A Spooktacular Halloween Party!
Ghosts, goblins, and witch's brew, Haunted Houses and rats too. Creepy music and spider webs Scary monsters with two heads!
Halloween is my absolute favorite day (and night) of the year! I love the idea of dressing up and being someone totally different from myself on this special occasion. Not to mention loads of candy, popcorn balls, and pumpkin seeds! Whether it's a party for a younster, your teen, or you and your friends, halloween can be the funnest and most talked about party of the year! Even if you don't like dressing up, you can still use these step-by-step directions and your halloween party will be absolutely spooktacular! Halloween Party Invitations
I've seen some really cute halloween party invitations in stores this year. Depending on the style of party and age group of your guests, you may want to check out your local Hallmark or stationery shop if you plan to purchase invitations. If you're interested in personalized invitations, Party411 and InvitationBox.com are worth looking at as well. If you want to make your own halloween party invitations, below you will find some very easy step-by-step directions that let your own personality shine through to the final product!
Cardstock in 2 different colors Halloween themed fabric Spray adhesive Computer and printer Scissors Halloween Confetti
You should be able to find all of these supplies at fabric and craft stores. Walmart might have what you need as well. All of the supplies used for the invitations above came from Jo Ann's Fabrics & Crafts. The finished size for the invitation we're making here is 4 5/8" x 6 3/16" with an A-6 envelope measuring 4 3/4" x 6 1/2" to match. If you want to make your invitations another size, you can refer to our Party Basics page for different sizes of invitations and the envelope sizes that go with them.
Buy enough to cover the front side of each invitation. You may also want to purchase more of this fabric to use as a tablecloth and for party favors that we'll talk about later on.
If you don't shop at craft and fabrics stores often, you'll find the cardstock in the scrapbooking section of most stores. And you'll probably find envelopes in this section also. Cardstock comes in different sizes and you might just find the exact sized paper for your invitations. However, if you don't have a printer that takes smaller paper, buy your second lighter colored cardstock 8 1/2 x 11" in size.
You can also use a medium point marker (I always use a sharpie) to write out your information instead of using your computer.
Halloween Party Decorations The basic halloween party decorations listed here can be used not only for a youngster's party, you can also use them to decorate for a teen or even an adult halloween party. You'll just need to change a few colors and a few decorations. That's all.
Exterior Decorations We'll start with the outside and work our way in. The theme for our halloween party is a "Haunted Hotel". We'll be using lots and lots of spider webs. Use the kind that comes in a plastic package and looks like a bunch of cotton balls. You can find this spider webbing in white as well as other colors. If it's a party for a youngster, I suggest using green or purple spider webbing. Party stores and craft stores carry this kind of spider webbing. * For a teen halloween party or an adult halloween party stick with the traditional white webbing.
It stretches and thins out so don't be afraid of it falling apart.
*If you're using white spider webbing, add some dead leaves to make your spider web look older.
Next, we'll make a sign for the front door announcing your Haunted Hotel. What You'll Need:
You can make it look as friendly or as scary as you'd like. For a youngster's halloween party, I would use large rounded letters. For a teen or adult party, use something more gothic.
Again, if the party is for someone younger, use a bright purple, green or orange paint pen for the writing. Red would be a good color for a teen halloween party. They seem to like lots of blood!
If you're really into halloween like I am, you may have a skeleton or two in your closet. If so, hang a skeleton by the door so your guests can see him as they walk up towards your door.
You can also make a bellhop's cap for him to wear since your guests are entering your hotel.
And of course you can't have a halloween party without pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns! If it's a kid's party, use orange pumpkins. If it's for teens or adults, use white pumpkins which are really popular this year. You don't have to use the real pumpkins either; the artificial ones look very authentic and spooky! Set your pumpkins and jack-o-lantern(s) on your porch and light just before the sun sets. So your entryway will be light enough for your guests, you may want to put an outdoor spot light in your yard and shine towards your entry.
Interior Decorations Now it's time to work on the interior of your hotel! We'll be using more of the spider webbing on the inside, but first we need to concentrate on the tables, walls and the windows.
Muslin or cheesecloth is another good material to use as well. You can even use old netting if you want. I've found netting before at a flea market's army surplus booth.
Anyway, the material doesn't have to cover your table or windows perfectly. We're going for a old rotting tattered effect here. If you don't want to spend the money and already have white sheets you can use, that also works great! If you use sheets for your material, don't put them over the windows but over your furniture instead where guests will sit.
