Spooktacular Halloween party ideas
Whether it’s the candy, the costumes or the creepy decorations, there’s something for everyone when it comes to Halloween. If you’re looking for some fresh yet frightening ideas, look no further! We’ve got 8 Halloween party ideas with plenty of fun activities and crafts, decor picks and even some food suggestions.
How to prepare for a memorable Halloween party
Planning a Halloween party can sound like a scary undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s our Halloween party-planning breakdown:
Step 1: The invitation
- Select an invitation that matches the theme of your party. Evite has dozens of Halloween invitations with designs ranging from cute to creepy. We’ve even put together this fun list of ways to word your Halloween invitation!
Step 2: Gather the goods
- In the weeks leading up to your party, start getting your decor from Halloween stores or placing online orders. Just make sure to leave ample time for potential delivery delays if you take the online route!
Step 3: Plan the menu
- Figure out what you want to serve at your party and make sure you’ll have enough food based on the number of guests you’re expecting. Prep anything you can in the days leading up to your party so you aren’t too overwhelmed the day of.
Step 4: Don’t forget the drinks!
- Whether you’ll be picking up cans of soda or setting up a bar at your party, make sure you’ll have enough beverages to keep your guests hydrated and happy. Pro tip: big batch cocktails are a fuss-free way to serve up something exciting.
8 Halloween party ideas
Make the most out of the spookiest time of year with these frighteningly fun Halloween party ideas.
Haunted mansion
Turn your home into a haunted house to give your guests a scary good time. Choose a different theme for each room, like graveyard, skeletons, dolls or vampires. Then, lead guests through each room or allow them to explore on their own.
Spooky scavenger hunt
Hide prizes, on-theme objects, candy or pumpkins around your house and write out cryptic clues leading guests to each object.
Example Halloween scavenger hunt clue:
Object: Pumpkin
Location: Pantry
Clue: “Pumpkins near and pumpkins far, find one where the dried goods are!”
Halloween potluck
From autumnal eats to Halloween treats, a Halloween potluck is the perfect way to gather your ghouls for fun and food. This one’s pretty straightforward: just ask each guest to bring a dish! To make sure you’ve got enough to feed everyone, delegate different dish types to each guest. For example, ask some guests to bring an appetizer while asking others to bring a dessert.
And of course, don’t forget to go all out on the decorations for this one, too! Even though the tasty treats and eats might be the star of the show, you’ll still want to give your guest a fang-tastic atmosphere.
Costume contest
If you and your guests are anything like us, you’ve probably been planning your Halloween costume for months. Give everyone a chance to really show off their ’fits by hosting a Halloween costume contest!
Ask guests to dress up for the party, then invite everyone to vote for their favorite costume. You can even go the extra mile by setting up a runway and having a full-on fashion show to get your guests strutting their spooky stuff!
And make sure to check out our list of 2023’s top 23 Halloween costume ideas if you need some inspo. We’ve even included links to costume pieces for each idea!
Chilling game night
Everyone loves a classic game night, so why not host one for Halloween? Give your favorite games a spooky flair to stay on-theme and get ready for a night of fun!
Here are some of our favorite Halloween games & activities:
Halloween piñata
- Pick up a Halloween piñata from a local party shop or purchase one like this from Amazon. Fill with Halloween candy and start whacking!
Pumpkin tic, tac, toe
- Set up a grid on the ground using duct tape or party streamers. Then, use pumpkins as your tic, tac, toe pieces! Just make sure to have two different colors of pumpkins so players know which are theirs.
Jack ‘o lantern bean bag toss
- Set up trick or treating buckets at various distances, give players different colored bean bags and have them try to toss their bean bags into the buckets! Whoever gets the most bean bags into the buckets wins.
Halloween bingo
- Make your own Halloween-themed bingo board or purchase one like this from Etsy.
Musical chairs
- Play some of your fave Halloween tunes and get a game of musical chairs going! Monster Mash is obviously a must.
Creepy crafts
Throw a creepy, crafty Halloween party to get your guests’ creative juices flowing! Set up different craft stations, including pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, face painting or creepy cookie decorating.
