Halloween is right around the corner. Seems crazy right?! Well I’ve decided to host a Halloween party this year and if you know me, then you are aware that I LOVE holidays and celebrating with friends. Here are a few of my tips for budget friendly and organized party

Party Planning

Budgeting for a party must be your #1 priority. Without placing a budget in order you might run out of funds before you get to decorating or worst, THE FOOD. Ahhhhh! Talk about a scary situation.

Categories:

• Drinks

Whether you are serving alcoholic beverages or non-alcoholic beverages at your party the presentation is an easy way to increase attraction for your party.

Pick up some food coloring and spice up your sugar by making it orange or black, then rim your glasses to add a nice and easy festive touch. If you are not in a time crunch and prefer to order yourself some black cocktail sugar online, Amazon is one of the many vendors that offers it for an affordable price.

I got the cutest skull ice mold from the dollar store and skull glasses. They are the perfect addition to my drink station. For those of you looking to set out a big punch bowl, try adding decorative ice cubes. A little confused on what I mean by that?! Well I used a traditional ice tray to make ice cubes, but I added miniature, plastic, creepy crawlers. As they melt the creepy crawlers become loose and float around the punch bowl. MAKE SURE NOT TO DO THIS FOR A KIDS PARTY. This can be a choking hazard for young kids. 

The dollar store sells a lot of great novelty items around the holidays, make sure to stop there before you go into Hobby Lobby or Home Goods. You never know what you’ll find!

Total Spent: $24

• Appetizers

I’m a foodie so I definitely don’t skimp out on the food selection. Though this year to make it easier on myself I just provided appetizers, not full meals. The apps pictured below are all SUPER simple dishes, literally any level of cooking expertise can conquer. TRUST ME, I am no chef… I leave that to my fiance.

**Click the links below each image to be taken to the recipes

Eyeball Cupcakes

Bloody Apples

Tangerine Pumpkins & Banana Ghosts 

Halloween Jalapeno Popper Mummies

   Total Spent: $52

• Decor

Is it even possible to throw a Halloween bash without super spooky decor? Answer: NO! I always set my budget for decor pretty low. There are so many discount stores that offer good quality decorations for cheap. Check out your local Dollar Tree, 99 cent sore, Grocery Store, CVS, and even Hobby Lobby.

Total Spent: $37

**HINT: Save your decorations to use for next year. Doing so will bring down your decorations budget dramatically. 

• Games

You can opt in or ditch this idea, totally up to you. We invited people of all ages so I chose to have several different games to keep the kiddos (okay… and some adults. lol ) entertained.

Every party nowadays needs a photo-booth area so make sure you have one that showcases your party planning skills! I made mine simple, but incorporated a bunch of props. I feel that props help to spice up those boring party pics. They also assist those of you out there, that are a little camera shy.

Happy Halloween Photo-booth Props

Total Spent: $ 16

• Goody Bags

Personally I only give out goody bags when I’m planning a kids party, but if you’d like to send your guests home with a treat I’d recommend opting in for something simple and loved by all. You know, something like a tasty sweet treat or an adult beverage!

Total Spent: $20

Wine Bottle Ghosts

When It All Comes Together So Perfectly

OH, I almost forgot! A simple decorative piece to add to your food and drink station, is a hollowed out pumpkin with dry ice in it. The smoke affect will add a nice touch to the spooky feeling.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you haven’t already, subscribe to stay current. Also after you recreate any of the ideas listed above, please share your pictures with me and your fellow subscribers. Tag me in them, comment below with them or email them over… I’d love to share your talents!!

Can’t wait to see your pics!

Xx