Your Ultimate Spooky Halloween Party Guide

     BOO! Did I scare you? Well pal that’s nothing, the real fright you have to be worried about is throwing a bad Halloween party. That’s right, just one misstep and you could have the snoozefest everyone gripes about for the rest of the year. But have no fear! I am a party planner extraordinaire and fan of all things spooky here to lend you a hand in planning the best Halloween Party of your life. Let’s begin, shall we?

      Step 1: Location

     The first and likely most important step is figuring out where to host your shindig. If you have a nice Neo home for entertaining, then that should do just fine. Maybe the living room or a rec room. However, if you don’t have the space or accommodations then consider renting out a space such as a private room in a restaurant like Kelp (if you can afford it, wowza). If your feeling very adventurous then maybe you do an onsite celebration in the Game Graveyard or the woods near the Gypsy Camp. If you do decide to venture out into the world to find a locale, then just ensure you are safe & respect the rules of that location! For the sake of this article, let’s assume you’re having it in your cozy living room. Not because I’m scared of anything of course….just for convenience. That’s all.

     Step 2: Decorations

     Décor is of the upmost importance for your spooky festivities. There are several great shops to check out for great items to decorate your spot. One spot I might suggest would be Neopets Masks (great costumes!) but truly you can even just traverse the marketplace and surely you’ll find some great pieces. Here is a little shopping guide for your convenience: fake skeletons, giant and tiny squishy spiders, miscellaneous pumpkins with jarring expressions, foam gravestones with silly etchings, false cobwebs for your squishy spiders, and the list goes on! No amount of decoration is too much on Halloween, just make sure you leave at least a few spots for guests to sit so they don’t accidentally squash a pumpkin. Trust me on that one, it’s funny the first time but the mess isn’t worth it.

     Step 3: Food

     I cannot stress ENOUGH the necessity of great snacks and beverages for the success of your Halloween party. But don’t panic, I’m here with some excellent recipe suggestions to get you headed in the right direction. The best way to approach spooky party food is to make it fun & trick your guests into believing that the food is something else entirely. See bellow two of my favorite spooky treat recipes for a little festive inspiration.

     Chilled Eyeball Custard

     1. To make your custard: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

     2. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla together in a bowl until completely combined. Pour egg mixture into 6 custard cups; sprinkle tops with nutmeg. Place cups in a baking pan and fill pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the custard cups.

     3. Bake in the preheated oven until custards are set, about 1 hour. Cool completely.

     4. To make your eyeballs: In a small bowl, combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar, peanut butter and butter. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on a waxed paper-lined pan. Chill for 30 minutes or until firm.

     5. In a microwave, melt white candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper. Immediately press a black circle candy onto the top of each eyeball for pupil. Let stand for 30 minutes or until set. Set atop the custard for a spooky dessert.

     Meowclops Candy Apple

     1. To make candy apple: Remove the stem from each apple and press a craft stick into the top. Butter a baking sheet.

     2. Place caramels and milk in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave 2 minutes, stirring once. Allow to cool briefly.

     3. Roll each apple quickly in caramel sauce until well coated. Place on prepared sheet to set.

     4. Decorate by placing a piece of upside down candy corn into each side on the top to create ears. Place a vanilla candy circle in the middle with a black licorice jellybean in the center to create the cyclops eye. Scary and delicious!

          Step 4: Costumes & Games

     No Halloween party would be complete without activities to spook and entertain your guests. Most importantly ALWAYS make your gathering a costume party. There will be no shortage of conversation to be had about all the silly & scary get ups people get their hands on. Some of my favorites include: Spider Grundo, The Court Dancer, and Captain Scarblade. However, if you are on a budget or just like a more simplistic look, a ghost, vampire, or zombie is always a classic choice. It’s always also a nice idea to have a few extra costumes or props laying around for those who weren’t able to find a snazzy outfit so they don’t feel left out. Plus props help make for funny party photos! For games & activities there is no shortage of fun choices. Here are some of my go-tos for any spooky themed party shenanigans.

     The Carnival of Terror Board Game – Full for all ages, 4 player maximum table top game.

     Apple Bobbing – Prepare to get a little wet, but a lot of hands on fun for as many players as you like.

     Count Von Roo’s Deadly Dice- Multiplayer dice game. Not for the faint of heart…

          Well folks that’s it! Follow these 4 simple steps and you are bound to have a Halloween party that will go down in the history books. The most important tip of course is to have fun and expect that everything may not go perfectly to plan but that’s OK – all that really matters is that you and your guests have a spooktacualr blast enjoying all things Halloween and making memories. Happy haunting, fellow ghouls!