2008

2008 turned out to be a very, very busy year.  We had a family wedding, and lots of other events going on and had actually decided not to have a party at one point.  A lot of people were upset that we weren't going to do it, so we through one together quickly.  Again, no real theme unless you count distract and entertain.  The highlight of this party was a bounce house and a costume tent. 

We have been collected oddball accessories, clothes, and costume pieces from second hand stores, dollar stores, and friends and family for years.  We set up a tent with all of these things so anyone who wasn't in costume when they got here was by the time they left.  Everyone had a lot of fun changing into various costumes throughout the night. 

This was our other big hit.  If you're ever short of time, rent one of these bad boys.  Instant party hit. 

One of the few creative hits we had was these glowing balls.  We got them at the Dollar Tree.  They are made up a glowsticks with connectors.  We hung ours from fishing line over tables to give the illusion of floating centerpieces.  That's not a great picture, but I hope you get the idea. 

2007

We decided to step up our game this year and go full on themed.  We're all big Disney fans and Pirates of the Caribbean was a big thing around this time, so that's what we went with. 

Here is our Pirate Lord's bedchamber area.  The "bed" is plywood on boxes and a borrowed brass headboard.  We used decorative pillows and a colorful velvet comforter to make the bed look plush.








A skull imprinted creepy clothe, chandelier, and pirates chest finished off the look (we later had to put a small fence up around this to keep people from trying to crawl in the "bed".)

We hauled in sand and a scrap boat (again, free) and through bones and pirate paraphernalia around it. 











At night, our cannon light up and shot smoke ( a red flashlight and a fogger on timer). 

This is our "treasure chest."  It is a somewhat inexpensive plastic toolbox.  We spray painted bands on it and lightly "misted" the whole thing with gold.  We then sponged on mud colored paint (use whatever).  There are also jewels glued around it and a gold and jeweled skull and crossbones painted on top.  Inside there is actually a hollow box that fills the whole chest.  It actually doesn't take much "treasure" to fill this chest, and it makes a nice box for storage when the party is over. 

2006

Our first big party was in 2006, and we didn't really have a theme, just general Halloween.  A couple of things to keep in mind about our parties: scary or creepy is ok, but we don't do gore or (lots of) blood.  These are typically family parties with kids, teens, and adults.  We've had anywhere from 30 to 80 people at these things.  They are always outside because we live in an area with great fall weather and large yards. 

So, on to the fun stuff.  We had a big, dark, creepy yard to work with so we went with that.  Most of the decorating for this party was pretty generic, but we did a couple of successfully creative things.

This is "Joey."  He is made from a borrowed jumpsuit, beach towels, boots, gloves, a bit of black fabric for the head covering, an old chair, some wires, and if I remember correctly, a hubcap.  Pretty easy prop with no real cost involved. He's sitting in a storage shed.

The picture here is still in the daylight, so the effect is not that good, but a colored spotlight made a huge impact on this simple prop. 

I know lots of people have seen this around the internet, but here it is in real life (so to speak).  Very easy to do and a nice effect (rubber glove ice cubes--red punch). 

 Photos to give some idea of the size of the yard.  The grass and tree area is probably twice the size of the patio