Happy Thursday! How is your Halloween Countdown on Netflix going? I’m mixing it up a little bit and decided to watch 6 Souls today, which was super interesting and creepy. Pretty sure I’ll only be up for watching movies today after my root canal, so I’ll most likely be plugging through a few on the list!

Moving on to other Halloween festivities, I wanted to give you some tips on throwing a Halloween party without a ton of fuss. I don’t know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with hosting parties. I love entertaining, but the prep work leading up to it is so stressful sometimes (of course anxiety doesn’t help, lol).

So I wanted to give you guys some tips for hosting a Halloween party that will make it really simple and stress-free to throw an amazingly spooky party. Also, I have a Pinterest board specifically dedicated to Halloween, so be sure to check it out for extra ideas!

Let’s get started!

1. Figure out the perfect lighting.

   This one has got to be the most essential step in creating the desired mood for your Halloween party (or really any party, for that matter). Some tips on getting the most out of your lighting:

   • If you have dimmer switches in your house, take advantage of them!

   • Use orange lightbulbs (or purple, or black lights) in place of white lightbulbs in main areas.

   • Use visual effects lighting (think strobe lights) in areas like hallways where people aren’t actively congregating.

   • Utilize your fireplace if you have one!

   • Sheer fabric (like cheesecloth or sheer curtains) can help to diffuse lighting in doorways, etc..

2. Create a killer soundtrack.

   Good music is a must for any party. For Halloween, it helps to have songs that are creepy sounding without being cliché. Think Psycho Killer by Talking Heads, or Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. These are great songs for creating a moody atmosphere and a soundtrack that your strike your guests as surprisingly cool. Pepper in the fun, funky songs like Thriller, Ghostbusters, and Superstition here and there, but don’t go overboard on them. If you’d like the playlist that I created for my party, sign up for my e-mail list (below), and I’ll send you the list of songs, and the link to my actual Spotify playlist!

3. Keep it (mostly) achromatic.

There is something undeniably chic about a black-and-white color palette. Plus, this technique makes it easy to mix and match accessories. It also makes it easier to DIY decorations. Seriously, just take a can of matte black spray paint to everything, and you’ll have super spooky, completely non-cheesy Halloween decor.

4. Throw sheets over your furniture.

I read this tip on PopSugar (see below photo), and was kicking myself for not thinking of it for my last party. Think of every haunted mansion you’ve ever seen in a movie. What do they all have in common? The furniture is covered up with sheets! This adds a great touch to your decorations, and it helps give your furniture extra protection from any spills that might happen throughout the night (bonus points!).

5. Offer one spooky cocktail.

Don’t get too crazy with specialty drinks. Offer one really cool specialty cocktail, and let guests know ahead of time. If they don’t like it, they can always bring their own drinks! If you’re having kiddos at the party, offer a mocktail with similar ingredients to the adults’ drink to keep it extra simple and reduce the amount of ingredients you have to purchase.

6. Keep the food simple.

Offer a few appetizers and a few desserts for people to snack on. And don’t get crazy complicated with the Halloween-themed food, unless you thrive on intricate meals. Things like Zombie cupcakes are simple and straightforward to decorate and set out, whereas those Halloween deviled eggs require a lot of work for something that’s just going to get gobbled down.

7. Have a costume contest.

In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than a Halloween party where people aren’t really in the spirit (aka not in costume). Having a costume contest encourages guests to get creative and have fun, and you can make a low-budget trophy (or bag of treats!) for the winner(s). And be sure to include the kids!

8. Keep the kids occupied.

As always, it’s important to have something to keep the kids occupied so the parents can play, too! We always like to have a movie playing in the game room, or some sort of fun halloween games going on. I also have a trophy for the kids’ costumes so they can feel like they’re participating in the adults’ fun as well.

That’s it for my party tips! Most of all, it’s important to just have fun and don’t worry about it being perfect. If you aren’t having fun, your guests aren’t going to have fun, either. So relax, give yourself plenty of time to prepare, and maybe do a little pre-gaming if you’re the nervous type ;)

What are your best tips for throwing an awesome Halloween party? Let me know in the comments! And don’t forget to follow me over on Pinterest for lots of ideas for your party.

See ya next week!

Much Love,

Michelle

P.S.: Don’t forget to sign up to receive your Halloween playlist!