How to Throw a Halloween Party

So, you want to throw a Halloween party. Well, whilst we know there may be some petrifying party professionals and hardened horror hosts amongst you, there will undoubtedly be just as many who are novices who have decided 2022 is finally the year where they host the annual gory get-together. 

If that sounds like you, then you’re in the right place, we’ve put together a definitive list of all the essentials that every Halloween party needs. Whether you’ve got an entirely 18 + guestlist, or the kids are getting involved, you’ll find all you need just below.

So get scrolling and start planning for the Halloween party of the year, and make all your friends jealous of just how good a host you are!

Have a theme

An essential part of any memorable Halloween party is to have a theme and stick to it. Whilst it's all well and good giving people free rein over their outfits, it can often turn out half-arsed, with certain people (you know who) putting in minimal effort. 

Well, if you have a theme then it makes people think about what to wear, and ultimately, the group photos will look wicked, I mean, just look at the Bob Ross-themed party and group pic above! This especially works if you design the house around the theme too! (more on this next).

Themes could include: 80s Horror flicks, Aliens and UFOs, Killer Clowns (don't invite me if this is the theme as I’ll spoil my costume), Zombie Apocalypse, or even, if you want to be a bit more lighthearted in the costumes, a certain TV show or set of movies (Marvel, Harry Potter, and Star Wars come to mind). 

To make sure everyone sticks to this, you could even have a few spare costumes on the side for the inevitable costumeless guest that steps foot in your haunted house.

Put effort into decorating your house

Image: Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

If you have a theme, then the house has to match it to make the night the most memorable. This can be to varying degrees of effort (we’re not asking you to design a film set, but still just having a few cobwebs and pumpkins about is a bit boring) and varying price points.

Whether you’re thrifting for old items that look like they could be carrying a curse or two, or going down to the local pop-up Halloween store for some more generic items, that bit of effort just adds a little extra spark to the party that will make it much more memorable for everyone there.

If you want to go all out (and can afford to) then try and create different rooms from different scenes within the theme. Maybe if you’re doing star wars, one can be the millennium falcon, another Endor, and another the trash compactor. The world is your oyster here.

A simple but really great idea for a themed room is to have a movie room. This could be for either the kids (keep it PG) or for adults that want to relax and chat for a bit. Transform your front room into the ultimate horror cinema, with snacks and drinks aplenty, and a big box of DVDs to swap over whenever one finishes. You can go for kids horror, with Monster House, Gremlins, or Hocus Pocus. You could do 80s classics with Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, or Halloween. You could even do a modern horror marathon, with the likes of Hereditary, Insidious, Sinister, and The Conjuring. 

Trick or treat your guests to spooky snacks and dangerous drinks 

Image: 5YNCO Bar on Facebook

Whilst the kids will be fine with sweets and fizzy drinks, the adults will want something a bit strong to aid in the night's enjoyment, and this is where you should let your creative side loose.

For food make ghost cookies, mummified sausage rolls, or even add edible googly eyes to some food to bring to life Frankenstein style. This is a good opportunity to stick to your theme too!

Drinks-wise, cocktails are the way to go. You could make pumpkin-spiced espresso martinis (yes they are as good as they sound), blood-red daiquiris (strawberry ones to be precise), or just make a cauldron full of punch that people can ladle of their own free will. The opportunities are endless and can result in lots of laughs, and a few drink-induced zombies!

Prepare a petrifying playlist

Whilst we realise that there isn't the most extensive back catalogue of Halloween tunes, it's still essential to curate a good playlist in order to avoid The Monster Mash and Thriller being on repeat all night.

There are obviously the classics (as begrudgingly mentioned above) but this is also the perfect time to incorporate your theme, or even set a spooky ambience with horror movie soundtracks - just maybe avoid this if there are kids in the house, we want them to get to sleep at night.

Some of our, rather loosely linked, but still, more than acceptable Halloween playlist tracks are: Monster - Kanye West, Enter Sandman - Metallica, Suspirium - Thom Yorke, Howlin For you - The Black Keys, Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran, Creep - Radiohead, Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus. 

Play some Gory games!

Image: Stephanie Berens on Facebook

There’s not much that sets a party apart from the pack like a solid set of games to get everyone together and involved. Plus, as it's Halloween, these games can have terrible twists and turns to trick and treat your guests in whichever way you see fit. 

Such games could include:

Best costume contest - This one is an easy one and can be as simple as asking everyone to vote on some paper, and the winner wins a bottle of alcohol, or maybe just some sweets (we’re not all made of money).

Wrap a mummy - This one isn't just reserved for the kids, in fact, it gets so much more fun after everyone's had a few. Grab some cheap toilet rolls, pick the two biggest people, and race to wrap them up mummy-style. Just don't hate us when Brendan Fraser tries to come and kill them.

Scary Stories - this could be one to see off the night as everyone starts to get tired and the kids are in bed. You could ask everyone to prepare one and find and bring one with them, and you can all exchange them under candlelight. Just make sure everyone will be able to sleep afterwards (although we think the alcohol may assist you here.)

Ouji board - Now this one is always fun, and you can make it even better if you plan some devious tricks with your partner to make people believe something is actually happening. Set off a speaker in another room, have someone slam a door, and practise moving it without people realising it. You will probably have more fun than anyone else, but at the end of the day, it's your party, isn’t it?

Halloween is a night of fun and frightful fantasy, and there is no better excuse to gather with close friends or family on a cool autumn night. 

But, if you fancy doing something a bit extra this Halloween, then you should check out our list of Halloween events by clicking or tapping - here

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

Header image credit: Karens Halloween on Facebook