🕷️ What is a Halloween party?

A Halloween Party is thrown either on or close to Halloween on the 31^st of October. 

The party can be held at home or in a rented space. 

A Halloween Party almost always involves dressing up in a fancy dress costume. Popular costumes include witches, skeletons, and black cats. 

Guests will usually opt for scary costumes with dramatic makeup. Halloween fancy dress does not have to be scary, and any costume that you or your child desires will be enough to get into the Halloween spirit. 

The host sometimes prepares games, and spooky-themed drinks and nibbles (think cranberry juice renamed as ‘Vampire Blood punch’ and cupcakes with spider decals on them). 

📋 How to plan a Halloween party for all ages

If you’re planning a Halloween party with a whole mix of ages on the guest list, from children, teenagers and adults, then an evening party with scarier décor makes a bigger impact for a spooky atmosphere.

Planning a Halloween party for Primary School aged children? A daytime party with fun decorations will be a hit. 

After deciding on the guest list and venue, you should send out invitations as soon as possible to maximize RSVPs.

This is also a good time to consider age appropriate food and drinks -plus any allergies or dietary requirements.

You can decide whether to serve alcohol or not, and whether you should go all out in the kitchen, with stuffed orange bell peppers carved like Jack-o-Lanterns! Or perhaps your guests have a simpler palette and would appreciate more Halloween treats like gummy worms and chocolate eyeballs. 

🔮 Home Halloween party ideas for all ages

What do people do at Halloween parties? Eat, drink and be spooky! At Halloween parties, guests usually delight in each other’s costumes, eat snacks, play games (if any are planned), dance and have fun. 

Traditional games include apple bobbing, wrapping the mummy (using toilet paper to see who can wrap a human the fastest), costume competition, ‘pin the stem on the pumpkin’ or a novelty piñata stuffed with sweets.

If you wanted to add a little bit of sophistication to the festivities to entertain the adults, some hosts hire magicians, Tarot Card readers or palm readers to mystify guests. 

🌕 How do you make a Halloween party fun for all ages?

The fancy dress element always makes a Halloween Party feel more fun because it injects some extra silliness for both children and adults. 

With the right people, the party will be fun for all ages as guests enjoy the novelty of wearing Fancy Dress with friends and family.

🎃 What are some good Halloween theme ideas for a party?

For the majority of Halloween parties, the theme is Halloween! That lends itself to just about anything spooky, creepy, scary and ghoulish. Think decorative cobwebs, smoking cauldrons, fake spiders and bats. 

However, if you wanted to put your own twist on this classic Halloween Party idea then you could write on the invitation that the Halloween Party is 90s Horror Film themed, Murder Mystery themed or Harry Potter themed for example.

A good theme idea for very young children is a Not-So-Scary Halloween party, perhaps themed around Disney Villains for instance. 

Keep in mind that some people may opt for costumes including masks and makeup that could be frightening for small children, so if the party includes people of all ages, make sure the adults know that they should keep the ages of all guests in mind when picking their costume.

🧙‍♀️ Halloween party set up

• In the weeks beforehand, take the time to get inspiration from online sources such as Pinterest for decorations, food, drink and activities. You can even get your children involved in some crafts for party decorations.

• Throughout October, gather supplies slowly, whether that’s ordering paper plates and bunting online, or visiting the High Street shops for light-up Pumpkins before they sell out.

• Try to prepare as much food as you can the day before the party if it will stay fresh, to avoid having to do extra work on the day.

• Prep a party music playlist in advance. You can find hours of spooky music for free on YouTube or Spotify to pan through the party and really set the atmosphere! 

• If you are having the party at home, do not forget to block off any areas of the house that you would prefer guests not to wander. For example, you can make a spooky barricade at the bottom of the stairs to avoid guests walking upstairs while looking for a restroom.

A Halloween party does not need to be expensive to be original, and just requires some prior planning and a few great tips, tricks and one or two Halloween party gimmicks to be a success!