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There are few holidays or celebrations that create more excitement for youngsters than Halloween. For many adults, the sheer joy of dressing up and celebrating October 31 is something they never outgrow. This is why Halloween parties are a great thing for ghosts and ghouls both young and old.
The most important thing to remember if you are hosting an adult Halloween party where alcohol will be served is to make sure you have a designated driver system in place. An easy way to do this is to have a fishbowl by the door and have each guest drop their keys in it as they walk in. Once your guests have arrived, take the fishbowl up and don't bring it out again until your guests are starting to leave. Make sure you are the one handing out the keys at the end of the night. This way, you are sure to have contact with them before they head out the door at the end of the evening. If you feel a guest is too impaired to drive, make sure you find a safe alternative to get them home.
Costume parties are something you never outgrow. Adults and children will all get into the spirit of a Halloween costume party. You might try having a theme, like the Wizard of Oz or pirates or vampires. This is a great way to test everyone's creativity. Sure you will have several guests who show up in store bought costumes, but many guests will create one-of-a-kind costumes that fit your theme.
For children, it is best to not impose a theme. Many children know what they want to be for Halloween months before and will be crushed if they can't come as a witch or their favorite Superhero.
When preparing food for a Halloween party, don't forget that nearly any food can become festive with a little food color. Cookies and cakes can be turned blood red, or Halloween orange with just a few drops. Children love to get candy, even though parents often end up throwing half of it away.
Turn food into an activity by having unfrosted cupcakes for each child. Set up a decorating table and let each child decorate their own cupcake. You can have plastic spiders and other small Halloween items for the children to use.
For adults, set up a table with lots of Halloween decorations and several types of finger food. A tray with carrots and black olives fits the color scheme. You can also use food color to get blood red punch or orange cookies, and almost any dish can be decorated by placing black plastic spiders in it.
Halloween is one of the easiest and cheapest celebrations for decorating. Use cheesecloth, both easy to find and inexpensive, to create spider webs all over your house. Once the cheesecloth is hung, place more black plastic spiders on it for effect. Almost anyone can cut black bats out of construction paper and tape them up around the house. Use red sequins for eyes to create a creepy effect. Many hobby stores now sell skeleton and pumpkins shaped lights that you can use for Halloween. Don't forget your pumpkin which can be either carved or painted.
The key to a happy Halloween is safety. For adults, just make sure that as the host, you do not allow anyone who has had too much to drink get behind the wheel. For children, hosting a Halloween party offers a safe alternative to the many risks of trick-or-treating.
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