Halloween is fast approaching and with it comes pumpkins, poltergeists and parties, so I am here to tell you how to throw the best Halloween party your campus has ever seen.
There’s generally two routes you can go down for your Halloween gathering:
- Cheesy Creepy Classic
or
- Gothic Gory Glam
Whether you want to go A) cheap (perfect for us students) when it comes to your Halloween décor resulting in an OTT cheesy display of crime scene tape and skeletons or B) would prefer to go low key for a more sinister feel this post should give you the tips to pull off a party to ‘die’ for.
TIP 1 THEME
Choose your theme wisely, this is what your party will revolve around, whether you want to go for a creepy haunted house feel or a chilled out regular ‘Halloween is just a reason to have a party’ vibe then choose it and stick to it. Decide before hand if your party is going to be a fancy dress affair, nobody likes being told the day before that they need a costume. You do not want a Cady Heron moment if nobody turns up in costume but you or on the other hand you might end up with a house full of cats and zombies (cat’s because it’s the easiest thing for us gurls to be last minute and zombies because uni life blessed us all with the look of a ‘Walking Dead’ extra after week one).
TIP 2 DÉCOR
Décor is directly linked to your theme (tip 1) so as soon as you know that you can get on the free bus to town and start purchasing the whole of pound lands Halloween aisle. Go all out with décor, we all know uni accommodation is so bland and beige… so going all out with your decorations is really going to spruce the place up!
Always think about your lighting, it needs to be dark and mysterious to give your campus house a creepy feel but your guests still need to be able to see each other (and more importantly find the food).
TIP 3 THEMED FOOD
If you’re anything like me food is probably the only reason you go to a party or any social event really so making you’re food amazing is imperative to keeping your guests happy and not hangry.
Pinterest is always going to be the holy grail of cute food ideas so by all means look on there if you’re thinking of getting creative with your party snacks but let’s be honest we’re all students here so a more realistic way is buying £1 pumpkin shaped cupcakes from the supermarket and Instagramming them as if you did make them.
TIP 4 MUSIC
These days everybody thinks they’re a DJ so music is very important to make your party a success. We all know those snobs that stand in a corner complaining that they’re too cool and indie for the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ but you have to keep everyone happy. Now, I know it is Halloween and everyone expects the Time Warp and Off With Your Head to feature in the DJ set but, after a while it becomes increasingly difficult to preform MJ’s Thriller dance routine with ‘poison punch’ in one hand and a pumpkin cupcake in the other so mix it up with regular tunes as well.
TIP 5 ICE BREAKERS
Sometimes holding your first ever gathering at university can be daunting because your house mates end up inviting their friends and their friends invite their friends and your party becomes a room of groups of people too scared to mingle with one another, therefore, classic Halloween party games can act as the perfect ice breakers to get everybody talking.
A quick example which is always fun and everybody and anybody knows how to play, so no need to be shutting off the music and turning on the lights whilst you explain the rules, is the traditional game of Apple Bobbing. A child hood favorite and it gets everyone giggling and chatting.