[Phantasm]

Hey there haunters!
After a brief brush with "normal life", I am back in the swing of things and once again focused on our favorite holiday. Our Halloween party went amazingly last year and we've had many people ask if we will be throwing a party again this year. I can't wait to throw a party again, but Im having a terrible time trying to decide on a theme. Or if I should even have one specific focus. I have a decent variety of decorations and with a little bit of work, could outfit the party to several different themes.

SO… I look to you, oh wise ones!
In your experience/opinion, is a specific theme better than hodge-podge halloween? Or maybe a multi-theme with different themes in different areas?

Thanks in advance for your input!!

 

[The Stalk]

Hi Phantasm. I'm new to the forum, but not to Halloween. I like "themed" haunts/parties better, though I would use the word "focused" over themed. I think the story-telling aspect of a good haunt/party is important. Your goal is to take guests on a journey away from the ordinary, and the best journeys have great narratives. I also find it helps with planning/preparation. There are so many fantastic ideas and possibilities out there that I can get easily overwhelmed/bogged down, and my enthusiasm may wan.

Just my opinion, but I think it's worthwhile to have a focus, both for your own sanity, and the experience of your guests. Good luck this year!

 

[printersdevil]

I agree on having a focus, but it can be varied by room and work.

 

[Itzpopolotl]

I don't do a theme for my party but then my mom and I currently combine decorations every year so since we both buy decorations it's hard to nail down a theme. It does make putting decorations away interesting lol sometimes we can't remember which one of us bought some of the new decorations a because we both really like it and other times we both buy the same decorations without realizing it. It does make for a great ability to constantly switch things up.

 

[The Stalk]

printersdevil-- I'm a big fan of a lot of your posts, so hello! I agree that set pieces can vary throughout the haunt/experience. This year I'm doing a Hansel & Gretel Witch House theme, and the experience will vary greatly from the gingerbread entrance to the cannibal oven photo-op at the end. I've never really utilized a transitioning theme that changes so vastly, and I'm struggling with the transition, so my penchant for focused haunts/parties may be coming from some very real weaknesses of my own.

Thanks for all your great posts!

 

[RCIAG]

I want to do a party this year and do a "vintage" theme. I've got plenty of indoor decor and I've been collecting Ben Cooper/Collegeville costumes and masks for a while now, mostly the stuff from my 70s/80s era childhood for decorations. I'll get candy from those eras, games, food etc.

I haven't decided if I'm going to require guests to wear their fave vintage costume from their childhood or just request costumes in general.
I may just go generic scary stuff outside as usual, but I don't feel like everything needs to be vintage. But some would, it just depends on each person and maybe the time they have too.

I think that many here adjust things accordingly to the weather too. If I had some vintage outdoor stuff or games I may not bother with it if it rains.

 

[Itzpopolotl]

Yea weather here can be anything in October!!! My first 3 years of my party the day would start sunny highs in the 50s and by party time it would be in the 30s and pouring rain (not good for outdoor activities). Last year the highs were in the 70s with sun all day and lows in the 50s that night so was able to do a fire outside and enjoy the outdoor decorations for a change. I remember halloweens as a kid where it was dumping snow so you just never know for us.

 

[Phantasm]

Stalk, I love the idea of having a narrative. Thats something I wouldn't have thought of for a party. Im not exactly sure how well that would work for my house. Especially with the way guests tend to wander between rooms. I'll have to think on that one for a while. Thanks for the idea!

Printer, thanks for your feedback. I wish I was as focused as you are with your conjurers consortium!

Itzpopplotl, I can relate to difficulty putting decorations away! I just thew everything together last year with no rhyme of reason, and I already know I'll regret that this season…. I can also relate about the weather. I live in NW Ohio which is why I plan for indoors only. Safer that way.

