Are you thinking about hosting a Halloween party this October but you’re tired of the tat on offer in supermarkets and on the high street?
There are plenty of ideas out there to help you make your party go with a Spooktacular swing.
Keep things simple. Stick to a two-tone colour theme of orange and black. Introducing other colours will complicate the theme and make everything clash. Other two-tone themes to try could be purple and black or black and white.
There is a website called Not on the High Street which has plenty of interesting ideas to brighten up your home this Halloween.
Get creative with pumpkins. Use templates to create some vivid, eye catching carved pumpkin jack ‘o lanterns. There is so much choice out there now that you won’t fail to find something truly original.
Themed candles and orange painted jars, decorated with spook silhouettes, with night lights will enhance the mood.
Be crafty. Use wreaths made from natural materials such as a twigs or straw and decorate them with bat, cat or witch motifs cut from black cartridge paper.
Use gothic tropes; skulls, ravens, witches and ghosts to create some original table centre piece. Play soundtracks from old Italian horror movies – think Dario Argento and Suspiria or have your favourite Hammer horror showing in the background. If that’s not to your taste have some spooky classical music playing. Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre is a must.
Now that you have the decoration and the atmosphere taken care of it’s time to turn your attention to the food.
Go for a hipster horror theme. Serve offal-based food that adults would normally recoil from – think brains, tripe and tongue. What about devilled kidneys?
Perhaps you could serve steaks, nice and rare.
Serve some suitably spooky cocktails. If all else fails you can stick with the classic Bloody Mary.
Whatever you choose to do, remember to have fun!
