Halloween parties for teens and preteens are always a lot of fun. One of the best parts is making your own decorations to give the party that extra special touch while saving money too. One of the best parties my parents helped me through was a Halloween costume party when I was about 15. We used several of the following ideas to make the event a success.
Outside
Create your own graveyard by cutting different size head stones from cardboard. Paint the cutouts using gray or black spray paint. Take a black permanent marker and mark solid lines in several areas of each one to show cracks in the stones. Also, use the marker to write different dates and messages on them. Hang construction paper bats, rubber spiders and trash bag ghosts from the trees. Create a spooky pumpkin headed scarecrow to sit in a chair next to your front door.
Picture Perfect
Find a space either outside with decent lighting or inside if room allows. Set up a backdrop of simple black and orange cloth, or even a plastic tablecloth with a Halloween theme. Add props, such as pumpkins, a hay bale to sit on, spiders, scary masks, or plastic weapons. Have an inexpensive disposable camera available and let the kids get creative to create lasting photo memories. Consider having extra prints made after the party and ask your child to hand them out with a special note as a thank you for coming to the event.
Food Table Extras
Along with your party snacks, have different size and shape glass jars with labels of items found in a mad scientist’s lab. Fill the jars with substances that would make a good equivalent to the contents listed. For example, cocktail onions in water for eyeballs, spaghetti in red sauce for blood worms, or vegetable oil for a magic potion.
Haunted House
A lot of expense isn’t required to make your home scary. The ambiance sets the mood more than the actual decorations. Have a CD of spooky sounds playing on the radio, appropriate scary shows playing on a television in the background, and flame-less flickering candles going in several areas of the party rooms. I don’t know many dad’s, older brothers or uncles that wouldn’t love the chance to come running down the hallway in a scary mask to get a scream out of a few teenagers. Have fun with the party goers, but keep in mind how your guests might react and be respectful of any act that might be over the top for some of them.
Help make a memorable Halloween party for your preteen or teenager without spending a lot of money. Using just a few of these ideas, you just might be the coolest parents on the block.