How To Celebrate Halloween At Home

Halloween is one of the highlights of the annual party calendar. It’s an occasion that has something for everyone – whether you want to throw a pumpkin party for your kids or a spooktacular evening soiree for your friends. At PartyWorld, our incredible range of Halloween supplies will help you transform your home into an eerie eyrie of ghastly delights, while our Halloween costumes will make everyone from Grandma to the little ones look their most horrifying best! And all this fun starts at home. Here’s our guide for how to celebrate Halloween at home.

Choose your theme

A Halloween party can just be a generally spooky affair, but it works really well if you pick a specific theme for your guests to be inspired by. This could be anything, from a vague direction, to a favourite film or book series. For instance, if your party is centred around your children, you don’t want anything too gory, and could go for an idea such as “witches and wizards” (or even, “Harry Potter” himself!) If all the generations are getting involved, why not make it an Addams Family party? For a more adult affair, zombies or films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street make great themes. PartyWorld stocks a wide range of costumes perfect for these ideas – from Freddy Krueger outfits to every type of witch or wizard you can imagine, and in sizes from toddler to adult too!

Perfect your costume

Whether you are dressing as an actual character (for instance, Morticia from the Addams Family), or you are taking an idea and running with it (pirate, vampire, werewolf), PartyWorld has you covered. Costumes are our specialty, and if you are hosting a Halloween party to remember, you need to make sure your outfit stands out. We have a huge selection of complete outfits for you to choose from, but don’t forget to add the extra touches. From vampire blood to werewolf fangs, our range of special effects give your get-up that special edge, taking you from dull to dreadful in no time!

Set the scene

Now you’ve got your theme set, you’ll start to get ideas about how to decorate your house. If you are aspiring to become Hogwarts, you could browse PartyWorld’s selection of official Harry Potter merchandise – hang a Sorting Hat from the ceiling, and liberally bestrew your corners with cobwebs. The Addams Family would appreciate the cobwebby touches too, and be sure to include plenty of our novelty spiders to add to the effect. You could even transform your home with our gothic mansion room roll, transporting your guests to a grand old haunted house. If there’s someone handy in the family, you could ask them to create some large props, such as a coffin (they could knock it together with mdf, or even cardboard), or perhaps a “Danger: Keep Out!” sign for your front door! Little ones will enjoy helping you make pumpkin bunting from orange paper and craft supplies; but if you are short on time you could get some of PartyWorld’s pumpkin honeycomb decorations to help you set the scene.

Pumpkin carving

This is a classic Halloween tradition, and is a wonderfully fun activity whatever your age. First, hollow out your pumpkins (saving the inners for some Halloween cooking later on). Then, carve your design. You can keep it quite simple, because the effect will come from placing a lit candle inside, and watching the light flicker spookily as the evening draws in! The scary face is the most common way to carve out your lantern, but if you have some skill with a knife, try out different patterns and motifs. PartyWorld’s pumpkin carving set is a popular way to keep pumpkin carving simple and fun. Just remember to keep little hands safe and give them plenty of guidance.

Lay the table

Food is a key element in any celebration, and Halloween provides a great way to get creative in the kitchen. Create a beautiful Halloween tablescape by using the colours from your decorations in your tableware. Consider bringing in seasonal plants such as ivy, or dried flowers (or even dead ones!) to add to the effect. PartyWorld has a great selection of table decorations, including black roses and spider table covers, sure to help create the right atmosphere.

A fang-tastic feast

With your table set, you’re ready to prepare some spooky snacks for your guests. PartyWorld’s Halloween cupcake kit helps you make delicious little treats that fit perfectly with your theme. Or try adding the “Boo!” cake topper to your centrepiece to add some dangerous delight to dessert! There are plenty of ideas for horrific home-made recipes out there too. Think cutting the mozzarella on your pizzas into little ghost shapes, or even using blueberries to tie dye eggs and make them look truly gruesome. And of course, you can use up all the inners you have from the pumpkins you have carved, to cook up pumpkin pies and pumpkin pasties. A little creativity in the kitchen can go a long way towards making your party frightfully fang-tastic!  

Halloween game ideas

A Halloween party isn’t complete without some party games. Apple bobbing is a popular option – simply float apples in a bucket of water, and let your guests take turns at trying to pick one out using only their mouths – no hands allowed!

With everyone making the effort to get dressed up, holding a costume competition is a great idea. PartyWorld even have a Best Costume Award trophy and a Funniest Costume Award ribbon, so you can really reward guests who’ve made a special effort!

It is possible to make Halloween variants of many popular party games. PartyWorld’s “pin the spider on the web” is a fun alternative to the classic “pin the tail on the donkey” game. Guests take turns to be blindfolded, and then attempt to pin the spider as close to the centre of its web as they can manage. Make sure you have some treats on hand to reward the winner!

Soundtrack your night

There are many famous Halloween themed songs – think Thriller, the Ghostbusters theme, and the Monster Mash. Make a playlist to get your party started from the off. If you have a projector, you could consider putting on some classic Halloween films in the background, to ramp up the atmosphere even more – Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas would make an atmospheric backdrop to a spooky party.

Parting gifts

Even if you are planning on staying in, rather than going out trick or treating, it’s nice to make sure everyone has some sweet treats to enjoy. PartyWorld’s treat boxes or trick or treat bags help you round off your bash in style, sending your guests off into the night with a little something to sink their teeth into…

If you are planning a Halloween party at home, count on PartyWorld for all your spooky supplies! From costumes to catering, tableware to toys, we’ve got something for every event. Create your Halloween spooktacular today with a little help from PartyWorld!