This year marks my 8th time hosting my Halloween party, Halloweenie Roast. The party had humble beginnings back in 2009: just me and four friends casually gathered around a fire in the backyard roasting weenies. Since then it’s grown leaps and bounds thanks to my determination to host a killer Halloween party.
And I think I’ve succeeded.
The number one question I’m asked at the party each year is, “When is Halloweenie Roast next year?” My friends go all out on their costumes, trying to win the costume contests, and I even had a friend who has planned her 2017 wedding around my party. Seriously. (Love you, Sam!)
Over the past eight years, I’ve learned a thing or two about hosting a killer Halloween party and today I thought I’d share a few of those pearls of Halloween wisdom with you.
Plus, I’m SUPER excited to share YOU too can plan your own killer Halloween party when you sign up for my first ever Halloween e-course! Keep reading for details.
7 tips for planning a killer Halloween party
Pay attention to the details
When it comes to party planning, details matter. They’re the thing that make the difference between a casual gathering and a killer party.
Halloweenie Roast started with a very simple concept: roast hot dogs around a fire pit in my parent’s backyard. (I have no outdoor space, and they’re gracious enough to share theirs every October.) Year two I did the same thing, and I’ll be honest – I was kind of underwhelmed by my own party. It wasn’t the Halloween gathering I wanted.
So the next year, I went BIG. I added a theme. I had one of my photographer friends create a photo booth for us. I made tons of Halloween-themed goodies. I added a costume contest. And it was a HUGE success.
Since then, Halloweenie Roast has grown a little bit every year thanks to a few key details I make sure to plan.
What to know what those key details are for your party? Then you’re going to want to sign up for my How to Plan a Killer Halloween Party e-course.
Use Pinterest to plan
At this point, I don’t even know how I planned a party before Pinterest. It is the single most valuable party-planning tool in my repertoire.
Each year, I create a secret board for my party theme and start pinning any and every idea I can find months in advance. By July, I’m beginning to whittle it down to the ideas I actually intend to carry out, and by September 1 I have my entire party plan outlined, including recipes, decor ideas, DIY projects and my killer costume.
Using Pinterest as a single point to collect all my ideas makes party planning a snap. Read more about how I use Pinterest to plan my parties.
Get your friends involved
By year three of Halloweenie Roast, I had instituted a public vote for the costume contest which my guests enjoy. I like giving my friends the power to decide who wore the best costume because it gives them more incentive to wear something amazing.
And man, do they! Just check out last year’s costumes. (The dueling Ursula’s are my favorite – and not just because one was my brother!)
I also get them involved by planning a game or two, holding food contests or pumpkin carving contests and planning fun activities for them to enjoy. Think all Halloween party games are for kids? Think again – I’ll show you otherwise in my e-course with eight non-cheesy activities.
Make a killer playlist
Halloween music is kind of my THING. I am constantly on the hunt for new tunes to add to my ultimate Halloween playlist…which is now running more than 14 hours with more than 230 songs. (I just added 30 new ones Friday afternoon!)
Yes, that much Halloween music actually exists if you know where to look.
I whole-heartedly believe you set the tone for your party with your playlist. And why not make it killer? When you sign up for my brand new e-course, I’ll share all 239 songs currently on my ultimate playlist with you which you can use to build your own killer playlist.
Create a scary simple menu
My menu is built right into my party name, which makes things super simple. My friends always know they’ll get to enjoy weenie roasting (veggie dogs for my vegetarian friends!) in addition to all the other spooky fun I have in store for them.
Turning my party into a potluck also keeps things simple, takes some party-planning stress off me AND gets my friends’ creativity flowing with their best spooky dish.
Planning ahead makes the party fun
Look, you could buy some beer, carve a pumpkin, put out some store-bought Halloween cookies and call it a party. But around Spooky Little Halloween, we aren’t interested in just hosting a run-of-the-mill Halloween party.
We’re hosting a killer party.
Yes, I put a lot of work into Halloweenie Roast and it does cost me some money – but it’s work I enjoy doing for an event I love.
And the amount of work I put into planning all the details helps make the party enjoyable for me because when 7 p.m. on party day rolls around, I’m seated by my bonfire in full costume, enjoying my first cup of Witches’ Brew and waiting for my friends to arrive. I’m not frantically running around finishing final details because I’ve planned everything out. Everything.
At this point, my party is such a well-oiled machine I could plan it all in my sleep. Make your party a well-oiled machine too.
KISS
When in doubt, follow the KISS rule: keep it simple, silly. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars or hundreds of hours on planning a killer Halloween party. I don’t host a Pinterest-perfect party every year, but by paying attention to a few small details…I make a big impact on my friends. When in doubt, I keep things simple.
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Ready to host a killer Halloween party?
Then you’ll definitely want to check out my e-course where I’ll help you plan EVERY detail. Whether you’ve never hosted a Halloween party in your life or you’re looking to step up your annual party, I’ve got tips, tricks and secrets galore in KHP that will help guide you through to process!
Killer Halloween Party is right for you if:
- You want to plan a party, but you don’t know where to start
- You want to turn your current party from annual gathering to the most anticipated soiree of the year
- You need help staying on track and getting everything done
- You’re looking for the BEST way to celebrate Halloween this year!
Let’s make October 31st even better and plan your killer Halloween party to celebrate the best night of the year! Get started now!
Happy party planning,





Autumn
I can’t wait to see that Halloween song list!
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
EEK! It’s awesome – I’ve been listening to it on and off since the end of July already! :)
Susan
So excited for this! I’m hosting my first Halloween party this year and can’t wait!
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Yay, that is awesome Susan!! I hope you find everything in the e-course super useful – as a new Halloween party planner, I would LOVE your feedback, so be sure to share with me what you think.