Simple & Inexpensive Halloween Party Tips

October is pretty much party month at our house.  For me, Halloween is reason enough to celebrate, but we also have three (soon to be four) little boy birthdays this month.  In order to accommodate birthday parties for an eight year range of ages, we always just stick with a Halloween theme.  It's perfect for boys' of all ages, and our guests always enjoy the spooky theme as well.

So, having hosted a Halloween-themed party for the past eight years, I've gathered a lot of tricks and tips for preparing a simple, festive atmosphere on a budget.  Here are a few of my favorite ides for each of your party-planning areas.

Every great party begins with a great invitation.  Did you know Tiny Prints makes Halloween invitations?  They are absolutely amazing!  I recently took a stroll through all of Halloween party invites, and honestly could not choose a favorite!  I could have filled my entire post with just invitations, but I limited it to just a few of my favorites.

Kinda Candy Corny

Scary  On

Scary Sweets

Square Heads

Who wouldn't want to come to your Halloween party after receiving an invitation like this?  You have to go visit Tiny Prints Halloween invitations today!  Simply pick your favorite invite, personalize it, and send it out for your Halloween bash.

I love baking and making goodies for all occasions, and Halloween treats are plentiful!  While I do make a few homemade items for our party...

Ghost Sugar Cookies

Homemade Halloween Oreos

 I usually try to work with foods that lend themselves to the Halloween theme just as they are.  A favorite trick of mine is to buy orange, white, and black foods.  I dump them into a Halloween-colored bowl, add a creepy critter to the top, and viola!  An instant Halloween snack that took a matter of minutes, and looks festive as can be. 

I like to use cheese pieces with bat toothpicks.  I buy bat rings at the dollar store, cut off the ring part, and then use the leftover bat to hot glue on the top of a toothpick.

Olives with a ghost pick on top in an orange and white polka dot treat cup are always a hit!

And Bar-B-Que Chips with a creepy crawly spider on top are just one more simple way you can open a store-bought bag of snacks, dump  them into a bowl, and then top with whatever Halloween creature you'd like.  It doesn't get much easier than that!

Recycled Snack Cups

Another recycled, money-saving tip of mine is to use old frosting containers for snack cups.  Wash out your frosting cup, then add some Halloween scrapbook paper to the outside, and you have the perfect Halloween cup for serving any snack you'd like.

Next time you're at the grocery store, just keep your eye out for Halloween-colored foods.  You'll be surprised with what you can find!

Let your food table covered with orange and black snacks work for you in the decoration department.  I always like to buy simple black and/or orange plates, cups, napkins, and plastic utensils from the dollar store.  You can also have your party favors (see below) on display.  You're making them anyway, so you might as well kill two birds with one stone.  Have them serve as a decorating touch as well as a goodie bag for your guests.

I also use my DIY Halloween straws on the food table.  They're functional for drinking, but look like a glass full or decorations sitting on the table.

Adding vinyl to plain glassware is a great way to add a bit of spooky flare to your Halloween table for decor.  You can use the glasses for drinking, fill them with goodies (like gum balls here), or fill with any other Halloween item you'd like. 

Click to Print

Printables are also a great, inexpensive way to add a bit of decor to your party.  These are a few of mine you can print out for free!

Click to Print

Other simple, inexpensive decorations that I love include balloons, create paper streams, and banners.

I found a Halloween favor idea years ago online, and while I've tried others over the years, this one has remained my all-time favorite!  

Simply take mini peat pots, glue a fun Halloween image to the front, add a bit of orange and black create paper fringe to the inside top rim of the pot, then fill with goodies.  If you can't find mini peat pots (they are more readily available in the spring and summer), then you can use a white styrofoam cup.  I used them one year, and loved how they turned out!  I did paint them orange because they were white, but white would work as well.  I decorated them just as I did the mini peat pots.

I put orange and white gumballs, jellybeans, a mini Halloween notebook and ghost eraser from Target, and a spider ring from Dollar Tree.

The skeleton straw came from Walgreens, the bat pen was at Walmart, and the skull is a cupcake pick from Dollar Tree.  Those are just a few simple ideas.  Once you get looking, I promise you'll find a large selection of Halloween favors for just dollars.

Halloween time always makes me think of the old-time carnival games.  We love a good game of Halloween BINGO.  You can click here to see how I made my own Halloween BINGO cards.

Another favorite is our Halloween ping pong toss.  You can check out the simple, recycled (from oatmeal containers) instructions on making your own by clicking here.

I also found a great Halloween photo prop kit at Michaels this week.  Photo booths and props are so big right now!  And I love the idea of having fun pictures to send home with your guests.  This will be a new activity at our Halloween party this year.

 This particular kit is from Recollections Craft-It Halloween.  There are 55 props with 55 dowels in this one kit!  And it was 50% off, so hurry to your local Michaels and grab your kit today.

As I stated, I have baby boy number four on the way in a matter of weeks, so I've already begun checking off some of the items I've shared above from my to-do list.  I did share quite a bit, so just pick and choose what will work for your, or just use these ideas as an inspirational jumping-off point, and do whatever you'd like.  With a bit of planning, a few dollars here and there, and a touch of creativity, you too can have a perfectly spook-tacular Halloween bash this year.  

Happy Halloween party planning! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.