Thanks star girl. With your instructions and the pictures I can see how you did it, I bet it looked amazing in person. That's a shame you missed your own party - probably a combination of stress, exhaustion and alcohol. The shadow animation sounds really cool but I don't have a projector. Maybe I could set something up to play on the computer. I finished my playlist, just waiting to see what new songs come out this year. I cannot thank you enough for posting your list, you saved me hours of research.
My playlist was a BIG hit, and the other thing that was a big hit was the video that I played during the event on my projector which consisted of a series of fairytale "shadow animation" videos. People were way more into that then I thought they would be. I had people staring at the wall for hours, trying to figure out some hidden meaning (there wasn't one). I'd be happy to give you a list of the videos from you-tube that I used if you are interested. Also, give yourself an OBSCENE amount of time! I was setting up for a week in the evenings but I was still turning on music and my projector after my guests had arrived. Will have what photos I have up right away. Please let me know if you have anymore advice. Sorry to ramble on. I'm actually an event coordinator and this is the one event every year that I still do for me so it's rare for me to give free advice but I always do here at the forum. Also I know that this isn't an often-used theme. Glad to hear that someone else is giving it a whirl.
Sorry I just saw this now. Yes I would be happy to post some photos. I hate that there are so few. Most of the "echanted forest" is in the background of photos. It's UV reactive spray paint from WalMart on white painted (strongly recommend to save money, because without it nothing shows up and you waste more expensive UV paint) real branches and twigs with glow in the dark spider webs on top of cheap 2 mil black plastic from Home Depot. Though the pictures suck, it did look amazing in person and kept people in a room that had been somewhat ignored in years past no mater what I put in there. As far as tips... If you are doing an "enchanted forest," do it outside, or someplace that is already black or VERY dark. It doesn't show up right without a black background and that took about 8-10 hours to cover the walls in one large room by myself. DO NOT USE ABSINTHE WITHOUT A PRO, my bro has been tending for the last 4 years and this was the first year that there has been any issues. Sadly, I missed half the night because I was PASSED OUT which has never happened at any Halloween parties, led alone the HOST If you use absinthe, look at HALF a shot EACH! It will keep your costs down too. I didn't heed the warning of others thinking that the "green fairy" would be a great addition but I REALLY screwed myself and I have a very high tolerance for alcohol as a regular drinker and larger framed woman. Bobbing for apples, no matter how hard I've tried is a kids-only game. I event tried adding "grown up" prizes, it didn't work. Still a big hit with kids though, so you should buy enough apples for the kids.
Hi star girl, I was just doing a search on Scary Tales (next year's theme) and came across your amazing playlist. Thanks for posting that, you saved me hours...days...weeks of searching for songs. I know you didn't get many pictures of your party but can you post any pics you took of your enchanted forest? It sounds wonderful. Also, if you can share any ideas for this theme - decor, food, games - I would greatly appreciate it. I found many ideas on the forum but always looking for more. Thanks, Tanna