Paint them black or leave them natural, and put them into old large canning jars if you have them or cheap vases spray painted black. And don't forget to add spider webs too! *If it seems too scary for the younger crowd, paint the branches black, the containers orange or purple and add little halloween ornaments to the branches instead. Use this as your centerpiece on your table where the kids will gather.
You can find templates for these online at FamilyFun.com under Create Your Own Decorations if drawing is not one of your stronger suits. Position the cats and pumpkins on the baseboards of your walls and bats towards the ceiling. Use museum putty to attach to your walls. This is what museums use to anchor vases and other art. You should be able to find some at art supply stores or craft stores. Or you may have another way to place them without messing up your walls.
What You'll Need: 1 Cardboard under-the-bed storage box Black spray paint Glue, tape, or stapler 1/2 Yard red or white satin material Scissors Tape measure
*There will be a gap on each side of the bottom piece of your coffin but don't worry; we'll cover the inside of the coffin with satin material.
Use spider webbing to connect the candlesticks to the coffin.
Now that the inside of your party room is decorated, we'll work on the details of your dining table. You have your tablecloth and centerpiece all ready. Put a generous sprinkling of trick-or-treat candy on the table for an added festive touch. (The smaller kids will make and fill treat holders with the candy when they arrive.) In addition to your main dining table, add more of the material you used for your tablecloth and window coverings to a sideboard or another table in the room. You can always use a card table if you need to. This will be the drink table/bar. Many of the discount stores sell plastic cauldrons this time of year and this makes a great ice chest for your drinks. If your drink table is small, put a sturdy chair beside the table and set the ice chest on the chair. Add lots of ice right before your party and put all of your canned drinks (or juice boxes) in the cauldron so people can help themselves. Use another smaller cauldron as an ice bucket and set beside the drinks for older trick-or-treaters who may want ice in their drinks. Use a bright and happy halloween motif for your plates - something that has bright orange, green, or purple on it. Use a solid color for your napkins so you can use any leftover napkins for another party! (I always seem to need paper products for one thing or another, so I do this for most parties where appropriate.) Green or purple carries over for other get togethers well. Set the plates and napkins on this smaller table. If you use the recipes below, you won't even need a fork - just plates and napkins. We're putting the tableware on this small table because the little guests will be doing an activity on the big table when they first arrive. For teens and grown ups, use a solid color plate with matching cups and utensils. I tend to stick with black or red for my adult halloween parties. For all of us big kids, the dining table will be where all of the food will be, so put the plates and napkins at one end and the utensils at the opposite end. And the drinks, cups, and beverage napkins will go on the drink table. We are almost ready to host a spooktacular halloween party. Just one more thing to add... music! Fortify yourself with lots of scary and not so scary halloween music. For the youngest of trick-or-treaters, you don't need any of the sound effects you might otherwise play. For a teen or adult party, start off with the creepy music as everyone is arriving. Once the party gets rolling, switch over to dance music with a haunted halloween theme. There are numerous cd's available which feature nothing but halloween music, creaking doors, ghosts sounds, and haunting screams. This music never fails to get things going!
Halloween Party Activities and Games - Little Goblins This activity is for the smaller ones to work on while all of the party guests are arriving. Have your little goblins sit at the main table as they each come in. They will be making Mummy Treat Holders and filling them with the trick-or-treat candy on the table and the small, cute rat you may have purchased as part of your table decorations. What You'll Need:
Heavy 8 1/2" x 11" white construction paper 2-inch-wide gauze Self-adhesive googly eyes Clear box tape Marker Small candies
*Depending on the age group you are hosting, you may want to cut the circles ahead of time.
Don't worry if it's not even, it's supposed to look like a mummy. You can even twist the guaze as you go to give it more dimension. When you get to the end of the gauze, tuck it up under the rest of the gauze to secure.
After everyone has arrived and is accounted for, your ghosts and goblins will love to play Pass the Present. This is a simple game and kids of all ages love it! Purchase little inexpensive halloween party favors for everyone. Make sure the favors are all different from each other if possible. Before the party, wrap the first favor (doesn't matter which one) in orange, green or purple crepe paper. Then add another favor on top of the first and wrap them both together in more crepe paper. Continue wrapping each favor on top of the other until you form a ball.
