Tricks For Treating: Halloween Entertaining

The night is dark and the goblins are out, and the witches and black cats are prowling about. And costumed creatures, the strangest I've seen, are knocking on doors 'cause tonight's Halloween!

October is the month for tasty, fall treats, beautiful colors and Halloween! A month for chilling, themed parties that everyone will truly enjoy! For this month, Wedding And Party Network's Halloween themed newsletter just for you! Here you’ll find lots of ideas to throw a thrilling Halloween party! Here are just a few ideas to let you know what’s in store:

Halloween Colors: Of course, you’re thinking black and orange. However, change it up a bit with hot pink, purple & black for a more modern vibe. Whichever way you decide to go, just make sure to keep it within the Halloween spirit!

Party Décor: Spiders, bats and cobwebs, oh my! Think, cobwebs, spooky jack-o-lanterns and witch hats for fun party decorations. Your Halloween party décor should be chilling and thrilling decorations that will put a frightful spin on the party.

Frightful Food: Picture finger shaped appetizers, graveyard cupcakes or a witch’s house-inspired cake that will put your Halloween party over the top. Frightful treats will truly be one to enjoy!

You’ll find these ideas and many more that will help you create a fun, Halloween themed party for everyone! All your guests will truly enjoy their frightful night provided by you. So go on and find out what’s in store. You may want to be cautious and continue reading, if you dare!

We're Social:

"A specter's hanging in the yard, your next clue's hidden in his garb." What does this sound like?  A fun Halloween scavenger hunt waiting to happen!  This is the absolute perfect Halloween party for kids and adults.  The adults will enjoy it just as much as the kids, it'll bring out their inner child.
Read more about How To Throw A Halloween Scavenger Hunt Party…

How To Throw A Zombie Invasion Halloween Party (For Under $40)

Zombie parties are the easiest way to throw an impromptu Halloween party. The decorations are easy, in fact, you don't really have to decorate at all. (But it's a lot more fun if you do!) Keep reading for more on how to throw an amazing zombie party with decorations, zombie-themed food, and easy zombie make up for under $40!
Read more about How To Throw A Zombie Themed Halloween Party…

Ghouls Night In— The Ultimate Girls Halloween Party

Halloween is such a fun time of the year!  Delicious candy, creepy decorations and adorable costumes to get you in the Halloween spirit!  There's so many Halloween themes and party ideas to pick from that you won't know where to begin!  Well, why not choose a Halloween theme for just the girls, or ghouls?
Read More about Throwing A Girls Halloween Party…

Tips For Throwing A Twilight Party

If you have a tween it's safe to say that you've heard of Twilight. You may even be a fan yourself. Because so many people love the Twilight series, here are a few Twilight party ideas that would be helpful for Twilight themed Halloween Party.
Read more about Throwing A Twilight Themed Halloween Party…

All Your Party Needs in One Location
Paris Caterers and Dance Party Djs provides the perfect location setting for any special event and all the special added details. An extravagant y-shaped staircase, dramatic suites with gorgeous fireplaces and breathtaking chandeliers and a stunning picturesque garden pavilion will be an added touch to your special day. Why stop there?
Read More about Paris Caterers and Dance Party DJs…

Unforgettable Photos Each and Every Time from Anderson's Designer Portraits
A professional photographer at your service is Anderson's Designer Portraits. They create amazing photographs ranging from bridal portraits, senior portraits, family portraits, engagement and wedding photos. Each and everyone is created with true passion that will say something special about you.
Read More about Anderson's Designer Portraits…

Imagine having the perfect wedding day and topping it all of with a piece of art from Crystal Image Ice Carvings. Guests will truly be amazed by an ice sculpture carved just for you. It will definitely be the talk of the night; behind you, of course!
Read More about Crystal Image Ice Carvings…

Sunshine Flowers Is At Your Service With Exceptional Wedding And Event Flowers!
Are you in search for a trustworthy, local florist who can create your idea floral arrangements? Sunshine Flowers is just the choice for you. They will create the most extraordinary floral arrangements and decor for any occasion. Not only offering beautiful flowers, they also provide beautiful wedding and party rentals and accessories for your next special occasion.
Read More about Sunshine Flowers…

For more vendors in your area, visit Wedding And Party Network for all of your wedding and party planning needs!

