Tips for an awesome Halloween party: Setting the mood

As always, you’ll undoubtedly come up with your own ideas; feel free to share them in the Comments section!

Outside

Remove or cover any items that don’t “fit in” with the Halloween look, such as the kids’ plastic toys and the trampoline.

Use lanterns with LED votive lights to add some spooky lighting, without worrying about the wind blowing them out.

Put some sand or a rock in the bottom of a small paper bag, and add an LED tealight. Use several to line your walkway or driveway.

Carve several pumpkins and light with LED tealight. Line a railing, stoop, walkway, etc.

Darken windows from within with dark drapes (if you have them) or with dyed cheesecloth (see yesterday’s post about decorations for more information). Place small candleholders or even small glasses in the windows with LED tealights to add some spooky atmosphere for visitors.

Set mini strobe lights around the yard; turn on at dusk to create weird lighting effects. Try hiding some inside of shrubs or in tree branches.

If it’s not raining, hide a small battery-powered cd player somewhere near the front door. Use a CD of eerie sounds (I prefer more subtle sounds, like a groaning wind or a creaking door) to give visitors the creeps.

Scatter dead leaves (if you live in a part of the world that gets cool weather in October) across your porch, walkway, and sidewalk.

Inside

Keep lights as dim as safely allowable. Use Halloween twinkle lights around important doorways (such as the bathroom and front door) to help people find their way; place LED tealights inside of candleholders and line stairs to help people find their way up and down.

Drape televisions with gauzy fabric and put a classic horror in to play; turn the volume down until barely discernable. The picture should be visible, but just as vague shapes and colors. The screams from the audio should help set the mood as well.

Put LED tealights in candleholders and place on windowsills; drape black gauzy material over the curtains so that the lights glow through.

Tuck LED-tealighted candleholders into nooks and crannies in dark rooms like the kitchen and bathroom.

Drape sheer/gauzy fabric over pictures and mirrors, especially ones people will be using, such as bathroom mirrors.

Drape material over unused cabinets, such as bathroom cabinets.

Tack strands of ribbon onto doorways that will be used, such as bathroom doorways for a “cobwebby” effect.

Hang strips of dyed cheesecloth (see yesterday’s post about decorations) from stairways to add to the “haunted house” feel.

I look forward to reading about your own ideas in the Comments section!