Have the kids sit in a circle and give the ball to your little host or hostess and have him unwrap the crepe paper until he sees the first prize. He takes his prize and then passes the rest of the ball to the next child for unwrapping. It goes on and on until everyone has a prize. Have the kids put this prize in their "mummy" along with their other treats. At this point, I would bring the kids back to the table for some halloween treats (recipes are provided below). After they have feasted on the halloween treats, you can play another couple of games. Candy Corn Toss What You'll Need: 3 large plastic pumkins (like the ones we grew up with) Large bag of candy corn
After all pieces have been tossed, have the child who got the most in the pumpkin stand aside. The other 2 get a small consolation prize ( stickers or tattoos come to mind) and can watch the rest of the game.
The one with the most candycorn in the plastic pumpkin wins. What do they win? Candy corn of course! Before the party, fill a plastic container with candy corn and present it to the winner. There lots of cute pumpkin candy containers on the market. You may even be able to find one at a dollar store.
And there's always Pin the Tail on the Cat If you have some time left, you can always play the centuries old game of "Pin the Tail". Take one of the Black Cat Cut Outs you made for a decoration and use as your target. Cut the tail off and put a piece of blue painters tape on the tail. Depending on the size of your cut out, you may want to enlarge it. Reposition the cat on the wall so the children can easily walk into it. One at a time, blindfold each child, turn him around once, and send him towards the cat. Mark each spot the tail lands with a round solid color sticker (sold at office supply stores) and put their initial on it. As a prize for the child who comes the closest to the right spot for a tail, give him one of the other cat cut-outs used on your wall for decoration.
Halloween Party Food and Drinks Party Food for Little Trick-or-Treaters After your little trick-or-treaters have made their "mummy," played Pass the Present, and are sitting at the table, pass out the plates and napkins. Kids love to help with these tasks so let them help you. This will free you up to bring out the halloween party treats. If someone is helping you with the party, have them hand out the juice boxes. Place all of the food in the center of the table and then help serve the ones that need it.
Use your favorite chocolate cake recipe or use a chocolate cake mix to make chocolate cupcakes. After cupcakes have completely cooled, cover the tops with chocolate icing. Add a couple of gummy worms to the top pressing lightly. For the final touch, crumble some Oreos and sprinkle over the worms. Purchase the Oreos with the orange center that grocery stores sell this time of year to add some nice color to your cupcakes! If the kids are a little older and you're looking for something else, try Brain Cupcakes instead.
Instead of using chocolate icing, use a buttercream icing. Add drops of red, yellow, and a tiny bit of green food coloring (you're going for a pinkish grey color here) and mix well. Take a pastry bag with a number 10 round tip (or a ziplock bag with one corner cut out) and starting in the middle, make 2 fat wavy, zig zag lines down each cupcake. Then make 2 more wavy zig zag lines, one on each side of the 2 lines in the middle.
A treat kids love so much they may want to help! What You'll Need: Package of pretzel rods (10 oz) Package of milk chocolate morsels (14 oz) Orange, green, purple sugar crystals Wax paper Spead out wax paper on your counter or a cookie sheet. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl in the microwave. If you use the microwave, watch carefully so it does'nt burn. After the chocolate melts, dip pretzel rods down into the chocolate so it covers about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pretzel. Set pretzels on wax paper leaving space between each pretzel. Let pretzels sit for a couple of minutes until the chocolate starts to harden a little. Roll the pretzels in or sprinkle with sugar crystals. Use a different color on each pretzel, so that you have some of each color. Then mix the crystals together and roll or sprinkle more pretzels. After pretzels harden, put them standing up with the chocolate on the top in a short vase or a halloween container. Now for something a little healthier. This idea comes from the well known Sandra Lee
What You'll Need: Baby carrots Very thick Ranch Dressing Cream cheese Sliced almonds Put ranch dressing in a bowl. Then put a dab of cream cheese on one side of a baby carrot up at the very top. This will act as glue for the witch's fingernail. Then stick an almond sliver on top of the cream cheese so the almond looks like a fingernail. Place bottom of the carrot in the dip with the fingernail part of the carrot sticking up. Continue until your bowl is full of carrots. If you need one more healthy treat to serve, try this simple but yummy recipe from FamilyFun magazine.
What You'll Need: Dried apple rings Dried apricots Raisins Flatten dried apple rings with your palm. Cut one of the dried apricots in half so you have 2 circular pieces. Press one of these apricot pieces with the cut side down onto the middle of your apple piece. Then cut a raisin in half and place the cut side of this piece of fruit onto the middle of your apricot. Very Cute!