Empty houses abound in the once densely populated city. Zombies are now all that remain in this decaying suburbia. With no more humans to devour, what better way to enjoy these empty spaces than to throw a ZOMBIE PARTY!

HOW TO THROW A ZOMBIE PARTY FOR UNDER $40

Zombie parties are the easiest way to throw an impromptu Halloween party. The decorations are easy, in fact, you don't really have to decorate at all. (But it's a lot more fun if you do!) Keep reading for more on how to throw an amazing zombie party with decorations, zombie-themed food, and easy zombie make up for under $40!

+ zombie party decorations

Zombie party decorations are the EASIEST! You just have to make your house look wrecked and messy. (Gee, that's not hard to do!) You want your house to look like it was quickly abandoned.. For this you can do as little as turning over some chairs or as elaborate as actually boarding up your house.. It's up to you, be creative! (note: we are not liable for any damage you might do boarding up your windows ) Here are a few suggestions that I did for my zombie party last year:

FAKE BOARDS – The last, uninfected humans used boards on their windows to keep the zombies OUT! Our fake boards give our party the same look and feel.

For our fake boards, we used recycled cardboard boxes from our local grocery store.

• Cut the cardboard into 1½' strips about 4" wider than your windows
• Draw on them with markers, like so:

• Attach the boards to your windows with masking tape. (Be careful not to use tape that might hurt your window frame or wall.)

For curtains – I have long curtains that I really didn't want to take down and put back up, (lots of windows and I'm short!) I taped safety pins to the back of my 'boards' and just pinned them to my curtains.

Other Places: Don't forget to board up other places that zombies might enter. I also boarded up my fireplace!

COBWEBS: Your house has been abandoned for a while, there are cobwebs all over.

You can find fake cobwebs at almost any store that sells cheap Halloween decorations. String your cobwebs up all over your house, or at least anywhere your guests might enter.

FACE MASKS: The last humans would have tried to protect themselves from the z-day infection with face masks.

I figured whoever lived here, I bought a package of face masks from my local hardware store and placed them around my house. I have a few busts that decorated with face masks as well.

WARNING SIGNS: No doubt there would be signs warning of the zombies.

Out of the same cardboard used to make the fake window boards, I made warning signs: Quarantined! Beware! Zombies! Infected! Captured! …you get the idea.

+ zombie party food ideas

For the best zombie party food, just think, "If I were a zombie, what would I eat?" This might bring to mind things like, brains, fingers, toes, eyes. Well, now think of creative ways to recreate them in food!

EYE BALL & BODY PARTS PUNCH – Make your favorite red punch and float gummy eyeballs and body parts in it. (Add rum to make it even better — adult zombie party!)

LADIES FINGERS - Carrots, String Cheesesticks, Cream Cheese, Green Peppers.

• Use carrots and string cheesesticks as fingers.
• Carve little lines in the center of your fingers for the knuckles.
• Cut a small notch in the end for the fingernail bed.
• Use cream cheese as 'glue'.
• Cut green pepper into a  fingernail and stick to the cream cheese.

GLOOMY DIP – Gray is always a gloomy, moldy color. Add a few drops of black food coloring to the ranch dip in a vegetable tray to make a very gloomy, yet delicious dip.

GUACAMOLE – Make regular guacamole dip, it's gross enough.

BRAINS JELLO – There are lots of unique jello molds out there just perfect for a zombie party! Check out this brain jello mold from Think Geek. You can make your jello opaque by using a little condensed milk or cornstarch. Use unflavored gelatin for pure white! Add fresh fruits like strawberries, cherries and grapes to make something horrible, yet delicious and healthy.

Your Zombie Party Food Table

• Table Cloth – Sheet with fake blood stains
• Table Accents – Plastic mice, spiders and gummy worms and bugs
• Lighting – Lots and lots of candles! Find old candelabras at thrift stores and burn a few cheap candles before your party to add lots of melted wax.

