Fall has officially hit Lewisville, which excited us for all things Halloween. The days are getting shorter, the smell of apples and spice fills the air, and we’re ready for some seriously spooky celebrations. If you’re hosting an in-person Halloween party this year, we have some family-friendly ideas to make your event this season’s hit.
Coordinate Your Family’s Costumes
Photo by Taylor Foss on Unsplash
Catch the attention of your guests with a family costume theme. You can even dress up little ones and the dog for added hilarity and fun. Start brainstorming ideas early. You could dress up as characters from a favorite family movie or something else your family enjoys. Get the whole family brainstorming, and don’t forget that inanimate objects can make fun costumes too. Here are some family costume ideas to try:
- “Jurassic Park” paleontologists and their baby dinosaur.
- Superhero family.
- Pirates.
- Wizard of Oz characters.
- Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and ghosts.
- Felonious Gru, Lucy Wilde, and their minions.
Play an Outdoor Film
A projector is an excellent addition to a Halloween party. If you don’t have a projector, affordable offerings are often available online. Set one up in the backyard and play a spooky film on the garage door or on a large white sheet. Be sure to offer lots of comfortable seating for both parents and kids. This is a great way to keep little ones entertained. You can also have spooky snacks and popcorn for kids to eat while watching. Here are some family-friendly Halloween movie ideas to consider:
- “Halloweentown.”
- “Monster House.”
- “Hocus Pocus.”
- “Casper.”
- “Muppets Haunted Mansion.”
- “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
- “Gremlins.”
- “Ghostbusters.”
- “Coco.”
- “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of The Were-Rabbit.”
Get Spooky With Your Food Offerings
Having lots of on-theme snacks for your guests can add delightful decor and memorable fun to your party. You can use dry ice to create a foggy effect that’s perfect for punch and other drinks. Remember to use gloves or tongs when handling dry ice because it can burn skin. Put the dry ice in the bottom of a cauldron or other container, then put your punch bowl or alternative offering on top of the bowl and watch the spooky mist envelop your drink. Here are some other fun Halloween snacks you can put out for your party:
- Use sour cream to create a spider web over your nacho spread.
- Make deviled egg eyeballs by making the egg whites bloodshot with sriracha and an olive for the iris.
- Create a snack mix with candy corn, popcorn, pretzels, and marshmallows.
- Arrange your cupcakes in the shape of a scarecrow and use frosting to color it in.
- Dip pretzel sticks in white chocolate and draw ghost faces on them.
- Wrap mini franks in a pie crust bandage and use almond slices to make them look like severed toes.
Create a Halloween Playlist
Music adds a fun atmosphere to your party and can significantly impact its mood. Before your guests arrive, make a fun playlist of your favorite spooky songs. Ensure the playlist contains some classic non-Halloween themed songs to help it flow. Here are some great party favorite Halloween tunes:
- “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett.
- “Spooky Scary Skeletons” by Andrew Gold.
- “I Put a Spell on You” by Annie Lennox.
- “Spooky” by Dusty Springfield.
- The “Ghostbusters” theme song by Ray Parker Jr.
- “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult.
- “Witchy Woman” by the Eagles.
- “Black Magic Woman” by Fleetwood Mac.
- “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder.
- “I’m Your Boogie Man” by KC & The Sunshine Band.
Make a Halloween Feel Box
Another fun idea for kids and adults alike is a Halloween feel box. To make the game, take an old cardboard box and cut a circle out of one side large enough for you to put your hand through. Then fill bowls with foods or items that have unique textures. Players put their hands through the hole to play the game and try to guess what’s on the other side. Peeled grapes can seem like eyeballs, and cooked spaghetti can feel like worms when you can’t see what you’re feeling. Here are some other feel box ideas:
- Grape stem spider legs.
- Canned corn teeth.
- Canned tomato hearts.
- Jell-O zombie brains.
Hand Out Individual “Potions”
Another fun game for kids or guests to play is a potion game, where you fill different vials and bottles with “potions.” Craft stores often sell fun glass jars. You can reuse old glass spice containers or empty alcohol bottles from plane rides. Fill the glass jars with fun-colored potions. For this, you can just use juices, dyed water, or pickle juice for a foul-tasting potion. For each potion, have a corresponding label, tag, or piece of paper that reveals what the potion does to each of your guests. Get creative and have fun.
Here are some examples:
- A tongue-tie potion that makes the drinker speak in gibberish for 10 minutes.
- An animal transformation potion that causes you to make a specific animal noise after everything you say.
- A wobbly body potion makes you lose your bones, so your arms and legs are wavy, like Jell-O.
- A love potion that makes you hug people.
- A forgetfulness potion causes you to repeat the same phrase repeatedly.
Create Paper Invitations
While social media can be an excellent tool for telling others about your party and sharing information, paper invitations give you an outlet for creativity. They’re also easier to hang on a fridge and remember. You can often find creative invitation templates online, or you can create your own if you have the time.
With these ideas, you’re sure to have a fun event your guests will remember for years. Do you have a fantastic Halloween party idea we didn’t list here? We’d love to hear it. Give us a call or send us a message so we can add you to the list. We hope you enjoy this spooky fall season’s festivities with your family safely and in full Halloween spirit.