*Halloween Party Ideas

Images from Pinterest

Halloween is almost here! I used to go to so many Halloween parties as a child *and Halloween discos were a thing for me as I grew up in the 90's*. I was always a cat for some reason even though I don't really like cats but I did love Halloween discos and dressing up. In England, trick or treating isn't really a thing so watching Halloween films, going to friends Halloween parties and my school Halloween disco were our Halloween activities but as an adult I don't really do anything for Halloween. However, I want to throw a Halloween party this year, even though it's on a Monday, and Festive Lights have a great post full of ideas for an adult Halloween party! This is a collaborative post.

Costumes & Makeup

For the past couple of years I have been creating Halloween makeup looks for my blog which is one of my main Halloween activities around this time of the year and it's SO fun! You can't have a Halloween party without costumes and halloween makeup. I have quite a few ideas on my blog for makeup looks including the Cheshire Cat,  a mermaid, a sugar skull and much more - my most recent Halloween look was a vampire witch look! You could create a costume or makeup competition and whoever has the best or the creepiest makeup or costume would win a prize.

Snacks & Drinks 

Festive Lights and also Pinterest have amazing Halloween food, drink and snack ideas! Festive Lights have some fantastic cocktail ideas such as 'freak show lemonade', 'Witches Coven' and more all of which are inspired by the TV show American Horror Story (I really need to start watching it). I have one Halloween recipe on my food blog for Vegan Coconut and Chocolate Muffins with Vegan Jelly and I also have some more healthy Halloween food ideas on my blog too.

Decor 

Halloween decorations have to be some of the best homeware decorations ever, can you tell that I love Halloween? Wilkinsons and Amazon have some fantastic Halloween decorations at great prices. Also you could go down the DIY route and use the templates on the Festive Lights Halloween party PDF to create a creepy bat silhouette on a lamp shade which would be so easy to do but so effective.

Games & Music

We never did apple bobbing as children at school but you could make a more adult version using punch or cider instead of water. Pumpkin carving competitions, telling scary stories and drinking games would be perfect for a adult Halloween party. Halloween music is an essential; here are some of my Halloween music picks: Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett, Thriller by Michael Jackson, Time Warp from the Rocky Horror Picture Show film and Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.

Films + TV Shows

Now for more of a hygge inspired Halloween party were it's more intimate with close friends and family. A Halloween TV/film night with candles and spooky snacks would be perfect for me, here are some of my recommendations: Beetlejuice (it's one of my favourite films!), Hocus Pocus, Sleepy Hollow (the Johnny Depp film version) and Pan's Labyrinth. My TV recommendations: The Strain, The Frankenstein Chronicles, The Living and the Dead, Sleepy Hollow and my favourite Halloweenesque TV show which is Penny Dreadful - it's quite distributing at times!

Definitely check out the Festive Lights Halloween Party PDF! 

What do you think of these ideas? What are you doing for Halloween this year? Any Halloween TV show recommendations?

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My Halloween TV + Film Picks

Images from Google

Up until three years ago I was never really interested in Halloween - we had halloween discos at primary school and during high school we always watched something halloween related but it wasn't until  I started my blog just over three years ago that I started to get Halloween fever every year. 

I started with Halloween nail art and now I love craving a pumpkin with my sister every year and watching 'scary' or Halloween themed films and TV shows as well as nostalgic TV/films such as The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes and The Nightmare Before Christmas while I ignore trick or treaters. We actually don't get that many Halloween trick or treaters even though we live in an area were there are a lot of families as trick or treating isn't an English thing. 

For the past couple of years I have created a Halloween makeup series on my blog and this year has been no different! I love creating Halloween looks as it allows me to use products and shades that I wouldn't normally and it means I can be really creative! Here are the looks I created last year: Poison Ivy, Corpse Bride, a Lichtenstein inspired look, a doll look and the Cheshire Cat.

When autumn rolls around (and before then because I just love these types of films/TV all year round) I always want to watch anything slightly scary or literally anything from Tim Burton because he is my favourite director! My favourite Halloween/slightly scary/autumnal films recently include: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus and Beetlejuice as well as Sleepy Hollow because, you know...young Johnny Depp...

My favourite TV shows for this time of the year are definitely a bit darker than I would usually have watched a few years ago such as Penny Dreadful which is definitely NOT for the faint hearted, The Strain, Sleepy Hollow (it's a pretty good TV show, even if it is a little cheesy at times) and Copper which isn't a halloween or scary TV show but it is all about crime, violence and the rouges of  New York in the late 1800's. 

If you have any Halloween TV shows or film recommendations let me know! Also if you have any Tim Burton like recommends leave a comment or tweet me! 

What are your favourite Halloween films/TV shows?

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