If you want to skip the work of making party food, call your local caterer and ask if they will create a unique zombie party menu for your part!

+ zombie makeup how-to

Probably the easiest Halloween costume to create is a zombie costume. You can wear your day-to-day clothes and just add blood to them. Fake cuts, bruises and bites are easy too!

Zombie Makeup How-to

• Use dark eyeshadow to create bruises. Blend together a mixture of black, gray, purple, and green, if possible, for an authentic look.
• Use ladies blush to create red  areas around your bruises, also around your eyes.

For Cuts & Gashes

• Paint a layer of white glue on the area you want to make a gash.
• Stick tiny pieces of torn toilet paper to the glue
• Paint another layer of glue on top of the toilet paper.
• Continue adding layers of toilet paper pieces and glue until it's about 3-5 layers thick, depending on the size.
• Before the last few layers dry completely tear a tiny gash into the middle. Be careful not to tear all the way threw.
• Paint the wound with fake blood.
• Paint the outside edges with makeup and bruises.
• Pour extra fake blood into the center of your wound and let it drip down for an authentic zombie look.

+ zombie party under $40!

So lets recap:

Zombie Party Decorations:

Recycled cardboard - free
Cobwebs - $1.00
Facemasks – $2.00
Glue & Toilet Paper – free (Hopefully you have this at home.)
Makeup: Eyeshadow/Blsuh - free (Should either have these at home, or you could probably borrow them from mom or a friend.)
Food – $37 budget

Not too bad! Zombie parties are GREAT way to get friends together for a night of ghoulish fun. Your zombie party doesn't have to be on Halloween, you can throw a party anytime!

Ask The Celebration Advisor: I need to know who can make me a Halloween wedding cake, as well as favors and Ideas, and decoratons for my wedding. Most particularly the cake. for 200ppl? and a price in Calgary. Thank you. ~ Carmen Turning Robe, Calgary Alberta Canada

Celebration Advisor: Of course you can find all of that and other great wedding supplies in Calgary AB!

In fact, I know of a few places where you can find theme cakes, wedding cakes and (imagine this) theme wedding cakes in Calgary. For starters, try Cake Creations. They're incredible! Their wedding cakes are elegant regardless of the theme. All you have to do is ask! Theme cakes as well as wedding cakes come in all shapes and sizes so be specific about what you want. Just let your wedding cake bakery know the size, general theme, and amount of people eating the cake and you're good to go!

As far as wedding favors and ideas go, that's greatly dependent upon the type of ceremony that you are having. It sounds like you're having a really fun Halloween wedding–congrats! That sounds like so much fun! I would start by speaking with the professionals at Claudia's Mementos. Though not located in Calgary, wedding favors from here are bound to be awesome. They always do an incredible job of hooking you up with the wedding favors that YOU want.

If you want a cool idea to start with for your wedding favors, try this one that my friend is using at her Halloween wedding this year. Our wedding favors are placeholders which are going to be little skulls, monsters, and ghosts with our names written on their heads. It took her a long time to choose those over chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing decorated like webbing and our names written in red icing over that. Somehow I knew she'd go with the haunted cemetery wedding favors instead! *grin* I'm sure these will taste great with the wedding cake. Have guests bring a sweet tooth!

Wedding decorations aren't quite as tricky. The only thing you really need to figure out is whether you want this to be more like a Halloween wedding or a Halloween party. If you're wanting the more upscale, ask a local Calgary wedding planner to help you come up with something that will celebrate the holiday and the occasion at the same time. If you want more of a party atmosphere, go all out with black tablecloths, creepy decorative lighting, blood-colored punch and other party foods, jack-o-lanterns and other spooky decorations. It just takes a little imagination! If you want some ideas, check out these great Halloween party pictures.

Together, your choices of wedding cakes, wedding favors, and wedding decorations is immense when you use the local  wedding suppliers that you have right there in Calgary!

Thanks for your question Carmen. I look forward to seeing the pictures of your wedding!