Creating the Perfect Halloween Party or Promotional Event

Halloween! Once considered a pagan holiday, October 31st is now one of the coolest days of the year. Loved by children and adults alike, Halloween is a day people can dress up and be someone (or something!) else. It’s a day filled with costumes, cake, candy, and fun. And parties! Halloween parties happen for weeks, not just on the 31st, people love an excuse to dress up and have some fun.

It’s also a great time to promote your business to show off the fun side! Halloween promotions are a wonderful way to attract people to your brand. You can create a memorable event people will talk about for years while bringing in new clients on a fun and positive note.

Below are a few ideas to help you get started:

The Basics

These can be used by anyone for parties of all ages. They are appropriate for children, as well as adults.

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Adult supervised, of course! Have a small stage or area set up where people can come to compete for winning costumes. You can have as many awards as you like, and include the following:

• Best Overall
• Scariest
• Funniest
• Ugliest
• Laziest

Trick or Treating

Place candy-filled bowls throughout the event and give guests a bag to collect their goodies as they walk-around

Scavenger Hunt

Place small items around our party and have a group scavenger hunt with a prize at the end for the winner.

Costume Contest

These are always fun and bring your guests together. You can have as many awards as you like, and can include the following:

• Best Overall
• Most Creative
• Funniest
• Creepiest
• Scariest

Hayrides

Obviously, you need a big area for this, but everyone enjoys a relaxing hayride – especially if you are out in the country.

Games

• Apple Bobbing
• Pin the Tale on the Skeleton
• Feel Box
• Candy Corn Relay Race

Fun Food and Drinks

• Witches Brew – Serve a fun colorful punch in a giant cauldron with some dry ice for a bewitching effect!
• Eerie Edibles – Halloween food can be fun too! Add a few of these to your table to delight guests of all ages.
  • Witch Fingers – Pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate with black jelly beans as fingernails
  • Blood Splattered Cookies – Splatter sugar cookies with melted white chocolate mixed with red food coloring
  • Mummy Dogs – just add some candy eyes to pigs-in-a-blanket for a fun treat
  • Graveyard Parfait – a kid’s favorite – crushed Oreos (dirt) into a small clear plastic cup, add some chocolate pudding, and gummy worms on top. Or eliminate the pudding and just mix gummy worms and crushed Oreos and later between brownie bites.

  Strictly Adult

  These are better left to the 21 and over crowd!

   

  Adult Drinking Games

  There are so many games that can be played, from the classics like Kiss Marry Kill and Eyeball Beer Pong, to Dare or Drink, any party can be livened up with drinking games.

  • Pick your Poison – Line up samples of different drinks and see how many each guest can get right in a blind tasting (can be anything from lemonade to Coke to milk).
  • Cocktail Making – Pit contestants against one another to see who can come up with the most creative, best tasting cocktail
  • Halloween Bingo – players have to take a shot every time they get a winning number
  • Karoke – set up a Karoke machine and let guests perform for prizes

  Creepy Cocktails

  So many different Halloween drinks can be made, and it’s a fun way to liven up any event featuring a wet bar. A few suggestions:

  • Witches Brew – create a unique Halloween-themed punch for adults containing alcohol and serve in a cauldron with dry ice for a spooky effect
  • Eerie drinks – make any drink spooky by adding a touch of food coloring and tossing in gummy worms or little Halloween-shaped confections!
  • Scary Shooters – easy to create with just a little imagination. You can find a lot to choose from just by searching the internet.

  Promotional Events

  Of course, you can any of these ideas to your marketing event to create a fun and positive experience for guests. Here are just a couple of additional ideas to help set your event apart.

   

  Promotional Scavenger Hunt

  Depending on how big your event is, scavenger hunts can be fun and rewarding if set up properly and it’s a great way to familiarize guests with your product. You can hide promotional items for guests to find and keep, or even hide something with a number on it that would correspond to an item they would win. Another unique idea would be to hide your QR code all around the event, maybe on a small item for guests to find, or even on a sticker. When the code is scanned it can do several things, such as provide company information, offer a free service or consultation, and even win prizes.

   

  Creepy Cocktails

  Create a signature drink and serve it in a custom drinkware glass featuring your company logo, and let guests take the glass home with them.

   

  Trick or Treating

  Provide each guest with a custom bag featuring your graphics when they arrive. Set up a trick or treat stations throughout the event, filled with candy, brochures, business cards, and promotional gifts, and let guests take one as they visit different locations.

  There are so many ways to make your event fun and memorable, and it’s never too early to start planning! Use this time of year to your advantage and capitalize on the fun of the season by promoting your company during Halloween!