Plan the Perfect Halloween Party
- Renee Miner
- Oct 22, 2016
- 5 min read
Are you planning, or have you thought about planning a Halloween party this year? If so, you have thought about all the ways you can set your party apart from all of the other Halloween parties. The best way to ensure that you throw a great party, no matter the occasion, is to plan ahead. While Halloween is not a major holiday, it is one of the most fun days of the year. Parties held during All Hallows’ Eve are not difficult to plan for or decorate for but it will take some thought if you want all of your guests to remember this years party. While time is running out to get things together, you still have plenty of time and this article will help ensure that you throw an amazing and unforgettable Halloween party.
The first thing to know when throwing any party, especially a Halloween party is that the theme is everything. So, to get started you have to decide on a fun theme. A basic “Halloween” theme is fine, but if you want to take your party to the next level you should narrow it down. Any theme will do, you could opt for Hollywood, old west, or pirates; you could also go for something a little more scary and adult like zombies, horror films, or monsters. Like we stated above, any theme will work, and some of the best parties do not have traditional themes, so get creative and start a list of your best ideas.
Once you have a theme in place, you will need to gather a guest list and send out invitations. Your invitations should be fun and should match the theme of your party. If you are expecting all of your guests to wear a certain kind of outfit to match your theme then you will need to let them know on the invitation. Nothing will make your guests feel more awkward and out of place then if they show up wearing a zombie costume when the theme of the party is old west or sports.
In some situations sending a physical invitation will be the proper action to take, while others situations might call for a more informal invitation. You can buy pre made Halloween invitations, these may or may not accommodate your theme but they will allow you to input all the information about your party. You could also design and create your own invitation. This will make a great first impression on your guests. Nowadays, most invitation are not sent through the mail. While major events like weddings and reunions will call for a physical invitation, a Halloween party does not constitute the same formalities. Keeping this in mind, you can either create an email or social media invitation or even craft a creative invitation to send via text message. If you go with one of these options, you can keep your guests intrigued and up to date in the days leading up to the party. This will be a fun way to engage all of your guests and will get them excited for whats to come.
Having a theme is a great start and sending creative invitation will get guests to your party, but if you want to set the mood for the party, you will need to have the perfect decorations. It is important to stick with your theme and keep everything the same style. Everything does not have to match exactly, but it should be close. You do not want to have Dracula decorations if you are hosting a princess party. Even if you are not supplying all of the food and asking everyone to bring their own drinks, it is still your responsibility as the host to supply plates, cups and napkins. As event designers we suggest the use of high end disposable, your guests will be blown away by the quality and it will leave a great impression on them for years to come. You can also get creative and decorate the cups yourself. Paint them to ensure they go with the rest of your decorations.
Your decorations need to be spread throughout the event space and not congested in one or two areas. If you have a general theme, then you can create different concepts in different areas. For example, if you are having a pirate themed party the bar area can be decorated like an old pub, another area can be decorated as a ship, while another could have chains and skeletons like an old prison. The important thing is to have fun and get creative.
A key aspect to any party no matter what the occasion is the food and beverage. If possible this should play along with the theme. There are a couple of different options when it comes to this aspect. Of course you can make the food yourself, this will take time and even more preparation. If you enjoy cooking and entertaining people then this might be the natural option for you, but if you think it will add to much stress to the party then it might be best to outsource. You can do this by either having each of your guests bring a food item, or you can have your Halloween party professionally catered. It will be difficult to have the food match the theme when doing a potluck style menu, but it will relief stress and will be the cheapest options. To set your event apart from other parties happening on this night, you can have your party catered. Professionals will be able come up with a creative menu that can be fit to match any theme. As the host you will not have to worry about cooking or what might end up at the party in the way of food and beverage. If you wish to have your party catered, it is best to speak with the professionals personally so they know what you are expecting and the price range you would like to stay within. For more food and beverage ideas for your party click here to view our Halloween feature that aired on INsight.
People always worry about how their party will be perceived by guests and how the party will be remembered. Well, with a bit of planning and preparation your Halloween party can be one of those events that will be remembered and talked about for years to come. If you follow the recommendations laid out in this article, then the only problem you will have is coming up with a way to top it next year!
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