Halloween Party - Bring Your Own Boos

For the past two years we have hosted an outdoor Halloween Party for adults. I hand make the invitations and this year they were black coffins that opened up to orange printed paper. Friends were asked to wear costumes and bring their own "boos".

I bought three $10 skeletons at Big Lots and covered them in torn tissue paper and spray painted them to look "burned" and "decayed". I also bought the friendly looking scarecrows that they sell on bamboo poles and dirtied their outfits a little. Then I stapled scary dollar store masks over their smiley faces. ( They look great in bunches of two or three out in a moonlit corn field)

I got some thick styrofoam from a friend and made a dozen tombstones. Some websites show a lot of carving and detail go into these, but I simply used a knife and an exacto. I spray painted them in grays and blacks and made fake cracks and even broke off the corners to look real. They turned out great!

Some of the ideas to put on them: Rest in Pieces, Clara Voiyant - she never saw it coming, I.B. Ceinyu, and I made a very tiny tombstone and put the name Tom Thumb on it. Of course we had lots of cobwebs for the effect we wanted. We made outlines of bodies on the ground in glow in the dark paint. We put up 4 Burma Shave-type signs on the way up the drive- "Those that came before, Have Never been Found, If I was You, I'd turn Around!

We had hay bales and a bon fire, served "brain" molded dip and chips, gummy cockroaches, black punch, and hot dogs.

We had Halloween karaoke and haunted sounds playing off in the woods. I had a large glass jar and bought a cheap but scary mask and stuffed it inside and set it on the table, in addition to fake rats, spiders, and skeleton candles.I got a store bought trophy for the best costume.

This year it was a couple dressed as Sonny and Cher. But SHE was Sonny and HE was Cher! They were halarious! We all had a great time and look forward to next year already.