The season of spookiness is upon us, bringing pumpkin carving, hearty stews and maple leaf decorations along with it.
Although the vast majority of Brits will be consumed by the urge to discuss the reasons why we need to wear jumpers in the morning when they become useless by midday, others are hiding out and preparing for their long-awaited Halloween parties.
Costume parties can be some of the most exciting to plan, but it can take weeks to pull everything together. Here at Wise Bartender, we don’t want to leave you petrified with dread, which is why we’ve created this guide on how to avoid causing a nightmare and turn your venue into a haunted Halloween haven.
Set the theme
Start the party planning process by brainstorming themes. Once you have a theme, you’ll be able to create the right atmosphere that extends to your snacks, drinks and the costumes of your guests.
You could go for something devious and eerie or bright and fun, whatever tickles your fancy.
Our top ten suggestions for a Halloween theme:
1. Haunted House
Dim the lights and hang the skeletons, haunted houses are what Halloween is made of. Give your guests the fright of their life by decorating your home with silicone blood smears and ghostly ornaments, filling your munchies with red food dye and covering your furniture in white sheets.
Your party goers will leave the property screaming.
2. Murder Mystery
Live out your dreams of lifesize Cleudo and create a murder mystery night that your guests will rave about for years. The theme could be anything; Marple Magic, Downton Abbey or even something spookier.
The key to this one is to plan in advance. Create information cards for your guests, choose someone to be the victim and remain suspicious of everyone.
3. Day of the Dead
The traditional Mexican festival that celebrates the lives of the people they’ve lost has swept across the world and makes a quirky, colourful and masked affair that brings light and laughter to the darkest day of the year.
4. Spider’s Lair
Spiders are the product of many people’s worst nightmares which is exactly what makes them the perfect theme for your Halloween party. Be the spider of your own lair and cover your home in cobwebs and plastic insects.
Don’t forget to sink your fangs into your guests as they arrive.
5. Batty Bohemia
Flower power might not be the first idea that jumps to mind when brainstorming Halloween themes, but it’s one you can be proud of. Rather than petrifying your guests, try bringing peace and love to your street by channelling 70s retro.
Decorate with neon, hoist up classic VW Campervan accessories and jam to the Beatles all night; let the nostalgia sink in.
6. Stephen King characters
Some human places create inhuman monsters’.
Let your friends pretend to be inhuman monsters on October 31st.
As the widely renowned King of Horror, Stephen King has created some of the most iconic haunted characters in the world. But which will you choose?
Will you dress up as Pennywise the Clown? Will it be the twins from the Shining? Are you more of a Cujo fan? Either way, you and your guests have plenty of choice.
7. Pumpkin Smash
For a more chilled affair, plan a pumpkin picking party, and relive all the wholesome nostalgia of your childhood.
Take your friends down to the pumpkin patch, choose a pumpkin each and bring them back to your house for a slice of carving merriment. You could even set up games in the garden like apple bobbing and relax around a bonfire with a few alcohol-free beverages.
This also makes a wonderful Halloween party idea for your children.
8. Movie Mayhem
Also known as movie magic, this theme is particularly popular for Halloween parties, and it’s easy to see why. Allow your friends to live in the shoes of their favourite movie character for the night.
9. A Pirate’s Life
Feel like rocking the boat?
Then you should host a pirate themed Halloween party and let your guests tap their peg legs along to cheery sea shanties. Just don’t forget to stash up on alcohol-free rum to keep the festivities in full swing.
10. Wacky Wonderland
For a party where you’ll be able to say ‘we’re all mad here’ and really mean it, soak your home in all things Wonderland.
The wacky world that Lewis Carol created provides endless possibilities for both decorations and costumes, and riddles for the walls. Your snacks table will be the most iconic on the street, with little bottles of colourful non-alcoholic spirits that say ‘drink me’, and snacks that say ‘eat me’.
Although it might be prudent to keep an eye on Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
Spooky party snacks
They say that you should never feed a Mogwai after midnight, unless you want a gruesome Gremlin causing mayhem on your property. But the same rule definitely doesn’t apply to your party guests.
