5 Ideas for a Small Fall Party // Fall Week

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend!

I also hope you’re ready for another theme week, because they are back! I decided to take my friend Mia’s suggestion and do a Fall Theme Week. I did one last year, but I just can’t help it… fall is my favorite season, so why not celebrate?

I’m a big fan of Halloween parties and it’s the one time that I think the bigger the party the better. What’s not to love about dressing up in costumes, decorating with spider webs and scaring your friends?

I realize that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though, so if you prefer smaller, not-so-scary parties, here are some ideas for a fun, seasonal party.

Note – I received a copy of The Vampire Combat Field Guide by Roger Ma from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

1 // Fall/Halloween-Themed Snacks

No autumnal party is complete without themed snacks. There are just so many cute ideas this time of year! They can be a lot of work, though (says the lazy baker who has seriously regretted choosing certain Halloween baked goods halfway through the process of putting them together). If I were to throw a party this year, I would make:

>> Dracula’s Dentures. With cookies, frosting and marshmallows, these look super sweet, but they also look super cute! I would definitely eat one. And with my sweet Little One as the official mascot of any party that I throw, a Dracula-themed dessert only seems fitting. [Her name is Mina, after the character in Dracula. :)]

>> Candy Corn Krispie Treats. Who am I kidding… even without throwing a party I might make these! I love rice krispie treats anyway, and these are adorable!

2 // Swap the Scares for Art

Whenever my friend and I have a Halloween party, it always starts with some sort of activity to scare our friends. Everyone knows to expect something, so we always set up something with actors to play different characters (most recently it was a horror movie maze and the hit of the party was a pretend TV that my friend’s cousin crawled out of The Ring-style). But since we’re not having a scary, Halloween party, let’s get artsy instead! When I first started writing this post, I was going to have a section about crafts and DIYs, but I’m not a crafty person and when I see DIYs I always think, “That’s cool! I wonder where I can buy that…” If you’re a crafty person, set up a table with seasonal crafts and DIYs!

But if you attend my fall party, I’ll have a table set up with paints, pastels, colored pencils and pens along with lots of paper so that we can unleash our inner Picasso’s and do some art or hand-lettering instead. It would be fun to see who draws a spooky scene with a full moon or some fantastical creatures and who draws a beautiful fall scene filled with color.

On the table I’d also have The Vampire Combat Field Guide by Roger Ma. I received a copy of this from the publisher and as I went through it I noticed that I started to use the same colors. I definitely came up with a look for the book, which was a lot of fun to see, but how cool would it be to make this a collaborative thing? Each person could do a page or a section and you’d have a mix of interpretations for how this book should look. I’d even put this out at a bigger Halloween party with a pack of crayons or colored pencils.  This book basically gives you the training that you need to fight the undead and it was a lot of fun to do on my own, so it would definitely be a lot of fun to do with a group of friends. It brought out my inner Buffy and I’m sure it’ll bring out yours!

3 // Share Spooky Stories

Even if you’re not having a scare-fest, you can still tell some spooky stories, and you totally should! Turn down the lights and sit in a circle to tell some stories. Read some Edgar Allen Poe, pull out some of the Scary Story books that were popular back in the day, or make up your own stories!

4 // Dance Party/Sing-Along

No party is complete without a dance party and a sing-along, even if it’s only a party of two! Make sure your fall dance party ends with Monster Mash! You have to listen to that song at least once in October. If you’re looking for some dance party inspiration, check out my playlist.

5 // Halloween Movies

End the night with movies! There are so many options for this time of year! You could end the night with a horror movie or pull out something from your childhood. Hocus Pocus is always a hit or remember your teenage crush and pull out Casper (Devon Sawa!). And then there’s Tower of Terror. My niece and I watched that (and Hocus Pocus) this weekend and she LOVED it! And then there are the Tim Burton movies… with a movie like Sweeney Todd or The Nightmare Before Christmas the sing-along can continue!

WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS FOR A SMALL, FALL PARTY?

Share your thoughts in the comments and I’ll include your ideas along with a link back to your blog or social media at the end of the week.