40days need help

1713 Views 18 Replies 13 Participants Last post by blackfog, Sep 25, 2015

amylw1

Discussion Starter · Sep 21, 2015

Hi,

my friend has messaged me today saying there's a good chance she wont be able to host halloween as planned since last yrs party and can i do it. overall this wont be a problem BUT i hvae no theme and not much money to sort it. i also need to follow the high standard of my spiders lair from last yr.

any ideas on what i can do on the cheap to make it looks good?

i have all the spidery stuff from last year, i have some small witches and witchy/potion bottles and shelf for them. i have a few bits ready for harry potter but not enough to be worth while and on same lines i have a few scary gnomes that are meant as outdoor props but again not enough. i have various small inflatable things (look cheap), and have assortment of hanging decs and things. i dont want it looking too mismatched or plain and i cant go to scary as will have 5/6yrs in house right up to adults.

i had the thought of blood scene for in bathroom as can get white towel and bath mat cheap enough and a shower curtain from £1 store and the sell white decorators sheets, i already have fabric paint and acrylic paints.

i have a lounge/living room with combined dining room its all in an "L" shape, and kitchen downstairs, a small entry way that leads to lounge and upstairs, up the stairs and then the bathroom.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

lawrie

· #2 · Sep 21, 2015

Lighting- coloured bulbs are cheap and can change the feel of a room instantly.

lizzyborden

· #3 · Sep 21, 2015

Creepy cloth, lots of creepy cloth and as lawrie suggested, lighting.

Reactions: 2

thespookster

· #4 · Sep 21, 2015

How about you sort everything you have and make each room a specific theme, like the kitchen with all your spider stuff . If you feel as if you don't have enough decorations try Ross, any dollar store or Big Lots. I also agree that the lighting can make a huge difference. I have some black lights I purchased from Wal-Mart and some purple string lights from Big Lots.

Reactions: 1

Madame Leota

· #5 · Sep 21, 2015

Spider webs, creepy cloth, and candles; that's all you need for spooky ambience! No need for complicated themes or props.

Reactions: 3

pacman

· #6 · Sep 21, 2015

I know a lot of people have done it already but what about a WALKING DEAD or zombie theme , this way you could still use the blood theme in the Bathroom with your shower curtain , you could use old clothes , T shirts and old trousers and just distress them and gore them up so budget wise some cheap black and brown spray paint for distressing and tin bright red blood for gore effect . You can make your own signs etc , messages for survivors , cheap plastic chains to mock chain up windows and doors ? and utilizing cheap body-part props readily available now in various U.K. shops you could have these around etc ....

a_granger

· #7 · Sep 21, 2015

Madame Leota said:
Spider webs, creepy cloth, and candles; that's all you need for spooky ambience! No need for complicated themes or props.

just like this and with the items you already have highlighted here and there for an extra visual interest would work quite well I should think.

dawnski

· #8 · Sep 22, 2015

Can you do an infestation theme? The insects take over the house. Then you can use your spiders, buy or cut out a bunch of cockroaches and go that route. A couple colored lights should do the trick. Here are some idea links:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/238901955209468768/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/238901955209443131/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/238901955205668918/

You can click on these links for more ideas and also some insect pics to print out:
https://www.pinterest.com/zim2/halloween-crittersinsects/
https://www.pinterest.com/zim2/halloween-cabinet-of-curiosities/

amylw1

Discussion Starter · #9 · Sep 22, 2015

thanks everyonen for replies.

we have a full disco set up including uv blacklights so the lights are not a problem. hubby says i'm over-worrying because i want better than we had last year with spiders and i like time to plan so its just right. he reckons that even if we did the spiders again no-1 would mind and would still enjoy themselves. lol!

hubby's going up in loft at weekend so we can work out what we have (as i've lost the inventory!) and take new pics so I can re-make it and we will go from there.

Ghouliet

· #10 · Sep 22, 2015

You could float a plastic witch's hat in a tub of water and print of some witch labels for your soap dispensers. You can pick up striped stockings to hang over a shower curtain or shower door or drape them over a pair of black boots. You can usually find witch costumes pretty cheap at Goodwill.

