Don't
forget to decorate your front yard and porch to greet
your guests as they arrive. Jack O' Lanterns on the
porch, a Halloween wreath on the door and Halloween lights strung around the door frame
are some basics. Make a sign using large markers and
poster board that reads something like "The Jones
Halloween Party - By Invitation Only!" and put it at
the entrance to your property for guests that might be
unfamiliar or have forgotten where you live. We tie a
few helium filled balloons to the sign to draw extra
attention to it.
Always
think safety! Be sure to provide a safe place for
guests to put their purses, coats and other valuables. Consider where your guests will park their cars when they arrive
and let them know their options when you send out the invitations. You might suggest car pooling if there are
going to be a large number of guests.
Be
sure stock the bathroom that guests will be using with
plenty of toilet paper, hand soap, facial tissue, extra
hand towels, etc.
Leave an extra roll or two of toilet paper in plain sight just in
case its needed. Move any prescription drugs and
valuables to a secure place out of the bathroom. For
some great ideas on decorating your guest bathroom for
Halloween visit Halloween Online's
Halloween Decorations
section.
Try
to personally welcome every guest as they arrive to make
them feel welcome and at ease. Place a guest book near
the front door where your guests can sign-in as they
arrive. This makes for a wonderful keepsake.
Look after your guests by
making sure their glasses are full, that they've had
enough to eat and introducing guests that don't know
each other can get new conversations going. If you see
anyone sitting by themselves, they may be shy, so
introduce them to others. Continually circulate through
the party to make sure your guests are having a good
time and to look for any problems.
Photographs
& Video -
Make sure
to take plenty of pictures and video of the party
and your guests. Make sure to have lots of film and
extra batteries for your camera. See if you can get someone to volunteer to be
the official photographer to document the party for
posterity.
Later you can create a Halloween photo album
filled with your favorite Halloween party moments.
You can
also make simple scrap
books to give to your guests of the party, so everyone can look back on
what a
great time they had at your Halloween party!
For
more tips on taking great pictures and video visit the
Halloween Pictures
website.
Ending
the Party - Even though your invitation may have had a
beginning and ending time for the party, some guests may
want to keep the party going. If you have no objections
to it running later and have no obligations the next
day, its no problem.
However, if you need or want
the party to come to a close, turn off the music and
politely inform your guests what a wonderful night its
been, how much you appreciate their coming to your
Halloween party, but that's its time for everyone to go.
Be sure to ask everyone to drive home safety and that
you'll be in touch soon. If you believe that anyone
is too intoxicated to drive themselves home, see if
anyone else is willing to drive them home, if not you
can either drive them home yourself, let them spend the
night at your house or call a taxi for them.
Once everyone has left, there's still at lot to do.
Read our
"After the Party" tips
page for suggestions on the many things that you should
do post-party.
For
a children's Halloween party you can basically use the
same setup used for an adult party, but scale them down
in attitude and atmosphere for kids. Be sure to add some spooky games in to keep
them busy. If Halloween is on a week day, you can have
the party the week-end before, or hold the party in the late
afternoon after school or in the early evening.
Click here for tips and
suggestions for planning a children's Halloween party.
