Halloween party planning

Halloween has to be my favorite holiday. Each year we hold a party, for adults, and I think my husband and I have almost as fun preparing for the party as we do hosting it.

Lets start with decorating. The basement of my home is where the guests enter, since it is a rather dark area I made luminaries. I just saved any tin cans for about a month ahead of the party, I washed them well, drilled holes in them with our drill press and spray painted them black. I purchased some inexpensive votive candles, put them inside the cans. I lit them as it started to get dark. This really set the creepy mood since it was still fairly dark, but the walkway was lined with the luminaries well enough for the guests to see the entrance to the party. I am also sure to have my pumpkins carved and lit for the night.

I also change my outdoor light bulb to a black light. These can be purchased in novelty stores, or many department stores around Halloween time. Also look for the miniature Christmas type lights, they are now selling them for Halloween in purple and orange. These will look neat hanging just about anywhere, but we hang ours from the ceiling. We also add more black lights inside either in ceiling lights or lamps. Another interesting lighting idea is to purchase flicker bulbs, these light bulbs resemble a candle flickering. While they can be purchased for regular lamps, I get the bulbs for my electric candles. And are much safer than regular candles, especially with flowing costumes and people moving around.

We really have a tendency to go a bit overboard with purchased spider webs. These are rather inexpensive and can add a lot of atmosphere to a party. They come in a package and merely need to be stretched and hooked to create a huge spider web. These can also be separated into many smaller webs. Included in the package are plastic spiders that can be simply snagged in the web or hung by strings from the web.

Inviting “ghosts” to your party will add to the atmosphere. Simply blow up balloons, cover with sheets and hang from the ceiling using a fishing line. The ghosts will sway in any breeze the comes into the room. You will have to poke a small hole in the sheet in order to tie the fishing line to the knot on the balloon, so you may want to use old sheets for this idea. You can also give your ghosts scarey faces by using a black magic marker or paint to outline the face.

Now that you have a start on your decorating, don’t forget the music. There are many spooky sounding tapes and cd’s available. While some play ghostly music, there are also recordings with scarey sounds such as squeaking doors, rattling chains and ghostly laughs. You can also make your own tapes and just keep the repeat button set on your player. I generally try to put a speaker outside or in an opened window to make sure the sounds greet the guests as they arrive.

No party is complete without food and drink, here are a few suggestions on some garnishes to use for your Halloween party. I always make some type of punch for my guests. Instead of using regular ice in this punch, I make hands to float in my punch bowl. You will need to purchase rubber gloves for this, the type that doctors and nurses use. Be sure not to purchase the gloves with powder inside. Just take your gloves and fill with water, using a twist tie, close the glove. You will need to sit these upright in the freezer so the water does not run out. Let freeze and remove the glove before placing in your punch bowl. I will generally make these about a week ahead of time to make sure they are completely frozen solid. These hands look rather spooky floating in a punch bowl. You could also add food coloring to the water before pouring into the gloves, this will make colored ice "hands".

We also love making hot mulled wine or cider. This is very simple to do by placing the beverage of your choice in a crock pot and adding mulling spices such as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, allspice and lemon slices. Allow this to simmer on high for about 1 hour. Turn to low and keep warm, of course this will be more appreciated on a chilly evening.

I also get a purchased full head mask and stuff it with newspaper to place on my table. It looks best on a plate with greens around it. Or you can even place it in the center of a large veggie plate. Have you ever heard the term, “having your head on a platter”? Rubber rats can also be placed around on various spots of your food table for decoration. Use your imagination and the items you have available to you for decorating. My kids have several rubber snakes, that when placed in strategic locations can give your guests a little start.

Now that you have set the mood for your party, what can you do? Besides eat, drink and be merry. Well now for entertainment. Of course you will need to do the typical judging of costumes, get some silly door prizes or gifts to give your guests. I would recommend any small Halloween type item for this, I know I can never have enough Halloween decorations.

There is also the traditional apple bobbing contests which can be hilarious to participate in as well as watch. But have you ever played the key game in full costume?

To play this game, you will need two keys as well as a very long heavy string. About 30 feet in length or longer. Tie the string to the end of your key. You now divide your guests up into two teams and have them line up in boy, girl, boy, girl fashion. The object of the game in to string your two teams together. The first person in line will take the key and starting at the neck of the second person’s costume will have to pass the key down to the bottom of that person’s clothing. The second person in line will now have to pass the key starting at the bottom of the third person’s costume and thread the key and the string up through the third person’s costume. This will continue with the key and string being threaded up and down through costumes until the last person in line has been reached. The last person will then go to the first person to hook them into the line. You will have to judge by the amount of people participating how long the string will need to be, making sure that the string is long enough to thread the entire team together. I would allow ten feet per person. This game can be very humorous, particularly with unusual costumes.

Another fun game is to Pass the Apple. Again divide your guests into two teams, and again you will need to have them line up boy, girl. Give the first person an apple, instructing them to hold it between their chin and chest. This person will now have to pass the apple to the next person in line, using no hands. And so on down the line. Until the last person is reached, then the last person will have to pass the apple back to the first person in line. This can be particularly funny if the apple falls to the floor and your guests have to pick it back up using no hands.

As long as there is no drinking at your party, Scavenger Hunts can be an enormous amount of fun. Or be sure to assign a designated driver to each team. Make up a list of items that will not be too difficult to find. Divide your guests into teams that will easily fit in one vehicle and let them go try to find all of the items on their lists. Be sure to give them an allotted amount of time in which to find these items, say ½ hour to an hour. The team that comes back to the party with the most listed items will win.

I hope this article will give you some suggestions on holding a Halloween Party of your own. I know that we have a lot of fun at our parties, and guests return year after year to see what I have come up with next.