Halloween Party Planning Tips

By: Krista Marcheschi, event manager at Mavericks

Many San Diego local restaurants and bars have gone full Halloween mode, draping cobwebs from the ceilings and transforming spaces into haunted houses, sure to scare the pants off guests! It takes a lot of planning to create the perfect Halloween celebration and, lucky for us, Krista Marcheschi, the events planner at Pacific Beach hot spot Mavericks Beach Club, is ready to share some tips, tricks (and treats) for hosting a spook-tacular party.

Before getting into any planning, you’ve got to decide whether you are aiming for family-friendly or full-on creepy. We’re keeping a balance at Mavericks for our first event, but just keep in mind your crowd and the age group.

Halloween Decorations

Decorations will truly set the tone of the festivities. Prior to setting up the haunted house on Halloween night, we got in the spirit with hay bales and pumpkins. We’ll pull out all the stops on the actual holiday while leaving some mystery for guests leading up to it. If you’re celebrating at home, place random motion-sensor sound makers around the house. When people walk by and hear an unsuspecting howl or scream, it will give them the willies. Which is kind of the goal, right? Or should I say, the ghoul?

Halloween Themed Cocktails

Halloween might be one of the best holidays for themed craft cocktail creations! You can easily make an everyday available drink spooky by adding a spider ring, dry ice or gumball eye. The same goes for hosting a gathering at home – take your favorite drink recipe, add some creepy-crawly gummy worms and you’ve got yourself a cocktail fit for Halloween. Also, giving it a spooky name doesn’t hurt.

You can also create a crazy beer cooler. Any Halloween party worth going to better have a batch of cold ones at the ready for guests to crack. Get a little crazy and core out a jumbo pumpkin, fill it with ice, paint a creepy face on it, and bam! Beer cooler – pumpkin style.

Spooky Activities for All Ages

Be sure to keep guests entertained with fun activities, music and dancing. Costume contests (with prizes!) are always a huge hit. For our first Halloween celebration, not only do we have a haunted house, but also a blacklight party, sugar skill face painting and even a PAW-loween party for pups.

Go Over The Top

Hire a mummy to hobble around the house. Just do it – no questions asked. They’ll love it.

These tips and tricks are sure to help anyone plan the ultimate Halloween party and ensure everyone who attends will have a ghoulishly good time.