How do I throw a great Halloween party?
Halloween is one of the most fun times to mix fantasy and fun! Throwing a Halloween Party involves the same basics that most parties involve. The questions to ask are who, what, where, when, why and how.
1. "Who": Target audience: Choose the age group(s) to be hosted and write a list of the people you would like to invite. Send invitations via mail or email or informally call them.
2. "What" is answered simply as "Halloween Party" in this instance.
Decorations: To keep this inexpensive, before buying anything, ask your friends and neighbors to borrow their props. You may want to dye old sheets black if you’d like to make a haunted house maze. (Note: if you are devising a maze, take all safety precautions to avoid a liability against your home owner’s insurance.) Use graph paper to draw where props & "actors" will go.
Activities: Two fun involvement activities that will save on your nerves: 1. Ask all those invited to come early to help set up the maze. It will bring back memories for those who helped decorate the gym for Prom! It’s also an excellent ice breaker in situations where you are bringing many friends together that may not know each other! You may play the part as a manager who outlines where and how things should be, but be flexible enough to allow your friends to implement their own ideas if they are safe. 2. Ask all the attendees to take turns in the acting. This is another opportunity for an ice breaker!
Games: Do not overwhelm yourself or your guests. Even children like some "down-time" to freely play or talk to the other guests. Instead of "must-do’s", use games and activities as tools to break the ice or when it seems the guests are bored or when the children appear to be needing some guidance because they are becoming unruly in their free play.
Food: Finger foods work wonderfully. To make sure everyone enjoys the snacks, cover all four food groups to increase your chances. Another great ice breaker and stress reducer is to ask your friends to bring an item to contribute to the food table.
Beverages: Have several choices remembering that some people are on special diets. Water, caffeinated, caffeine free, diet caffeinated, diet de-caf, juices are just a few choices to consider.
Costumes: If you require everyone joins with a costume, have a few options and costume make-up on standby just in case.
Music: Music creates the atmosphere, but it cannot be the center of attention. Keep it low enough for people to have a conversation. Be flexible enough to crank it up for a couple of songs to get everyone dancing or moving. Have your play list ready, yet allow your guests to put in their requests also. As a host, watch the body language of the guests. If they are falling asleep and conversation isn’t going so well, pick the tempo up (you don’t necessarily have to turn up the volume). If they are having nice conversations and seem like they’d like to relax, bring the tempo down a step.
2. "Where": Location: Choose to have the party at your home, someone else’s home, a park, or a borrowed/rented room.
3. "When": Pick a date & time-frame that works for you. While you may ask around to see when your friends are free, you will not be able to find a time that works for everyone.
4. "How": Parties are meant to draw people together to enjoy each other and to create memories. The ideal host is able to be flexible & relaxed. Be the host & mix. Introduce as many people as possible and give them tidbits they may want to discuss. If you need a minute to yourself, go to the bedroom or to the bathroom to shut out the noise for less than 10 minutes and breathe. Remember you are trying to create wonderful memories for yourself as well. The party may not go exactly as planned, but sometimes, that’s the part that everyone still has a laugh over — and that’s the point!
Happy Howling
