker, & Author, is the owner of Melissa Galt, Inc., a full service interior design firm based in Atlanta. She has been decorating clients’ homes all over the Southeast for more than a decade, making their interior visions come true. She speaks to audiences nationally , on how to use design as the catalyst for “creating the life you’ve always dreamed of”. Melissa is the creator of Design Destinations, a free monthly guide to designing your signature life. To sign up for her FREE monthly newsletter, visit http://www.melissagalt.com/.

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