Glass jars with labels you print off and black crows can also add to the atmosphere.

amylw1

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 22, 2015

i'm in the uk, so dont have the stores mentioned. but do have few cheap shops around.

we will sort something out. its probably just me panicking

Guanaco_sensei

· #12 · Sep 22, 2015

Sorry, I duplicated this message.

Guanaco_sensei

· #13 · Sep 22, 2015

How about Creepy Carnival?

My wife and I had this theme for Halloween two years ago and it turned out really awesome! Here's a list of things we did:

-For the front door, I built this creepy circus booth ffrom some old wooden pallets.

- We made some popcorn and got some melting caramel, dyed it red and our guests could have bloody caramel popcorn.

- In our living room, I bought some red and white paper streamers from amazon, then attached them to the middle of the room and the other end around the room. It looked like a circus tent, really cool!

- In the guest bathroom, we replaced our mirror with this creepy clown mirror and it was sooo much fun waiting for the (inevitable) scream that would eventually follow when someone walked in there hahaha!

- From the middle of the circus tent, we hung this dude that had been wrapped in some spider web, and then we got this giant spider and hung it around the webbing.

Then you can ask your Freaks (guests) to dress to impress following your theme, or as whatever they want

There's a ton of cool stuff that you can find on ebay for creepy carnival.

Good luck!

P.S. Here's what my living room looked like

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lawrie

· #14 · Sep 22, 2015

Do you have any pics from last year? If we know what you did we may be able to suggest ways to re work it.

Get round the poundshops, B&M, Homebargains, The range (check out the UK shopping thread) and whilst a bit dearer, TK Maxx has lots of cool bits.

You could do a army of stickytape ghosts quickly and easily too.

If you have any local car boot sales then visit them for anything spooky- picture frames, fabrics, clothing, hats, boxes etc.

I went to my local family run fabric/net curtain shop for cheesecloth, and whilst they had none, I asked if they had any lace of thin fabrics that were damaged or they were throwing away I could have and was given a big bag with 20-30 metres of various net material. Its not all really spooky or anything, buy I will be able to really transform a room with it.

lawrie

· #15 · Sep 22, 2015

Another thing to do is look for a cheap projector on ebay. If you look fot a used one, and list it nearest first so you can collect you should find something for under £30 ( spend a bit more if you might use it at other times of the year) to do some projections etc (there are free ones on youtube) which could be your new thing. You could even buy and then sell on after halloween.

Greenwick

· #16 · Sep 22, 2015

If you have colored paper, especially black, you can add lots of quick decorative elements that way. Silhouettes can be very striking & effective, and you can put them pretty much anywhere. If you add a thin white or black line around the edge, that can look pretty good too.

Good luck!

pacman

· #17 · Sep 22, 2015

Whatever you decide after you have done a stock take .... lol keep us informed and let us know your decision .

yellow_moon

· #18 · Sep 23, 2015

Could you have an outdoor fire? Fire gathers people together and it's simple.

If you google mystical fire you will find a relatively cheap product that creates all different colors in your fire. That can be wacky and fun for all hallows's eve.

The most important part of any party is the host's energy...so make it work for you so you can have as much fun as possible. That's what people remember, the vibe and yes the lighting is a great way to set a party mood.

Food, Fire, Fun lighting and some music.

blackfog

· #19 · Sep 25, 2015

5

I used a different CFL colored bulbs in every room and used the grey netting from the dollar store cut to fit the shade. I also used black plastic tablecloths and made floor length curtains for each doorway. You can also use the plastic door covers from the dollar store and they just cling to the wall without tape. I also cut some to fit over the glass of pictures I have on the wall and again they just cling to the glass. I also did this in the kitchen over my cabinets cut them out to fit. For the bathroom I used the birds from the dollar store and lined them up over the doorway with thumbtacks and put a yellow light in one of the bulbs and put a soundtrack of birds playing in the cabinet über the sink. I also switched out pictures of birds I copied from the computer. Also in the kitchen I put a fake leg on a cookie sheet and left the oven light on so you can see it. So using lighting and some props from the dollar store you can decorate not spending a whole lot. You can look at my picture albums of my two parties I had. Hope this helps!!

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