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Making Halloween an Event

We do not stop playing because we are old. We grow old because we stop playing.

—Benjamin Franklin

We’ve held our Halloween party six out of the last seven years…watching it become ever more elaborate with each iteration by continually adding detail into every production. It’s more a labor of love than anything else as everyone who attends “forces” us to throw the party over and over. The resulting transformation of our home occurs over a several day period with the first number of hours being spent on the wallpaper alone as the entire first floor becomes completely “dungeon-ized,” flame pots, and all. Two sound systems play simultaneously, one banging out the best of eighties hard rock, the other an uninterrupted thunder/lightning storm. I include the “lightning” part since we cleverly conceal a foot pedal under a love seat by the back door that runs outside to a series of floodlights mounted on posts strategically placed around the back of the house to create the actual “lightning.” But I digress. Before I get ahead of myself, let me take a deep breath and start at the beginning.

Our philosophy: Create the proper environment, and THEY’LL bring the party! And when it comes to throwing a Halloween party, props and decor play a big role toward upping the entertainment value. So it’s particularly important to make the most of your available space in order to produce the kind of setting that will increase the likelihood your costumed crowd will really “let their hair down,” creating the sort of get-togethers that only occur on rare occasion. Accordingly, with a focus on minimizing their intrusion into usable party space, let’s take a look at some of the more significant props we’ve incorporated into our own annual “All Hallows’ Eve” gatherings.