Halloween Party Games for Teens and Adults As each guest arrives (and you've taken their coats ect.), lead them to where you've placed a large clear glass container with a top, tied with a black bow, and filled with candy corn or M & M's. Have index cards and pencils available for them to "Guess how many..." Have them put their name and number on their card and hand to you. Later on, when the party starts to break up, announce the name of the person who was closest to guessing the correct number and present them with the container. Now would also be a good time to offer your guest a drink and to walk him over to where you've set up your bar. (We'll talk about drinks and food in a minute). If this is the kind of party where not everyone knows each other, make sure to introduce anyone who is standing near. I have always found it helpful to mention something about each guest so that when I leave to greet someone else, they already have something to talk about. When the party gets underway, here are some great and simple games to play: I'm going to start with my all time favorite halloween game... Mummy Wrap The only thing you need for this game is toilet paper... and the cheaper the better! You'll need a little room to play the game also. Divide guests up into teams of 2 or 3. Give each team 2 rolls of toilet paper. Have one person be the "mummy" and stand still. The others will take a roll of toilet paper, and yeah you guessed it, roll them up like a mummy. They have to use all of both rolls of toilet paper and cover the "mummy" completley to win. They cannot use anything else but the toilet paper provided. First team to create a mummy wins. Give the winners a 4-pack of toilet paper each.
Another nice and simple game is Pass the Pumpkin Divide your guests into 2 or 3 teams depending on the number of guests. Line them up one behind the other alternating boy girl boy girl. Hand the first person in each line a small pumpkin (about the size of an orange). Have them put the pumpkin under their chin. When you say go, have them pass the pumpkin to the person behind them without using their hands and from chin to chin. If someone drops the pumpkin, you can have them start over at the begining or just keep going - it's up to you. The first team to get the pumpkin to the end of the line wins. You can give the winners a small pumpkin like the ones used in the game. *Before the guests arrive, take the prize pumpkins and with a paint brush, paint glue on the pumpkins in either stripes, polka dots, swirls, ect... Then roll the pumpkins in black glitter (found at craft stores) and set aside to dry. This is a relatively inexpensive gift and it really packs a punch! Almost all stores carry glitter glue but I prefer the method above; to me, the results are much prettier.
Name that Tune Do you remember the gameshow back in the 70's, Name that Tune? I loved this show. I don't know why - I couldn't name a thing, but I still like to "Name that Tune" after all these years. If you have a really good halloween cd you're good to go! Or you may really be into music and have a lot different cd's and can make your own halloween cd. If you don't have either, just go to the nearest discount store that carries a lot of halloween supplies and pick one out that has lots of good songs on it like Witchy Woman, Monster Mash, Werewolves of London, Adams Family theme song... you get the idea. If your halloween party is for teens, you may want to let your teenager help you pick out the songs. The idea is to form teams and play just a tiny bit of a song and see if a team can tell you what the song is. If, after a couple of seconds of playing the song, nobody knows the name, play a little more and so on until one team has finally figured it out. Keep score and at the end give the winners a copy of the cd you were using for the game. If you don't have a cd label maker, use a magic marker to write "Halloween, the year, and your name" on the cd.
Halloween Party Food for Teens If you have a teenager like mine, you know the more macabre the atmosphere the better. And this includes the food as well. If you have the room and a willing accomplice, the recipe below will certainly make a hero out of you in the eyes of your teen. Dead Head Vegetables and Dip What You’ll Need: Either an old card table you’re willing to part with or otherwise 2 good card tables Black paper or plastic tablecloth that is long enough to go to the floor Poster board (if you use 2 tables instead of 1) Cardboard Heavy duty tinfoil Dip, various vegetables for dipping, cheese, and crackers
Also, if you use 2 tables, cut your hole in the middle of your poster board and place on top of both tables where the hole sits in the middle of where your accomplice's head will go.
Halloween Chips What You’ll Need: Flour tortillas Olive oil Basting Brush Kosher salt Halloween shaped cookie cutters Parchment paper
Set your oven to broil. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take your tortillas and cut with cookie cutters to make your different shapes. Brush both sides with olive oil and place on cookie sheet. Broil for just a couple of minutes until tortillas start to turn brown. Flip over and broil the other side for a minute or two. Take a couple of your napkins and line a basket. Place chips in the basket and set inside your coffin.
