Children love dressing up and ‘scary’ things so Halloween appeals to kids. Halloween is celebrated on the 31st October. It is now widely celebrated in a number of countries with its tradition stemming from the Western Christian feast dedicated to remembering ‘all the faithful departed.’ Halloween traditions began in Scotland and Ireland with United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand taking on many of the iconic elements. Trick-or-treating, costumes, Jack-o-Lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, haunted houses and halloween parties are becoming more and more popular in New Zealand. If you needed a reason to throw a party in October then Halloween could be your answer! Perhaps your October birthday child would love a Halloween themed party! That’s just what Renata did for her 6 year old Daniel.
Theme:
Renata said that her birthday boy Daniel loves Spider-Man and that his birthday is on the 16th October so a Halloween theme worked well. Halloween is such a fabulous party theme. So many fun ideas for decorations, food and games. I’m not a fan of really ‘scary stuff’ especially with children so it’s nice to also find ideas for ‘non-scary’ parties. A great mono-chrome colour scheme can also look great for Halloween. Visit my Pinterest board for lots of cool ideas.
Invitations:
Renata designed her own invitations. Halloween provides plenty of iconic images and a colour scheme to work with. Renata is a party event stylist from the Kapiti Coast. Her business Decora combines home styling and party planning.
Decorations:
Renata’s party event styling worked it’s magic for Daniel’s party with lots of fun Halloween decorations. Using orange and purple fabrics and balloons to set the scene easily. Shops will be stocked with plenty of Halloween bits for you to decorate your party or gather bits now ready to host one next year!
Food:
So much fun to be had planning food for a Halloween party! Renata said, “I love the banana ghosts because they are so easy! The slime bug cups are very cool and easy too.” These are both from BBC Good Food.
Renata also had a great DIY tip, “I love making lolly jars for parties. You need mason jars, ribbons and lots of lollies. Coordinate ribbons and lollies colour with the theme of the party. It’s easy and looks great on the cake table. To add more colour to the table, you can paint some of the jars and decorate with lace, beads etc. There’s a lot you can do with Mason Jars, I’ve also used for juice for the kids with the guest names on them. A great alternative to all the paper cups lost in the parties.”
Party Fun:
Of course the main party fun for a Halloween party would have to be the trick-or-treating. Renata said the kids had so much fun doing this with all the kids around the neighbourhood. For Daniel’s party Renata also organised the traditional party games “Pass the Parcel”, “Statues” and “Musical Chairs”.
Cake:
Daniel helped to make and decorate his birthday cake. Renata said, “I like making my own cakes and getting the kids to help me decorate within the theme we choose. It’s fun and a great opportunity to spend quality time with my sons.” I think this is so lovely. This gives kids more ownership of their party and a sense of involvement in the planning and preparation. Our family also has a strong ‘kids and daddy’ involvement in our birthday cake making.
Thank you so much Renata and Daniel for sharing your ‘spooky’ Halloween Birthday Party with us. Such a fun party theme!
Vendors:
Party Styling: Decora