Posted on 2024-04-25

Halloween Party 

Halloween is a special day that delights children of all ages and helps adults feel like kids at heart. The fun doesn't have to be limited to trick-or-treating, revelers can also enjoy a Halloween party in addition to or instead of the annual candy trek.

If hosting a Halloween party sounds like the best option start by making a guest list. Parties that include children should be the right balance between scary and fun. While you may want to have a certain amount of spookiness make sure you don't send young guests home with nightmares. Reserve gruesome decorations and details for adult-only parties. 

Halloween parties do not necessarily need to be ghoulish. Try a glittery gala masquerade party or decorate exclusively in orange and black. Classically eerie parties may feature ravens and crows, or they can be subtlety spooky with red candles and heavy curtains.

For many people dressing up for Halloween is the high point of the celebration. Some even pick out their costumes months in advance. Still, not everyone feels comfortable donning a costume. Make allowances for those guests and don't make costumes mandatory. 

Another way to offer your guests a spontaneous way to join the holiday fun is to provide a Halloween disguise table full of accessories that anyone can borrow and use to alter their appearance. Goofy glasses, strange hats, adhesive mustaches or masks can be fun. If someone doesn't feel comfortable dressing in full costume, he or she may be more apt to pop on an over-the-top hat or put on a spinning bow tie.

Food is a key element of any party and Halloween offers the perfect opportunity to serve up some gruesome cuisine. Candy is the central theme of Halloween and it can play a part in your party decor. Set up a candy bar full of appropriately hued candies of all shapes and sizes. Put them on display in clear glass or plastic canisters with small bowls for those who want to sample some .

Get creative with Halloween cuisine, crafting foods into shapes or symbols that reflect the holiday mood. Cookie cutters can turn sandwiches, desserts, biscuits, and many other foods into bats, jack-o-'lanterns, ghosts, witches and other fun shapes. 

Halloween is a great time to have fun with all the spooky things you can conjure up. Foods can be made more spooky simply by renaming them or presenting them in interesting containers. Serve up deviled eyeballs by decorating deviled eggs with pimento strips and sliced olives to turn them into bloodshot eyes. A good witch's brew can be made from white grape juice and ginger ale tinted green. Serve the punch out of a new fish bowl with gummy creatures floating in the liquid. Clean jugs or bottles can be used to serve beverages labeled as magic potions. 
 
Originally published in The Times Dispatch, October, 2015