Halloween Party Tool: It all starts here.

Halloween Party Tool. Not too high tech, but very effective.

 

If you have been following my blog at all, by now it is aparent that I will be hosting my own cheap (nearly free) Killer Halloween Party.  The picture above is an essential part of pulling off an awesome Halloween Party without killing your budget.  Yeah, it’s a notebbok.  Not very high tech, but believe me, it’s going to help you get this thing done, and get it done right.  So grab a notebook. (Don’t go buy one because you know you have a pad of paper somewhere.  Just go get it, and draw a big fat pumpkin on the front.) Voila Halloween Party Planner.

If you haven’t nailed down a date yet, you should probably get that on the first page.   Check out the post before last for some tips about this.

Next, I want you to work on a guest list  Just write GUEST LIST on the top of the page after your date page.  You can work on this over the weekend.  Do it a little at a time, but this list is going to help you immensely, so these particulars need to be done.  We’ll get to the fun stuff later. 

Project Invite should look like this: (don’t make a spreadsheet dang it, use a pad of paper and pen!) 

Family Name          Number of Adults/Kids             Invite Sent                Will Be There/NOT

Very simple. 

I want you to load it up.  Go ahead invite everybody.  My first Halloween Party I invited so many people, and I must admit I was sooooo nevous.   Everyone had a blast, and that’s exactly why this will be my third.  I invited everybody: neighbors, friends, family, people from church, co-workers, and they all got along fine.  Don’t sweat that, as Castanza says, “Worlds will collide.”  Really, it’s ok.  Halloween Party’s give people the opportunity to express themselves.  They can loosen up and let a little bit of their alter ego out. 

Within the next couple of posts of the  Halloween Party series, I will show you how to create invites that are basically FREE, require not too much effort, but will impress and get people excited about attending.  I can’t wait!  buuhwhaaah haaa haa

Cheap Wedding Idea, oh and WAY cute!

We all remember these as kids.  The cootie catcher.  Well in my travels on the world wide web, I came across the cootie catcher on a whole new level.  Weddings!  Who would have thought? 

 Katrina from Holland Michigan, that’s who.  She is a clever crafter over at etsy .    Go check them out, at her etsy shop they are absolutely gorgeous.  The details as to how custom she can go with papers, colors, wording and all of that can probably be worked out with her.  Etsy provides great communication with sellers.

I am not completely sure, but I am guessing these could easily transition into Grad parties, or Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Prom decorations.  Seems like the way to go.  How  fun.  I just love finding creative people on the web, and Kat certainly delivers. 

I wanted to share this with everyone.  Be creative, you’d be suprised where you can find some really great and cheap party ideas.  Keep checking back, there’s more where that came from.

 

Here are a couple of examples of Kat’s cootie catchers in case you need your memory jogged.

 

Totally Cheap, Totally Custom & Totally Cute. It can't get any better!

Done another way.

Cheap Party Starter

To  be honest, when I attend a shower, the party games can bum me out a bit, mostly because I am usually surrounded by a bunch of people I don’t necessarily know all to well.  So the idea off making a fool of myself upon first impression doesn’t sound like fun.  Maybe I need to not worry so much, but I’d venture to guess I’m not alone on this one. 

I just came across something really cute on my travels this weekend, and actually, I’ve purchased something similar before.  This would be a good time to share this info, as we are embarking on shower inundation season, and party season really.  If you’ve invited a mixed bag of nuts to your party, consider purchasing a product like this, to serve as an icebreaker and also give a little relief to the hostess.

Conversation Starter Cards

 

These little packets of conversation starters will help stimulate a little chatter, and save you from having to play mixer woman.  The photo in this post is from Amazon, but there are a lot of different brands for this type of product.  Head to your local Barnes & Noble and you’re sure to find something that will do the trick.   The one I purchased was a deck of cards I found at WalMart during Valentine’s Day.  I used this on a date with my husband and we had a fun time answering the questions. 

Another option, even though it’s a game, is

Would You Rather…?

Zobmondo makes an awesome game that is fun for every age, and will lead to some very interesting chatter as well.  Click on the picture to head over to their site and check out all the different options available. 

So, next time you’re planning on gathering a bunch of people together that don’t know each other all that well, have something available for them to work with in terms of mixing with each other.

I also like to use “displays” of photos to create a conversation hub.  And please, for pete’s sake get a little creative when you do this.  Don’t just slap some pictures on poster board.  I’ll share some cheap and easy and fab ideas for this in another blog entry.  Check back soon.

 

Fearless Party Ideas

This isn’t one of that posts that spells out how to make a cutsie little centerpiece.  This one’s gonna go a little deeper. 

Parties are meant to be fun.  Duh.  And far too often we make them into a bigger deal than they need to be.  We get scared thinking we’re not going to have anyone show up, or the people who do come will sit around staring at each other wondering when they can go home without looking rude.

What’s the problem?  Fear.  When you host a party, don’t be afraid to be yourself.  That’s probably why anyone would consider coming to one of your parties anyway, because they like you.

I’m just as bad, well, I used to be.  Recently I have decided to adopt the fearless lifestyle.  I am me, just as the good Lord created me.  So, if I want to have a crazy rock band party and have everybody dress like rock stars, then I will.  I’m not going to worry that they think that’s weird.  Truth be told, who doesn’t want to dress like a rock star at least once?

So when you’re planning your event or party, don’t forget about that one element that is a must for your event, YOU!

Do it, I dare you.