Halloween is a time for lots of fun, creativity and most importantly, parties! While the younger kids eagerly look forward to Halloween, some adults may feel that throwing a party for teens may just not be worth it. They may feel that teens won’t be enthusiastic about a Halloween party. While many teens won’t be vocal about their excitement about Halloween, most would admit, if pressed, that they enjoy the holiday as much as their younger counterparts. By using a little creativity and thinking outside the box you can throw a memorable party for that hard to please teen group. Here are some tips on things you can do at a Halloween party for teens.
•Set the mood of the party before it even begins by sending out your invitations creatively. Many online websites can help you design an email invitation (for today’tech savvy teens) that can be delivered using a bat, witch or other Halloween character complete with scary music. If you want to hand deliver your invitations consider using a magic 8 ball with the invitation attached or a small pumpkin filled with candy that the invitee has to dig through to find the invitation. This will help generate excitement for your party before it even begins.
•Teens enjoy being scared so consider playing a horror film during the party. If you don’t want your party to turn into just movie watching have the film playing with the sound turned down to help set the mood. Consider using classic horror films that your teenage guests may not have seen. Since teens love the movies you may want to encourage your guests to come dressed as a character from their favorite horror film. Prizes can be given for the guest who correctly chooses the most character identities of the other guests.
•Teens are fascinated with the mysterious. For a more realistic look at the scary side of Halloween consider hiring a makeup artist who can do scary makeup on the guests and take pictures of all the fun! In addition, don’t forget that spook alley is fun for all ages and sometimes you can involve younger children.
•This age group still enjoys games. For a fun twist on “Tag” take the party guests to an empty space where it’dark (making sure there are no obstacles party guests can run into) and give the guest who is “It” a glow stick. The guests then play tag in the dark making sure to avoid whomever is carrying the glow stick. For those who prefer an even more physical activity, consider playing glow in the dark volleyball after everyone has striped themselves with glow in the dark tape. The effect is really spooky. Just don’t forget to tape the ball as well!
•Teenage party guests can be even pickier eaters than their younger counterparts. To help avoid this situation consider serving a top-your-own-pizza or taco bar. This way party guests can choose what they want to eat by topping their own pizza or taco and everyone ends up satisfied. This theme can be carried over to dessert with a top your own sundae bar.
While many adults may feel that today’teenagers are too sophisticated to enjoy the simpler pleasures of a Halloween party, don’t be afraid to try bobbing for apples, a Halloween piñata filled with candy or a hay bale where party guests dig for prizes and treats. Halloween is meant to bring out the child in all of us, even those teenagers who may seem too cool for Halloween!
