While kids have trick-or-treating to look forward to every year, more and more adults are celebrating Halloween by getting a sitter and attending Halloween parties for grown-ups only.
Here is the best resource if you're going to be hosting a spooktacular Halloween party for adults.
Adult Halloween Party: The Right Invite
Often the Halloween invitations you see at party stores are a bit candy corn-y for adult tastes. If you are looking for something more unique and a bit more spooky, you can get really creative. No one does Halloween for adults better than Martha Stewart, so check out her website for some chillingly perfect Halloween invitations (like the severed finger- don't forget!) invitation you can assemble or create.
For something a little easier, you can have invitations printed and mailed to you. Many websites offer boo-tiful invitations that can be pre-printed and shipped to you. Click here if you need more ideas for creative Halloween invitations.
Haunt Your House the Grownup Way
You're going to want your house to be spooky- not cute. Invest in the 100-tealight bag, ditch the electric lighting and illuminate your house with candlelight only. Replace white Christmas window candle lights in your windows with flickering orange bulbs for an eerie effect. Silhouettes on mantels and in windows create dramatic flair, and be sure to have haunted organ music playing in the background (look for Midnight Syndicate music).
Martha Stewart has a new special magazine out for each year's holiday- don't miss it for some fantastic ideas on haunting your house. Her Halloween book (published 2001) is still the best on the market for adult Halloween party ideas.
Bone Appetit
There are so many excellent ideas for Halloween party food for adults- again, most are found in the special Halloween editions of Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens and other feature magazines you can find at your grocery store checkout line. Creative 'devilled eggs' with spider web patterns, fantastic pumpkin soup recipes, eyeball donut holes and many other fantastic Halloween food ideas are readily available for the finding.
You'll also want to be sure to have the perfect Halloween cocktails for your party!
Halloween Party: Costume Contest
Requiring costumes for adults is a must-do for your invites. To reward party attendees for their creativity, have a costume contest. A simple form for everyone to vote for their favorite costumes at the party can be available near the punch bowl. Categories should include Funniest, Scariest, Prettiest, Most Original, Best Couple, and Best Overall. Bottles of Vampire Wine (available in most liquor stores) are a perfect prize, and you can get gold headless "Skelly" award trophies online as well.
Halloween Party Favors
An easy way to give favors at your party is to have a Polaroid camera or digital camera with printer close by to take pictures of guests as they arrive. With craft foam, you can make black or candy-corn style 'frames' to attach the photos- include a caption "Smith Halloween Bash 2009" and magnet tape on the back, and guests will have a souvenir remembrance of your party for years to come!
Most of all, your adult Halloween party is about having fun- don't forget to include a big bowl of trick-or-treat candy to bring out the little kid in everyone. Spook on!
For the most creative Halloween ideas on the WEB, click here!
Mary McCarthy - Mary T. McCarthy is the blogger at pajamasandcoffee.com and Editor of Chesapeake Family magazine.
