{"id":1328,"date":"2015-10-20T10:11:03","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T10:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2015-10-07T10:16:13","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T10:16:13","slug":"halloween-party-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/halloween-party-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Halloween party ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Halloween lands soon this year, so there\u2019s no excuse not\u00a0to make the most of it! You can throw together a masquerade-themed Halloween bash in a flash. This Halloween, throw the most interesting masquerade party in the world \u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Setting the Mood.<\/span><\/p>\n

The trick to instantly\u00a0creating\u00a0a\u00a0mood\u00a0is to focus\u00a0on overall effect rather than intricate decor details. Simply dimming the lights in favour of candlelight (electronic or flame) will immediately infuse the room with spooky ambiance. A quick draping of black netting over existing furnishings \u2014\u00a0tables, seating, etc. \u2014\u00a0provides instant spook factor with minimal effort, and a scattering of decorative masks will dress up everything from the food table to the bar. Finally, a scary film with a mask-related plot point (think\u00a0Phantom of the Opera\u00a0or one of the\u00a0Saw\u00a0movies) playing on the TV surround sound is a clever, effortless way to emphasize the theme.<\/span><\/p>\n

Serving\u00a0Drinks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The two most important things to remember about party drinks are quality and presentation. A choice of excellent lagers offered in ice-filled black cauldrons is much more interesting than\u00a0a bunch of average Fosters\u00a0crammed in the fridge. Serve\u00a0a single signature cocktail jazzed up\u00a0with themed stirrers or glassware and made with\u00a0a premium spirit to make it feel special. Margaritas on the rocks are super easy and don\u2019t require a blender (plus the mix can be made in batches in advance for easy pouring over ice once guests arrive).<\/span><\/p>\n

Party Food<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spicy pot of chilli served with tortilla chips instead of bread works perfectly with lagers and tequila, and\u00a0a buffet of toppings allows guests to personalize their bowls. For snacks, a sweet-and-savoury dipping bar of crisps, fruit, and dips provides visual impact as well as variety. Salsa, hummus, and sour cream-based dips are must-have classics, while melted chocolate and\/or caramels mixed with heavy cream make great accompaniments to strawberries and apple slices (just\u00a0rub\u00a0the apple slices with\u00a0lemon juice to keep them looking fresh).<\/span><\/p>\n

Playing DJ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Soundtracks to scary movies are a quick and easy way to infuse the room with doom. Extra points for playing spooky sound effects at the front door or in the bathroom.\u00a0If you have extra time, make a playlist of your favourite horror movie themes and make a game of guessing which film goes with each tune.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping Party Guests Entertained<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Give the classic games you played as a child a slightly more sophisticated spin to keep guests happily occupied. Replace pumpkin carving with decorating lanterns with stickers, markers, and chalk that guests can take home with them, and trade bobbing for apples in water for bobbing for caramel apples on ice. Pick up\u00a0a horror-themed video game for bonus points.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dressing Up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Invite guests to simply add a decorative mask to whatever they\u2019re wearing for the evening. Feel free to set a dress code (casual or cocktail attire) if you like, but letting guests come as they are makes it easy to accept your invitation. You can also set out\u00a0masks on tables and let undisguised guests know that they can put one\u00a0on.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Halloween lands soon this year, so there\u2019s no excuse not\u00a0to make the most of it! You can throw together a masquerade-themed Halloween bash in a flash. This Halloween, throw the most interesting masquerade party in the world \u2014\u00a0 Setting the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25,408,326,338],"tags":[245,239,247,114,274,375,399],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1329,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328\/revisions\/1329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redmasque.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}