Thread: First Halloween Party!

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Hi all, I am new here and am attempting to plan my first Halloween party. I am amazed to have found such a helpful site. I do have some limitations to our party that I thought I would ask for your help with.

First - I definitely want to have a themed party, with some level of interactive game / theater type of entertainment element. I want the house to be very dark and creepy, of course. We are young and want a big dance floor atmosphere as well. So here are the limitations:

1) we live in a small house, 3 bedroom ranch. We don't have much space in the living room or even on the patio to accommodate all the guests we want to have over (around 50.) But, we do have a huge back yard and an unfinished basement that we could use. The only problem is - you have to go through the garage to get to the basement. Would this be a feasible option or too disconnected?

2) we are on a tight budget! Is it possible to throw an amazing Halloween party without breaking the bank? If so, what are your best ideas and resources?

And in general, any ideas to make a zombie theme party with the elements listed above that overcomes the challenges also listed, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

You can do this on a limited budget. Shop thrift stores and garage sales for old clothes. You can shred them or creep them up easily. You can make props that hang easily. Just hang the clothes on a wire hanger to suspend with fishing line or hang on hooks. We used party balloons blown up and placed inside of masks for the heads. You can draw the eyes on with markers and highlighters or just black or gray them out for the undead look. Be creative and think outside the box when you are walking through GW or thrift stores. I also found that buying the youth sized costumes from these places works well for the hanging ghouls. They are also cheaper and more plentiful.

I don't know a lot about zombies, but others will be along with great ideas for you. Welcome to the Forum. Be sure to update us on your progress with photos. We love photos.

Oh, I just had an idea. As I told you, I don't know much about zombies, but my younger sister attended a Zombie Walk in Lincoln, NE week before last. Maybe you could have your guest travel through the land of zombies to get to the basement for dancing. (trip to Hell....) I think I would definitely use this area. It has lots of potential.

Originally Posted by printersdevil

Oh, I just had an idea. As I told you, I don't know much about zombies, but my younger sister attended a Zombie Walk in Lincoln, NE week before last. Maybe you could have your guest travel through the land of zombies to get to the basement for dancing. (trip to Hell....) I think I would definitely use this area. It has lots of potential.

Ooooh, I love it! Great idea!!! And potentially have a few of the guests dress up as zombies, and hang out in that area (just at the beginning of the party or something?) to make it more realistic? I'm envisioning them "chained" and trying to lunge out at people as they pass by.

Here are some links. You should be able to find lots online about it. My sister is supposed to send me photos.

http://www.lincolnzombiewalk.com/lineup.html


This is from last year:
http://journalstar.com/news/local/ar...cc4c002e0.html


http://upcoming.yahoo.com/flickr/663...ent/4941578264

I also have a small home but have a lot of guests come to our parties. I wish I had a basement to use. We use our drive way, garage and backyard. We put small portable heaters in the backyard. I have old curtains that I have splattered red paint on and hung around the trees with fishing line to create rooms. In the drive way we put up a pop up that we use for tailgating. We string lights around it and use this for our dance area. I went to the meat market and purchased a large roll of brown butcher paper. It was about $30. We tore off strips and crumpled it up. We attached it to the walls in the garage to make it look like a cave. We also have a strobe light that we use for our lighting in the garage. But if you dont have one you could use glow sticks. String bats up with fishing line. Your guests will feel like they are walking through a creepy cave to get to the basement. I hope this helps.

We have a 3 bedroom ranch as well & an unfinished basement. Though we access it through an open stairwell in the living room, we use the basement as a "haunted house" if you will. Most of our scary decor is there. We string lights along the rafters & replace bulbs with red or black lights. We use black plastic to block off sections we don't want anyone in & use the Halloween Scene Setters for the walls. We have used the "dungeon" theme & the "haunted house" theme 2X now. I would make a "hallway" in garage leading to the basement door by using black plastic & possible strobe lights & scary decor or props. If you wanted, you could even put all the food & drinks down there so people won't have to walk back & forth often. It's really great cause you don't have to worry much about spills & accidents. Plus, because most items are down there, you can take your time taking all the decor down after the party. We usually keep most of the food on the main floor (except for some snacks) & I do a punch up here & one in the basement. Most of my guests bring coolers they put in the basement to keep their beer. It works great. The basement is what everyone looks forward to seeing when they arrive.

I have some pics in my albums if you would like to take a peek. All of the prop pics were taken in the basement.

Great ideas! I am definitely going to use a lot of these. I like the idea of doing the haunted basement, and the fact that it will be so much easier for cleanup. A lot more room for the dance floor too. And I love the black sheet and fluorescent paint idea too! I think that would look so wicked in the basement with a strobe light and some loud music. And then the zombies could crash through the sheets onto the dance floor as a surprise "trick" for the party..

The Dance Dungeon

We are also limited on space and cover our patio with a tent for the party. Not sure where you live and how cold it is on halloween but that could be an option as well.