You don’t want to end up with hungry, grumpy and formidable visitors, so make sure your refreshment table is packed to the brim with masterful morsels. If you’re stuck for ideas, try whipping up these sinister snacks and ghoulish goodies:
- Leering lychee eyeballs
- Rocky Horror traybake
- Bonnie banana ghosts
- Petrifying pumpkin satsumas
- Pumpkin pie slices
- Stuffed pumpkins/gourds
- Decorated pumpkin spice cupcakes
- Devilled eggs
- Terrifying toffee apples
- Spine-tingling sticky ribs
Wise Bartender has a wide range of hassle-free party snacks, including nuts, chocolate and crisps to fill up your refreshment table.
The Halloween playlist
We all know the classics; Thriller, Heads Will Roll, Monster Mash. While these songs have earned their rightful place on our Halloween playlists, it would be tiresome to play them all night long.
So here are our two terrifying tips for creating a haunted Halloween playlist that your guests will love to party to:
1. Align your music with your theme
Your theme is the glue that holds your party together, and if your playlist doesn’t align with it, you can stunt your guests’ experience. You wouldn’t want to show up to a Rocky Horror Picture Show themed party only for the DJ to play pop songs all night.
2. Ask your guests for recommendations
Get your friends involved in the party planning by giving them a choice on the music they boogie to. A fantastic way to do this is to leave a section on their RSVP where they can suggest a few songs they’d like played that you can easily slide into your petrifying playlist
Plan party activities
Keep your guests howling with laughter with pre-planned party games that don’t leave them hanging.
Punch Roulette
Punch roulette is a game that can be adapted with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks options, but we prefer AF beverages for a more controlled activity.
Here’s how you play:
- Fill as many cups as you like with a drink of your choice
- Top up with different volumes of AF spirit (or a spice), but don’t tell your guests which cup is which
- Sit your guests in a circle and take it in turns choosing a cup to drink from
Never Have I Ever
Although Never Have I Ever is traditionally played with alcoholic drinks, it can still be enjoyed with AF alternatives.
The rules are exactly the same as Never Have I Ever: Each guest takes it in turns to state an activity they’ve never done, and everyone who has done that activity takes a drink.
Apple Bobbing
Apple Bobbing is a game that we all played as children but can be just as fun as adults.
All you have to do is fill a large bowl of water with apples, and take it in turns trying to remove an apple using your teeth.
But it is worth remembering that your guests may be reluctant to ruin their Halloween make-up. If this is the case, then you could try hanging the apples from a string instead.
Pumpkin Bowling
Stack toilet rolls into a pyramid and give each guest a pumpkin. Take it in turns to knock down as many toilet rolls as you can using your pumpkin.
Halloween drinks
Halloween is one of the most exciting times to make drinks for party guests because it gives you the opportunity to be cunningly creative.
Food dyes and coloured syrups are your best friend when it comes to creating Halloween cocktails that are luminescent and haunting. You can create Grinchy green cocktails served in cauldron shaped mugs, ghostly white martinis with ghoulish faces drawn on the glasses and even deep red vodka shots served in syringes.
To elevate your drinks to mystical levels, take a look at the following as inspiration:
- Substitute Blue Curacao with MONIN Blue Curacao Syrup to create blue and purple cocktails without the alcohol
- Serve your drinks in skull shaped glasses or conical flasks
- Create Trick or Treat cocktails; two cocktails that look the same but one is sweet and the other is spicy
- Dust your glasses with black dusting sugar and lime juice for an extra sour punch
- Upgrade standard cocktails with spooky garnish and quirky glass decorations
- Hollow out a large pumpkin/gourd and use it as a punch bowl
Wise Bartender has a frighteningly large range of alcohol-free beer, cider, wine, spirits & cocktails that can be dressed up or down at your costume party. Most of our AF beverages are available to buy in multi packs, making them a quick and easy buy for your Halloween do.
