Halloween

As you may come to learn over time, I am a HUGE fan of dress up and dress up parties. This is why the end of October, which is fast approaching, is one of my favourite times – it is Halloween!

With a mix of it being mystical, fun and haunting, it’s the perfect opportunity to throw a party and celebrate with friends. Hosting a Halloween party was something that had been on my wish list for many years and we decided that last year was the right time to have it. I wanted to share our experience with you. 

My friends often accuse me of being on the “overboard” side with regards to hosting something, but we were really specific in wanting to create a space that made our guests feel like they were far away from reality. 

Over a few weekends, we started collecting and making things that would be needed for the night.

We arranged a wide variety of sweets and candy which we purchased at an inexpensive wholesaler to save on costs. Each guest was asked to bring a Halloween inspired dish. This eases the burden of providing all the food, and is also a fun way to make sure your guests are involved.

On the drinks side, we decided that a “poisoned punch” would be a great idea. Broken glass was not an option, so we went with clear disposable cups, with ghost faces drawn on them for added effect (inexpensive and easy).

There was a budget in place, so we had to be clever about what and where we purchased from in terms of decor. China malls around JHB are a great source of well-priced items such as Halloween serviettes, plastic table cloths (these will protect your furniture and ensure that cleanup is a breeze), and fun decorations like spider webs and paper buntings.

We also found an incredible store at Northlands Deco Park called The CPS Warehouse. It stocks a variety of quality decorations and is a hidden gem in the world of decorating! We purchased this fantastic zombie which became our feature piece. For an event like this, it’s clever to have a few key feature pieces to create the mood.

The trick is to also utilise what you already have. My old string lanterns became ghost mood lighting, and the TV played two Halloween inspired movies for background effect. 

Music is incredibly important, and I spent a few weeks creating a playlist. I added some classic Halloween inspired tunes as well as spooky sounds in between some songs. You can be creative with activities – each time a weird sound came on, everyone was handed a shooter. At the end of night, we had a bunch of dancing zombies letting loose on the dance floor – it was great fun!

Everyone went to town with dressing up. We printed signs for anybody who didn’t come in theme, but we didn’t have to use them. How crazy are some of these outfits?

If there is one piece of advice that I have when hosting something like this, is to research ideas (Pinterest is a great tool) and plan ahead – people really do notice the effort and attention to detail and it ensures that you can get everything the way you had envisaged it without fretting on the day.

The party was well worth the work – the guests left happy and it left me wanting more. I definitely have to continue with the Halloween party tradition.

What are your plans for Halloween next Friday? If you have any advice, ideas or pictures that you want to share with us, we would love to hear from you.