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, with glow sticks tied to the
strings, 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. If you live on a
more populated street, ask your neighbors if they mind
if your guests park in front of their homes on that
night.
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 that 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. Use it
every year for your Halloween parties and read it every
couple years.
For a party where there are
going to be a lot of guests that don't know each other,
make up some festive Halloween nametags in advance with the first
name of every guest and pass them out as they arrive.
These can really help to break the ice and allow people
get to know each other faster.
Look after your guests by
making sure their glasses are full, that they've had
enough to eat and introduce new guests as they arrive so
they can get comfortable faster. It will keep
conversations going. If you see
anyone sitting by themselves, they may just be shy. Put
a trusted friend in charge of introducing new people 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. If it's a digital
camera, make sure that the battery is fully charged. See if you can get someone to volunteer to be
the official photographer to document the party for
posterity. Set a few disposable cameras around for
candid party shots. Invite anyone to use them and leave
them for the next person who might want to take a
picture.
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 invitations 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. 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 as 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.