This spooky bat pumpkin craft by Erika Domesek of P.S.—I Made This is the perfect kid-friendly craft. All you need is some faux or real pumpkins, glue, paper and a couple other craft supplies to make the cutest little pumpkin bats. Plus, the tutorial includes a printable template!
Mystical mixology
Costumes and cocktails is always a good combo, so a Halloween cocktail party is BOO-tiful idea. Add a terrifying twist to your favorite cocktails by tweaking the ingredients. Here are some of our faves:
- Crow’s blood champagne cocktail
- Spooky spiked apple cider
- Blood orange martinis
- Vampire bite cocktail
- Pumpkin punch
- Blood of grapes sangria
It’s easy to turn a cocktail into a mocktail to give the kiddos something tasty to drink. Simply replace any alcohol with club soda or juice for a family-friendly fix.
Scary movie night
Grab a projector like this one from Amazon and queue up your favorite Halloween classic. Some of our kid-friendly faves: Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown and Coraline. Don’t forget to prep plenty of Halloween treats for your guests to snack on during the movie!
Halloween sweet treats
It wouldn’t be Halloween without something sweet. Amp up your treat game with these creative recipes:
Our decor picks
When it comes to Halloween, the bar is pretty high for decorations. But fear not! With just a few wow-worthy pieces, you can totally transform your space.
For a terrifyingly terrific tablescape:
Dinnerware that scares:
For a spooky charcuterie:
Invite your loved ones to an unforgettable Halloween extravaganza
Now that you know what kind of party to throw, it’s time to send out those invitations! Evite offers plenty of free and Premium digital Halloween invitations that are certain to set the tone for your frightening fête. Customize your invitation with stamps and stickers, change the color of your envelope and edit and adjust invitation text to your heart’s content. Or, opt for a photo invitation and upload a pic of your own directly onto the invitation template. Once you’ve personalized your dream invitation, send it out via email, text or shareable link. Next, watch the RSVPs roll in in real-time and message guests to remind them to let you know whether or not they can make it. We make party planning a breeze so you can save the scary stuff for the actual party! And if you’re a total socialite expecting lots of parties in the coming year, make sure to check out Evite Pro. This annual subscription allows you to send an unlimited number of Premium invitations. Now that’s pretty fa-boo-lous.
What makes Evite SignUp Sheets different from SignUpGenius?
Developed hand-in-hand with community organizers, PTA presidents, parents and teachers, Evite's signup sheets are designed to make organizing volunteers a breeze. Here are a few ways SignUp Sheets are different than SignUpGenius:
- 100% free: SignUp Sheets are free to use.
- Ad-free: No popup ads ever! Our signup sheets remain clutter-free, keeping your volunteers focused on signing up.
- No extra login required: Seamlessly use your Evite account to create and manage your signup sheets, keeping all your events in one convenient location.
- Automatic reminders and notifications: Stay on top of your event with automated reminders and notifications for you and your participants. Perfect for busy parents, teachers and anyone juggling multiple commitments.
- Customization options: Tailor your signup sheets to your specific event, whether it's a school fundraiser, potluck, volunteer opportunity or team activity. Add custom tasks, time slots and requirements for smooth coordination.
- User-friendly experience: Our intuitive interface makes creating and sharing signup sheets simple for everyone, regardless of tech experience.
- Real-time updates: Get instant notifications whenever someone signs up or makes a change, so you always know where things stand.
Choose Evite SignUp Sheets for the easiest, most streamlined way to get volunteers and signups for your next event!
What is a signup sheet?
Signup sheets are the perfect way to streamline scheduling, volunteer recruitment, class parties, snack duty, potluck organization, parent-teacher conferences and more! You can think of them as your digital assistant for coordinating events and tasks and ensuring that your event is a success.
Evite SignUp Sheets offers parents, teachers and event planners customizable online forms that organizers and volunteers can access and update effortlessly. Volunteers can choose their preferred time slots, sign up for tasks or indicate what they'll bring to the event. It only takes organizers a few minutes to create a signup sheet and send it out with a shareable link, so they can get the word out via text, email or social media—whichever way they prefer!
