How many people do you normally invite? 10-20 friends
What % shows up? Last year I think only 3 people bailed, most people show up
Age group? 25-32
How long is the party normally? 4PM - Midnight
Do you require guests to wear costumes? I can't force anyone, but we only had 2 curmudgeons last year. Everyone else dressed up. I incentivise with prizes.
Are they normally good sports about it? Yes, again, aside from the 2 curmudgeons.
Do you do a formal invitation, email or just word of mouth? I use facebook and email.
When do you send out invites (if you do)? I send out the facebook invite and email at least 1 month prior. I put a lot of work into my party, so I want people to show up.
Do you do BYOB and potluck or do you take care of that? I cook just about everything. This year I'm thinking of borrowing my parent's costco card to make things easier. As for booze, I tell my friends that I will provide very basic booze. I get some budweiser beer, some cheap red wine, and, some cheapish/medium priced gin, but I tell my friends to bring the rest, since booze is more expensive and people have more specific tastes since my friends are alcohol snobs. I mulled wine and cider though.
Is your food themed too? Yes, in a way. I got creative with the names and labeling and presentation. Examples: Mac 'n' cheese was cheesey maggots, I had dips that were different poultices (tzatziki was poultice of fire, ranch was poulitce of ice); i did cups of dirt that were "grave dirt samples"
Do you go more crazy for interior or exterior decor? I live in a duplex, so all I could do was put pumpkins out and a little skeleton coming out of the grave. I can't get too fancy. Interior decorating, I try to go all out now, I look on websites in the summer to spread out the spending and to catch the occasional summer sale.
How much in advance do you start decorating? At least 1 week before, if not more, since I try to do something spooky each weekend of October, I want to make sure I'm ready ahead of time.
Do you have entertainment? Music, videogames, board games, card games. The music is fun people request music from horror video games, horror movies, or just goofy halloween music. We do a costume contest and I give out little prizes. Then I always have a card table set up for serious board gamers, and I have all my horror videogames out in case someone wants to play something. I recommend the board game: betrayal at house on the hill. It is a haunt-themed game that involves a nice mix of random instances and careful implementation of strategy an dcoop.
Do you organize games? I make announcements after we eat. "If you want to play videogames, I'm starting them up here" "If you want to play a board game, we're starting a group here" As host, I do not really part-take in the games, but I help get people settled. We also play mafia, which is fun.
Do you live in warm climate and have activities outside or just indoors for those of us with cooler temps? I prefer to keep everyone inside. It does tend to be cooler, but not cool enough for bugs to be 100% gone. Plus I don't have my own backyard.
Is your party an annual thing and how many years has it been going? This upcoming year will be my 3rd annual halloween party. I always put it the weekend before halloween so my more party-going friends can still do their halloween night bar crawls, but still come to my costume party.
This year's theme? I haven't decided. Last year was the Corrupted Alchemist's Atelier.
What are you working on this year? I'm playing on a few ideas. Many of my friends are chemists, including myself, so I was thinking mad-scientist themed, especially because the local craft store near me has science props for halloween up already. But I was also thinking of the "Mad Mystic/Sorceress' Soiree" because I can recycle a lot of last year's stuff. If I go Mad-Scientist route, I'll probably end up doing more food prep, but if I go the Mystic/Sorceress' Route, I'll do more decor prep and activities like tarot cards and fortune telling stuff.
Do you make new props each year and/or reuse old ones? I live off of my mere chemistry teacher salary, so I try to reuse props when possible. I do plan on making a cardboard grandfather clock this year though.
Fave materials to work with? Cloth, I do a lot of drapery to alter the lighting; Glass bottles with mysterious labels and liquids, Paper and paint. I have not done any serious prop making yet.
Where do you store your props/Halloween gear? In big rubbermade containers in the basement or in bags.
Past year(s) themes? My first year had no theme other than let's watch mystery science theater 3000, play boardgames, and eat "spooky" food while in costume. My 2nd year, again, it was the Corrupted Alchemist's Atelier.
Fave theme so far? The Corrupted Alchemist theme was so fun, I'm trying to resist doing it again and perfecting it.
Fave prop you've ever made? None, just artfully using the objects in my house to be spooky and mystical.
Things you'd like to improve upon this year? This year, I want to budget and plan my menu better. Last year, my Mac 'n' cheese was such a hit it ran out mid-way through (people kept sneaking seconds) and I had to stop hosting to make more, haha. Most of my friends are guys with hearty appetites, so I'm thinking of hitting up costco's frozen appetizers (which are of rather high quality) and their ready-made dips and platters. I still plan on making my mac 'n' cheese, but I've decided to make a huge batch the day before and then make a 2nd batch as I normally would the day of. that way, if we run out, I can resort to the batch made the previous day.
Do people think you're crazy? I mean, crazy people tend to clump together, I'm no more crazy than my close friends. However, my co-workers think I'm crazy, as I always make the costumes for the whole science department. I take Halloween very seriously.
Are most guests appreciative and are most invited back? Because my party is small, they're my close friends that have been invited every year. This year I'm opening up my house to some coworkers and some of my boyfriends' friends now, so we'll see how that goes.
