Now that it’s October, you know what that means. It’s time to grab your favourite Starbucks hot drink, bundle up in fall clothes and meander from class to class in the crisp fall air as you try to cram midterms thrown your way. If you are at all like me, the thought of Halloween approaching is my sole motivation to keep going. As I anticipate the fun and spooky holiday season during various moments of procrastination, Halloween parties come to mind. The past few years I have been hosting Halloween parties and events at my house; however, if you are at all like I was when I first started planning Halloween events, you may not know where to begin. So here are some tips and tricks to get you started on your brainstorming and party planning process.
1. Decorations
For Halloween you don’t even need to spend that much on decorations, all you need is some simple DIYs! Here are some cute ideas that you can try at your party this year.
Ghostly Lanterns
Just draw spooky and quirky faces on clean, empty milk jugs then fill them up with white holiday lights. It’s as simple as that!
Hanging Bats and Ghosts
These cute bat and ghost decorations are easy to make. Cut, paint, and glue on googly eyes on an egg carton and you have a hanging bat! To make a ghost just paint a leaf white and add googley eyes. You might not even have to leave your house to make these guys.
Spooky Party Cups
If you can find some black party cups and googly eyes, these spooky Halloween party cups can add a little fun to your party. They are also great for when beer pong tournaments start!
2. Have a playlist
Making a playlist with a mix of both Halloween theme and popular music will pump up the atmosphere. Whether you make it yourself, or you get one of your best friends to create one, music is a key element to parties.
3. Fruit, Veggies, and Snacks
Provide some healthy food as well as junk food at your party so people don’t feel sick from only eating munchies and pizza all evening.
4. Entertainment
Some of my favourite things to bring out at my parties are my karaoke machine, a deck of cards, a movie for people to watch, and even a beer pong table. That way the activities facilitate conversation and everybody can have a good time without you having to entertain a big group of people all on your own for several hours.
5. End the party at a certain time
From my experience and from the experiences of other friends who have hosted parties, it can get a bit rough later on into the evening. People get tired and it can become harder to clean up the mess if everyone doesn’t leave until 4 am. You don’t wanna be a party pooper, but if you do have a time frame in mind it’s going to help you out in the long run.
Happy Halloween and I hope that your party is spooktacular!