Long story short, signup sheets save everyone involved tons of time, avoid scheduling headaches and ensure everything runs smoothly before and during the event.
How do I create a signup sheet?
Creating a signup sheet has never been easier than with Evite! Here’s how to create a sheet that’s sure to make your event an absolute success:
- Go to Evite SignUp Sheets and choose the template that best fits your needs. Evite offers multiple signup sheet templates perfect for every occasion, including:
- Signup sheets for one day events (without different time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing a class party, potluck or end-of-season party.
- Signup sheets for single or multiple day events (with time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing concession stand volunteers, fundraisers, parent-teacher conferences, meal train, post-game snack duty or during appreciation week.
- After selecting your sheet template, create a title for your signup sheet and add the date, the location, the time (if applicable), who the organizer is, the organizer’s phone number or email and an optional note describing the event to your volunteers. You can also change your signup sheet background and title image if you wish!
- Next, create slots for your signup sheet. If you aren’t logged into your account, you will need to do so at this point, but luckily, you can use your existing Evite account (no need to create yet another login!). What you’ll include here will depend on what your event needs, but you can include a list of what’s needed (along with optional descriptions), how many volunteers are needed, and dates and times.
- After creating your slots, you can then add a wish list from any retailer or include supply suggestions from Evite’s retailer partners. These are to help your volunteers find and purchase supplies quickly and easily.
- Finally, review your sheet, copy your shareable link and send it out to everyone on your list! Every time a volunteer signs up for a slot on your signup sheet, Evite will email you. We will also send reminders to you and your volunteers before your event so no one will forget about it, and we’ll even let volunteers know if you remove their slot or cancel your event sheet so you don’t have to!
What information should be included on a signup sheet?
When it comes to signup sheet information, there are some essentials to include regardless of what you’re organizing:
- A title for your signup sheet. Tip: Aim to keep your signup sheet title concise but clear. You want volunteers to read it and have a general understanding of what your event is about, and also make it easy for them to look for later if they need to reference your sheet again. You have the option to include a more descriptive note in a different field about your event, so save the more in-depth details for that!
- When and where the event is taking place.
- The organizer’s name and phone number.
- Slots for volunteers to choose from. Once you choose the SignUp Sheets template that fits the occasion, the slots you’ll need for your sheet will be right there and ready for you to add the relevant info, such as dates, times, items to bring and tasks to complete.
When adding your slot information, clearly define what people are signing up for, especially for a what-to-bring list or role assignments. If you want someone to bring healthy snacks for kids to enjoy after a game, specify that. You want your volunteers to feel confident in what they’re bringing and to make it easy for them to know what’s expected of them. It will save them time and stress (and you, too!). That being said, if you make your ask too specific (for example, asking for a hard-to-source item or something expensive), you may not end up with a volunteer for it. So be clear about what you expect, but also be reasonable!
Aside from providing the basic signup information, you can also add optional descriptions to both your entire signup sheet and individual slots. While not required, they can help guide your volunteers further and provide more information. You can add information about allergies, preferences and general info about the event. You can also add a wish list to make it easier for your volunteers to bring exactly what you need!
What are the benefits of using a signup sheet template?
Signup sheet templates offer a ton of advantages for both organizers and volunteers and with Evite SignUp Sheets, you'll enjoy even more benefits than other digital and paper signup sheets! Some benefits our signup sheet templates offer include:
- A 100% free experience (no subscriptions required!).
- Shareable links for quick and easy sharing.
- No need to create another login—you can use your existing Evite account.
- The option to add a wish list to help your volunteers out.
- Automatic reminders—we’ll remind everyone on your behalf.
- An easy-to-use experience with eye-catching guided templates.
- Clean, modern designs with no pop-up ads.
With Evite SignUp Sheets, you can enjoy organizing and coordinating all your events with ease. Signup sheets streamline the signup process for everyone involved, ensuring that everything will go to plan on the day of your event while saving you precious time in the process.