Halloween is the third biggest party day in the United States behind New Year's Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday. Americans will spend around 6.9 billion dollars on Halloween this year on decorations, candy, and costumes. In the 1800s, Americans celebrated the harvest at the end of October by dressing up in masks, feasting, and playing tricks on one another. It wasn't until the 1930's when the tradition of children walking door to door asking for candy became common practice.
Halloween is one of those events that are fun for all ages, it’s an excuse to play dress-up, and behave a bit like a child again. Hosting an adult-only Halloween party needs a few basic elements in order to be a success with your guests without having to invite your own kids to the party.
Plan An Unforgettable Adult-Only Halloween Party
With Halloween creeping up, you have the perfect excuse to throw a party. Here are our tips and tricks on how to host an adult Halloween party for your family and friends that will be unforgettable.
Pick Your Halloween Costume Theme
You simply cannot host a Halloween party without dressing up, that is a party foul even goblins and ghouls won’t stand for. Whether that is simply asking everyone to show up in any costume they like or you can get specific and require all guests to participate in the creativity of the theme and make everyone dress from the same era, or a favorite character from a movie, or even something that starts with the first letter of their name - use your imagination to come up with their perfect theme for your specific guest list. Allow your guests to plan and get excited to celebrate and show off their costumes.
Not only will all of the different costumes be a great conversation starter between everyone at your party, but they also make fantastic props for photos. Having adults dress up in costumes, allows them to get into the mood for a fun and silly night while expressing their inner child that doesn’t get to come out and play often.
Serve A Spooky Menu
The average American eats 3.4 pounds of candy on Halloween. Yes, your guests will want some candy at your party but they are going to need something a bit more substantial to balance out all the sugar. Offer some spooky finger foods or individual servings to your guests that seem too strange to be true: serve chicken fingers that actually look like fingers, or ribs that are actually served in the shape of a human’s ribs, bloody finger dogs, pumpkin barking guacamole, jalapeno popper mummies, zombie brain cupcakes, spooky spider cookies, and bloody brownies.
Serve one of our 5 Gourmet Halloween Appetizers.
Drink And Be Scary
Batch cocktails are the way to go either in your home or at a venue. They can be prepared ahead of time, oftentimes the night before, they simplify the menu, and make it easier to get drinks served to guests faster. There are plenty of ways to make spooky-tacular batch cocktails.
For a spooky Halloween effect, add dry ice to your beverages in a safe way to make it look like it is steaming. Serve your drinks in a witch’s cauldron with a ladle.
You can also have fun with the cocktail itself, for example, turn a traditional cranberry vodka drink into a “bloody vampire bite” by adding fresh, slightly muddled blackberries and lemon juice.
Try this Vampire Kiss Martini, a simple recipe courtesy of Sandra Lee of Food Network that is a simple twist on a classic cocktail:
Ingredients:
- 1 part vodka, chilled
- 1 part Champagne
- 1 part Chambord
- Garnish with wax teeth/candy corn/blood orange slice
Preparation
- Pour vodka in a martini glass, top with Champagne, and pour a little of the Chambord over the back of a spoon to make it float.
- Add wax/teeth/candy corn/blood orange slice for garnish.
Here are five more cocktail recipes to try: 5 Scary Halloween Cocktail Recipes that our in-house mixologist, Jame DeFayette, crafted, that are sure to get the party started!
Catch our in-house mixologists whip up Halloween-themed cocktails in an episode of Cocktails With Kate and James: The Halloween Edition.
Decorate Bootifully
In the fall, Halloween decorations are sold everywhere, dollar stores are great places to find in-season decorations at prices that don’t cause a fright. Light up some carved pumpkins outside, and decorate your front yard like it’s a graveyard. Keep the lighting in your event venue as dim as you can get it, and finish off the creepy atmosphere with some Halloween music and sound effects.
Make sure your house is extra spooky for party guests by decorating with ghosts and bats. You can easily create a variety of ghosts to line your walkway or place the ghosts leading up to the party venue entrance.
There are 3 Halloween Party Trends You Should Try This Year. As well as some Unique Halloween Party Decorations to try this year too.
Stop In For A Spell: Games and Activities
If you are having guests show up in costumes, holding a costume content is a must. Most creative or everyone’s favorite - offer up a Gift Card from the venue where you are hosting the event or a bottle of booze to the winner. You could decide the winner by a round of applause or actually have people vote on paper or even with a mobile app.
Give your guests the opportunity to hear what their future has in store for them by hiring a fortuneteller or a psychic. Have them incorporate tarot cards into their readings, and set up a psychic globe to see into their future.
You want your guests to remember your Halloween party forever, and what better way to do it than with a photo booth? They can take photos in their crazy costumes, and they can take them home as souvenirs to remember their fun-filled night at your party.
You’re never too old to celebrate Halloween. Since adults probably shouldn’t be going door-to-door collecting candy, Halloween is the perfect excuse to throw a costume party. Do you have any adult Halloween party ideas, or have you been to a really spooky party? Leave a comment and let us know, or you can tell us on Facebook or Twitter!
