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Halloween Party Tips

Sep 29, 2015, 3:45 PM ET

Halloween may be a month away, but if you want to throw a truly legendary party, you’ve got to start planning now. Halloween is on a Saturday this year, so you’ve got no excuse for low attendance. Besides, when else are you going to get to wear that Harley Quinn costume? Other than Comic Con, Pax, GoPlay Northwest Gen Con, IndieCade,WonderCon, Anime Expo, E3, obviously.

Plan ahead this year and you could become a Hallween Hero, drop the ball and come October 31, you could be sitting in your basement sipping a soda and spamming Hadoukens. (Every other Saturday night for us, BTW).

Follow our Party Tips and be the Halloween Hero your friends deserve.

1. Pick a Theme

This is the most important party decision you will make. It is absolutely essential that your party have a theme, and no, shots is not a theme. Intrigue equals fun (or at least attendance), so go big and go memorable (Tim Burton meets Back to the Future is a theme we highly recommend). But make sure to know your crowd. If you’re friends know nothing about anime, now might not be the time to publicly declare your love for Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei. If you are hosting a bunch of millenials, don’t go for a Morgan Fairchild meets satanic Bridget-loves-Bernie theme. That said, here are some ideas to get you started.

Slashers
Zombies
Carnival
Masquerade (classy)
Game Night (video or board)
Old School Trick or Treat
Nightmares (picture omitted for safety)
Mafia

2. Send out Invitations

This is your invitees first exposure to your theme, so try to capture an element of excitement. You can go simple or elaborate, but as long as you’ve got the time and place you’re golden. If you’re looking to go nuts, here’s some suggestions on how to differentiate your invitations.

Have time and money? Consider making invitations that are scratch off lottery-style
Repurpose some old Viewmaster into invitations
Secret Balloon Messages. Write out the invitation on a Balloon so it can only be read when it’s inflated.
Telegram. Just not this kind (link to: https://www.syfy.com/31daysofhalloween)
Hire a calligrapher and get all fancy
Custom Fortune Cookies (For that Big Trouble in Little China themed party)
Vintage movies poster
Retro video game (repurpose your old NES games into invitations)

3. Costume

As the host of said party, yes it is absolutely essentially that you have one of the most rocking costumes at the party, no exceptions. But remember – make it practical, because you’ll be walking around and hosting (unless you don’t care about your guests, in which case, wear 6 inch heels). Lacking divine inspiration? Check below for some ghoulish ideas.

Anything Disney (People love Disney . . . and yes this includes Star Wars now . . . just not Jar Jar. No one likes Jar Jar)
Zombies (you could even do Disney Zombies!!!)
Pulp Comic Character
90s Nick Toons
Zoolander
Leeloo Dallas
Mad Max
Samus
Groot
Muppets
80s Video Games
70s Rock Star

4. Food

Even is you're not going be serving a five-course meal that would have Alton brown blushing, you've still got to satisfy some sweet tooths. So just having some candy automatically equals a win. A victory, however, comes with some creativity. Check out these recipes if you really want to wow.

5. Drink

Like candy, any kind of booze at your party means you are doing okay (obviously, kid friendly parties require some non-booze options). If you want to go the extra mile, liquor wise, see the below for inspiration:

Ice hands (Freeze water inside of a latex glove and then tear it off for some creepy ice)
Add Lime Gelatin to any clear beverage to make it into Slime!!! (just make sure the liquid is hot first)
Brain Hemorrhage Cocktail
Add Gummy Worms to any cocktail
Mix Tonic Water into any beverage to make it glow in the dark.
Butterbeer
Pour Strawberry syrup on a glass to fake blood

6. Decorations

You have to decorate, even if a little. It’s possible to do the basics (balloons, pumpkins, spider webs, skulls, black cats, bats, ghosts witches) cheaply by visiting your local dollar or big box store; If you’re still looking for ideas (and want to go a more economic route), consider the following DIY decorations:

7. Music
For those looking to take a laissez-faire approach, there are tons of great Spotify playlists to choose from, but for those looking to get involved, go the Guardians of the Galaxy route and make your own. Here are some choice selections to make sure you’re on point.