Here’s a recipe from Rachel Ray that will go great with your chips and tastes wonderful! You can prepare a day ahead and refrigerate until baking. Yummy Mummy What You’ll Need: 1 cup ricotta cheese 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese ½ lb mozzarella cheese, diced (if you place cheese in the freezer for a about 20 minutes before dicing, it’s much easier.) 2 Tbls chopped parsley 1 egg yolk, beaten 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp creole seasoning ½ lb thinly sliced prosciutto (about 10 slices) 6 sheets phyllo dough (you can find this in the freezer section of your grocery store) ½ stick butter, melted Black olives (for eyes)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place parchment paper on baking sheet. Mix together cheeses, parsley, egg yolk, garlic, pepper, and creole seasoning. Lay out the prosciutto on a flat surface so the slices overlap slightly. It should be about 12 to 13 inches long. Place cheese mixture in the center of the prosciutto and shape into a mummy (it doesn’t have to be exact at this point) Wrap prosciutto over the mummy to seal the cheese mixture. Work on the mummy’s shape making a head, shoulders, and body that tapers down to the feet. Take a sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Add another sheet right on top of the one you just buttered and butter this one too. Add one more sheet on top of the other 2 but don’t brush with butter. Put your mummy on top of the phyllo you just layered and wrap the phyllo around the mummy. Again, reshape your mummy to form a round head, shoulders, and a body that tapers. Brush mummy with butter. Layer 3 more sheets of phyllo on top of each other like you did above. (Don’t brush the last layer with butter either.) Cut the layered phyllo into strips about ½” wide but don’t move the strips. Lay the mummy in the center of the phyllo and wrap the individual strips across the mummy to resemble bandages. Brush the top with more melted butter. If you’re making this ahead of time, carefully wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Otherwise, bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Place 2 black olives where the eyes should be. Place on a tray or plate and set inside your coffin next to the chips. Also, here is a recipe for a Roasted Pepper Dipping Sauce that can also go with your mummy. Take a 16 to 18 oz jar of roasted red peppers and drain. Place in a food processor with 6 basil leaves and 1 small clove garlic and pulse grind for a couple of minutes. Put puree into a small bowl and place on the other side your mummy.
Now for something a little sweeter! Pecan-Carmel Spiders from Food Network What You’ll Need: 1 ½ cups toasted pecans 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup granulated sugar ½ cup light corn syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into pieces ¼ tsp salt 5 strands thin black licorice, cut into 2-inch pieces. 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chopped 4 oz milk chocolate chopped Chocolate curls (take a square of chocolate and run over a grater Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Lightly spray with a nonstick spray. Place 3 or 4 toasted pecans in a mound on baking sheet. Leave a couple of inches between each mound and continue until you form about 30 pecan clusters. Warm cream in a saucepan over low heat. Meanwhile, in another large, heavy-bottomed saucepan heat sugar and corn syrup on medium heat. Stir occasionally until sugar dissolves then stop stirring and turn stove to medium-high and cook about 7 minutes until the temperature reaches 305 degrees F. Wisk butter and salt into the sugar mixture and gradually add the warmed cream and vanilla. The mixture will start to bubble up. Reduce heat back to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 5 more minutes or until your mixture reaches 240 degrees F. Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 minute. Pour a couple of Tbls of the warm caramel sauce over a pecan cluster. This forms your spider’s body. Then place 6 pieces of licorice into the cluster to form the legs. Continue until all pecans have been covered and legs have been added. Let spiders cool for about 15 minutes. While your spiders are cooling, melt chocolate in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Use 5o% power for about a minute. Stir and then heat again on 5o% until chocolate is completely melted. Spoon chocolate over your spiders (about 1 Tbsp of chocolate each) and sprinkle with chocolate curls.
Halloween Party Favors If you've read from the top to bottom, you already have halloween party favors for the youngsters, and prizes for some of your teens and adults. If you want a small favor for every ghost and goul you've hosted, why not hand out a special trick-or-treat. Before your party, take circles of halloween themed material (the same material you used for your invitations) and wrap up a special treat for your guests as they leave. Cut your material in a circle about 12" in diameter and put some of your trick-or-treat candy in it. Then just tie with a pretty grosgrain ribbon and you're all set! Put all of the bundles in a basket or cauldron by the door and give each guest one as you wish them a happy halloween and see them on their way. This is a great little touch to end a positively perfect evening! We hope you've enjoyed our ideas and have found them useful in planning a most spooktacular Halloween party! And remember, if you enjoy yourself, your guests will too!
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The invitations you see here were made with cardstock, halloween themed fabric, computer, and printer.
