Hosting a Halloween Party

This is another really good article I recently got in my inbox on Halloween parties:

"How to: Host a Halloween party with Future Photo.

There's no better time of year to host a party than at Halloween. Party planning can be especially fun when you get to choose from such a huge range of themes, activities, and decorations. Plus, you always get the best photos at Halloween: from spooky jack-o'-lanterns glowing in the misty night air to adorable kids dressed up as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, there are photo opportunities galore.

Choosing a theme.
The first step in creating a great Halloween party is to choose your theme. There are lots of options, but one great family theme is the Pumpkin Carving Party. Try holding it the Saturday before Halloween, and invite families to bring their own pumpkins. Set up carving stations outside, so each family has a place to create their own jack-o'-lantern. You can award a small prize for each pumpkin – best teeth, scariest, funniest – and then give one bigger prize to the grand puba of pumpkins.

A fun way to celebrate the night itself is with a Halloween movie night. There are many family-friendly titles, such as "Corpse Bride ", "Casper" and the "Harry Potter" movies. Or, if you have an older crowd, go with some of the great scary movies of the last few years, like "The Ring", "The Grudge" or the hilarious "Shaun of the Dead".

Preparing for the party.
Great invitations are the key to creating a buzz about your monster Halloween bash. You can create your own spooky invitations at futurephoto.ca and have them delivered directly to your door in as little as three days. That way you can send out your eye-catching invites early so guests won't have already made other plans.

Next, it's time to plan the decorations. Of course you'll need fake cobwebs, an assortment of creepy crawly creatures, and lots of candles and jack-o'-lanterns. You could also make your own wall-size prints of past Halloween fun, or get creative and edit photos of friends and family. Add witches' hats, fangs or red eyes to their photos. If you get them printed at Future Photo, they'll be at your door in just a few days.

The right music and food set the mood.
It's amazing how much atmosphere is created by Halloween music and scary sound effects. The right Halloween sounds can really 'creepify' your home. Depending on the age and tastes of your guests, you could try the "Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack CD, "Music From Scary Movies", or for great sound effects, "Scream: The Ultimate Halloween Experience".

Food should be scary and tasty all at the same time. Bake up some cupcakes and decorate them with candy eyeballs, and don't skimp on the pumpkin pie. If there will be lots of little fingers around, easy to eat warming treats like hot dogs, chili, and hot chocolate are always popular. For the grown-up guests, enhance cocktails or punch by adding a few gummy worms, wax teeth, or a slice of blood orange to the mix. Of course, you'll also need a good supply of Halloween candy on hand.

Don't skimp on the party fun.
There are hundreds of activities to try at your ghoulish gathering. A Halloween classic is the old bobbing for apples. And there's nothing like a blindfolded trip through the mad scientist's lab. Bowls of peeled grapes for eyeballs, cooked corkscrew pasta for brains, hot dogs for fingers, and licorice ropes for intestines. Instant creep out!

The most important thing is to make sure you capture it all for posterity. To make sure one person doesn't get stuck with the photo duties, why not encourage everyone to bring their digital camera with them? You'll get a great range of photos and still be able to have a good time at the party.

Keep the party fun coming.
Just because the party is over, doesn't mean the fun has to stop. You and your guests can upload your photos to Future Photo so everyone can relive the memorable evening - and they can even order prints of their favourites. You can also put your favourite photos together in a calendar or Photobook so you can enjoy the scary memories all year long.

Future Photo is a great place to keep those photos safe – they'll come in handy when you're decorating for next year's Halloween bash. "

http://newsletter.futurephoto.com/2007/news/10_15/article1_en.html?CMP=NLC-email_weekly