The minute you walk into the any store, you’re quickly reminded that Halloween is around the bend. Just looking at the vast amounts of candy gives me a sugar rush! But instead of focusing on the sweets this year, I decided to throw an outdoor Halloween bash for the neighborhood kids. From decorating and arranging activities to cooking the food, with a little planning you can easily pull off a spook-tacular party without a hitch.
Simple ideas to kick off your outdoor Halloween bash:
Set the Scene
Halloween is meant to be spent under the dark sky, so it’s the perfect time to make full use of your outdoor living space. To instantly create a spooky scene, start by displaying outdoor decorations such as skeletons, witches on brooms, and zombie around your patio or porch. Don’t forget to accent the surrounding landscaped areas with spider webs, giant spiders and glow-in-the-dark eyes. Illuminate further with outdoor lanterns or create your own enchanting Halloween lanterns. Section off play areas with Jack o’ lanterns or if you’re short on pumpkins, use string lights to keep your little goblins on the right path.
Carve It Up!
Before the party kicks into full gear, get the kids to participate in some creative pumpkin carving. Blast Michael Jackson’s Thriller and get everyone in the spooky spirit. For an easy clean up, designate a pumpkin scooping station, where pumpkin seeds and mush can be deposited. Once the pumpkins are finished, line their creations along the patio table to create the perfect tablescape for your party food. At the end of the evening, you can award a special treat to the most creative carving. Don’t forget to take all the scooped pumpkin seeds, season and bake them for snacking – a delicious and healthy substitute for those bags full of candy.
Witches Brew
This wicked cocktail happens to be my specialty and has become a tradition at our Halloween parties. Drape a serving tea cart with black satin fabric and attach furry bats, blood shot eyeballs and skeleton bones. Use a large black cauldron as your punch bowl and surround it with dry ice. If you don’t have a cauldron, you can also use a large pot. Try brewing this Witches’ Brew recipe which is always a big hit with adults, and leave out the rum for a kid-friendly version of the drink.
Food for the Spirits
Make sure before you let the ghosts and ghouls out to trick-or-treat, feed them some snacks so they don’t fill up on too much candy. Save yourself some time and keep it simple. Choose recipes that are kid-friendly and easy to make. To create a tasty eye-popping Halloween creation, fill mason jars with canned Lychee fruit and maraschino cherries. Ideal for any outdoor Halloween bash, this Halloween treat is bite size, while doing double duty as party decor. Another popular Halloween dish is, my favorite, the yummy mummy dogs. Put a stick in them and you can ditch the plates and silverware!
Ghost Gathering
Being a fall holiday, Halloween takes place when the weather cools down. A simple solution is to place table top fireplaces to instantly warm up the party. It’s small and portable so you can move it around for optimal use. Have a larger party in mind? Turn up the heat with an outdoor heater or fire pit. Toasty gathering areas are the perfect place to wrap up the evening with hot chocolate and ghost stories.
With these simple party ideas, your outdoor Halloween bash is sure to be spook-tacular! Now to revisit the candy situation… What’s your Halloween weakness?
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