RCIAG, I've decided to play it safe for my first few parties. Even if I do close a theme, guests will not be required to dress accordingly as long as the have some sort of costume. I'm afraid people would show up without costumes or not show up at all if I placed costume restrictions…

I guess my biggest problem is deciding which decor not to use this time around. I hate to leave any decorations packed up! But at the same time, Im not sure how to pull off multi-focal. Like how do you tie in pirates and gypsies and werewolves? And whatever I do I can't leave out my potion bottle collection! Thats my Halloween Mona Lisa! Sigh… I gotta go ponder all this…

 

[ooojen]

I can see there being a lot of fun in a single theme, but I do multiple individual-themed rooms for a few reasons.
One is for the sake of my guests' costume choice. Not everyone I invite will necessarily want to get a costume in the single theme I've chosen. They have more fun picking out something that appeals to them, or they might prefer to re-use what they have. That's fine; I want them to have a good time and not be burdened by it.
Guests might have more than one party to attend, and shouldn't have to get multiple costumes to fit in.
It's also expensive to get an entire new house-full of decorations every year! I swap a few things around, and I have some new stuff every year, but I don't completely redo the works. I'd soon run out of time, money, and places to store things...and I'd miss displaying some of the regular stuff.

I usually do single-theme parties in the summer. They're outdoors in an open-sided tent, so it takes fewer decor pieces to set the mood.
My main party areas at Halloween (open kitchen, dining and living room areas) are decorated in general Halloween theme-- cats, bats, vultures, ravens, spiders, skulls, pumpkinsn--- and I have several more specific areas that imo sort of flow. Thus far they've all worked with Neo-Gothic/Victorian (Dracula, Fortune-teller, and Frankenstein) That's not as jarringly different as joining, say, alien, pirate and carnival, but it's less limiting than doing the entire house in a Dracula theme.

 

[Phantasm]

Great advice Ooojen! However, I kinda want to pull off an alien-pirate-carnival theme now. That sounds like a blast! Haha! Just kidding!

I agree 100% about the costumes. You expressed everything I was thinking. I like the idea in theory, and I might try to throw at least one party with theme-specific costumes eventually. I can only imagine how fun it would be to see everyones take on the same theme.

I do like the thought of general halloween with 1 or 2 theme specific areas. That might be the best way to keep a more of the more theme-specific decoration in the mix with out going crazy and overwhelming the guests. I felt like that was one of my drawback from last year. I had sooo much stuff EVERYWHERE (over-kill has always been one of my strong suits! haha) that people couldn't focus on anything. That doesn't lend itself to a relaxed enjoyable party.

I really appreciate everyones input! You've all given great advice and given me a lot to think over!

 

[pumpkinpie]

I am a HUGE fan of themed....but I always keep it focused. My husband on the other hand, thinks zombies means ZOMBIES and doesn't understand that too much is just TOO MUCH, so a lot of his plans get vetoed lol. My thing is just as in decorating, your eye needs to rest....and the design has to make sense.

Feel free to search my albums, I've done random, carnevil, zombies and pirates so far or if you'd like you can visit my pinterest boards (just follow the link in the signature)...I have TONS of boards all themed out...

Btw, what themes are you leaning towards...

 

[pumpkinpie]

Another thing i wanted to add.

As to picking which props make the cut and who gets left in storage....you'll find that your guests see everything with fresh eyes. It definitely keeps them from getting bored.

As for costumes, we've only dreamed of themed costumes but never enforced it...this year, to my surprise, everyone came as a pirate...IT WAS A BLAST!!!!

 

[RCIAG]

RCIAG, I've decided to play it safe for my first few parties. Even if I do close a theme, guests will not be required to dress accordingly as long as the have some sort of costume. I'm afraid people would show up without costumes or not show up at all if I placed costume restrictions…

I think that's the reason I may not require a vintage costume, some may not want to go to that extreme (or know how to). I think I'll be happy if people just show up at all!

Also reason #2 I won't require a vintage costume is this pic. They made repro costumes but in adult sizes & while they're pretty awesome & did a great job ( I totally want that WW costume), but honestly, it kinda creeps me out. I don't know if I could deal with an adult showing up like this.
.

I was just googling for Ben Cooper/Collegeville pics of kids in those costumes & that showed up. For those that are interested, here's the page & their tutorial (sort of there's no pics of actual construction).
http://theleagueofheroes.yuku.com/reply/104477/Need-advice-making-old-school-Ben-Cooper-style-costumes#.VUzdGflViko