Snow White or Sexy Sailor? Every year, thousands of college girls nationwide must make the critical decision of what they are going to be for Halloween. But just because choosing the perfect costume is tough work, doesn’t mean planning the most epic Halloween party of the year should be. From scary tunes to sweet snacks, Her Campus has got you covered.
Music:
No Halloween party would be complete without the classic “Thriller,” but don’t stop there! Set the mood using this playlist of the best tunes to rock out to—including some oldies, but goodies.
- “Halloween” by Dave Matthews Band
- “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett
- “This is Halloween” by Panic! At the Disco
- “Thriller” by Michael Jackson
- “Hells Bells” by AC/DC
- “Disturbia” by Rihanna
- “Super Freak” by Rick James
- “I Put A Spell On You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
- “I Want Candy” by Aaron Carter
- “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance
Work it, MJ.
Food:
Halloween is the perfect excuse to break out your favorite childhood treats. Anything black or orange goes, so load up on candy corn, black and orange M&Ms, and Reese’s Pieces. Strategically place the candy in bowls around the room, where guests can have easy access. Note: given this season’s flu situation, placing a few bottles of Purrell around too is not a bad idea! If you’re feeling a little creative and have the time, Wiggle Worm Dirt Pudding is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser—and not just for third-graders.
Wiggle Worm Dirt Pudding
Container: 8 plastic cups
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Serving Description: 1 plastic cup
Servings: 8
Ingredients: 1 package Oreo cookies, crushed
2 cups cold milk
1 package chocolate instant pudding mix
1 small container Cool Whip topping, thawed
1 package gummy worms Directions:
- Put cookies into a zipper style bag and close tightly.
- Using a rolling pin, roll and crush the cookies until crumbly. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, pour the milk and chocolate instant pudding mix.
- Whisk well until all of the pudding mix is dissolved.
- Let stand 5 minutes.
- Add the Cool Whip and 1/2 of the crushed cookies.
- Stir until well blended.
- Place a large spoonful of crushed cookies into the bottoms of the plastic cups.
- Add the pudding mixture on top of that until the cups are 3/4 full.
- Add 1 large gummy worm so that it is half in the cup and 1/2 hanging out of the cup.
- Spoon in more crushed cookie around the worm to hold it in place.
- Can top with Cool Whip if desired.
- Serve chilled.
* You can use as many worms in the pudding as desired.
(Recipe from RecipeTips.com)
Drinks:
For the under-21 kids, no worries, we’ve got you covered. Sherbet punch is a delicious, simple brew that takes only minutes to make. Apple cider is also a festive drink to serve, in case you run out of punch.
Sherbet Punch
Ingredients:
3/4 container of orange or pineapple sherbet
1 can frozen orange juice
1 lg. can fruit punch
2 liters 7UP
Directions:
- Pour into punch bowl: orange juice, fruit punch and 7Up (taste to make sure have enough 7Up).
- Spoon in desired amount of sherbet.
(Recipe from Cooks.com) For the 21+ crowd… just add some spirits to these delicious drinks to make them even more festive!
Decorations
- String orange lights around the room or replace light bulbs with orange ones.
- Make an “Enter If You Dare” sign in the shape of a tombstone and hang it on the front door.
- Spread cobwebs over the front door and bunch them into corners of the room to get the “haunted house” look. They’re cheap as well as easy to clean up once the party has ended.
- Use black and orange construction paper to cut out bat and pumpkin decorations and tape them on the walls.
- Visit Activity Village to get templates that you can easily print out.
Games When you’re not breaking a sweat on the dance floor, keep guests entertained with some friendly-competition.
Halloween Trivia Before the party, the host can make up a list of questions and answers concerning Halloween-related movies, people, places and events. The person who answers the most questions gets a king-sized candy bar of their choice. Sample trivia question: At which college campus was The Exorcist filmed at? Answer: Georgetown University
Dance Competition Have guests show off their best “Thriller” impersonations. Up to you whether to attempt this one before or after any drinking…
Costume Contest Get party guests involved by having them vote on the best costumes. Mix up the competition by having categories such as “Most Original” or “Best Group.”
Clearly, Lindsay missed the memo…
Mummy-Wrap One word: toilet paper. Pair guests up into teams of two and have them race the clock to wrap their partner with an entire roll of toilet paper.
Sources: Cooks.com Recipetips.com