Halloween: 5 Tips For A Successful Party

October 31 is fast approaching, so if you're planning to celebrate this American holiday at home or in the office, you'll need to have plenty of decorations, costumes and food. Here are 5 tips for a successful Halloween party.

1- Choose a theme

Our first tip for a successful Halloween party is to choose a specific theme.

Whether you're celebrating October 31 with family, friends, or co-workers, it's easier to throw this party and set a spooky mood if you choose a specific theme.

Of course, you should take into account the age of the participants to choose the most appropriate theme... You can for example find inspiration in the following list:
- Dracula's castle or the vampire ball
- Harry potter or Halloween at Hogwarts
- a superhero themed costume party
- Ghostbusters or the haunted house
- Horror movie characters

2- Launch the invitations

Once you've chosen the perfect theme for your party, the second thing you need to do for a successful Halloween party is to make a guest list.

Start by determining the maximum number of people you can invite based on the space available.

Once you've made your list, all that's left is to create and send out the invitations.

You can choose between the traditional paper invitation card and the virtual invitation sent by email.

In both cases, we advise you to design invitations matching the theme of the party, to put your guests in the mood right away.

3- Create a scary decoration

As far as atmosphere goes, another must-have for a successful Halloween party is spooky decorations.

In addition to the traditional hollowed-out pumpkins, paper bats, and fake spider webs, take inspiration from your party's theme to create more elaborate and original decor.

Even at home or in just one room of your apartment, it's possible to create a stunning decoration as long as you get the right accessories.

And most importantly, don't forget the lighting! A subdued and slightly strange lighting is a good way to create an eerie atmosphere.

Therefore, don't hesitate to equip yourself with LED candles, string lights and colored lights to add the finishing touch to your Halloween decoration!

4- Prepare a buffet

Your Halloween party won't be perfectly successful if you don't plan lots of food and treats.

For this type of party, one of the most practical and fun solutions is to prepare a buffet where guests can help themselves to savory dishes, desserts, and treats as they please.

If children are attending the party, consider making them non-alcoholic Halloween cocktails (using the recipes in our Halloween feature) and don't forget to stock up on candy.

But to make sure the meal doesn't turn into a sugar rush, be sure to pack some savoury treats too, like :
- hummus and guacamole, which you can serve with crackers as an appetizer
- spider pizzas with a nice spooky touch
- salty pumpkin cheese muffins
- sausage rolls in the shape of mummies or witches' fingers

5- Plan animations

Finally, you can't throw a successful Halloween party without planning fun and scary entertainment at the same time!

With kids, you can organize a candy hunt around the house or garden.

You can also suggest that they watch a movie or cartoon that's a little scary like Hotel Transylvania, Monsters and Co., Maleficent, Ghostbusters or The Addams Family for example.

With adults, you can have a Murder Party at home, i.e. a sort of giant Game of Cluedo, have a best costume contest on the theme of the evening or plan a karaoke of scary and danceable songs like:
- Michael Jackson's Thriller
- Highway to Hell
- Zombie The Cranberries
- Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
- I put a spell on you
- Ghostbusters

Take the time to put together your scary playlist in advance: guaranteed atmosphere on the big day!