Halloween Party Theme Ideas

This Halloween, you might be thinking about having a party. Sure, you can do so without a theme, and just ask everyone to come as they are. Or you could make it a little more challenging, and more fun, and have a unifying theme. You can use the theme either as a basis for the decorations and food, or as costume suggestions for your guests. Here are some ideas.

Think of a category, such as movies, and ask everyone to come as a character. Or think of something you consider to be part of the holiday, like a jack o lantern, or pumpkin, or black cats, or witches. Use that thing as the featured motif in your decorations.

One of the most popular themes is spiders. You can easily spread fake cobwebs across your rooms, add tiny spiders to the tablecloth, and incorporate spiders into your food and tableware.

What about skeletons or mummies? Serve mummy dogs (pigs in the blanket) and mummified skin chips (pita chips) with your grossest dip.

For kids parties, think about what kids love, then think of ways to make that scary or fun. Ghosts are popular. Kids can make ghosts during the party from napkins and small balls, or balloons and pieces of cheesecloth or fabric.

Pirates are a huge hit with both girls and boys alike. Have a cake that looks like a treasure chest, and throw candies on it, to look like jewels. Have them make eye patches during the party, or play Pin the Hook on Captain Hook (a version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.)

For adults, retro is always fun. Have a 60s party, complete with groovy decorations, hippie costumes, and gogo dancers. Or a 70s party, with black lights and psychedelic colors. Do an 80s party, with big hair and jewelry, shoulder pads, and 80s music, of course.

If you like to dance, do a zombie jamboree. Create a cemetery scene in your yard, complete with arms clawing their way out of the ground. Have your guests dress as zombies. Then you can all learn the moves from Michael Jackson's Thriller video and dance that together!

Don't forget your pets. Have a people and pets party. Be sure to have special pet-safe treats for the animals. Never feed them regular human trick or treat candy or desserts. They may contain things like xylitol and chocolate, which can be very dangerous, or even kill, your pets.

Let your imagination run wild. Look at pictures, or just remember what you used to do as a kid. You'll be able to come up with a great Halloween party theme for this year's celebration. Have a spook-tacular time!