October is the best time for a Mom’s Night because everyone is settled into the school routine, the weather is still nice and you can get a full charge of friendship before the rush of the upcoming holiday season. Since Halloween is at the end of the month, why not make it a Ghouls Night In or a Boo-ys Night In? Check out our ten Halloween-themed nights for you and your ghouls!
Fright Fest Movie Night
Set up your family room or outdoor space to watch a horror film after the sun has gone down. Choose from older movies like The Shining, Nightmare on Elm Street or Rosemary’s Baby. Be sure to include all the movie watching snacks. Set up a buffet with popcorn and various toppings, candies, sodas, soft pretzels and cheese, pizza and slushies.
At Home Escape Room
Create or purchase a scary themed escape room you can set up in your home. These include a detailed storyline, directions for layout and supply list. Your guests can solve puzzles, find clues and work together to “escape”. Some include real locks so you feel like you are at an escape room venue instead of playing in your living room. Look for themes like haunted houses, creepy morgues or dark castles.
Monster Mixology Class
Ask everyone to bring a Halloween themed drink to mix up and share with friends. Every guest will take turns demonstrating how to prepare their drink and everyone gets a cocktail flight glass to taste. Include a recipe card for each guest so they can recreate the ones they like. If your friends are not drinking alcohol, you can create many of the cool themes in a mocktail version.
Halloween Craft Night
There are hundreds of craft ideas to fit a Halloween themed girl’s night in. You can make wreaths, paint wine glasses, make jewelry, wall décor, candles, welcome mats, t-shirts, garland, no sew blankets, front door signs – the list is endless. For an easy, last minute idea, simply purchase Dollar Tree Halloween coloring books and boxes of crayons to set up a coloring station for your guests to enjoy.
Stephen King Night Book Club
Even if your friends don’t have a regular book club, this is a fun idea. Choose a Stephen King or another horror genre author’s book and ask your guests to read it before your party. Look online for book club guided reading questions that go with the book you chose or make some up as you read. Consider choosing a book that has already been made into a movie and watch after your discussion.
Chilling Charcuterie Boards
There are dozens of creative Halloween themed charcuterie boards on Pinterest and TikTok. Ask your guests to bring one based on themes like Witch’s Brew, Hocus Pocus, No Bones About It, Monster Mash, Somebody’s Watching Me, Grizzly Graveyard, You’ve Been Ghosted, Pumpkin Spice or Iced Scream. Go beyond the typical boards and consider including fondue, nacho platters, ice cream sundae buffet, waffle bar or individual soup shooters.
Dance Night – Learn the Thriller Dance
It’s time to take kitchen dancing to a new level. Move the table out of the way and learn how the choreography to Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance. There are several YouTube tutorials available to teach you the dance, step by step. Ask you guests to come dressed as zombies, complete with makeup. When your friends have memorized the dance steps, don’t forget to make a fun video to share on social media.
Favorite Things with a Halloween Theme
Spend a night enjoying your favorite things with your favorite people. Ask everyone to bring three of their favorite Halloween items (with a dollar limit) in gift bags. All the bags will be displayed and guests get to choose three different bags of someone else’s favorite things. You can extend the party with guests bringing their favorite appetizer or dessert and including a recipe card to go with it.
Have a Murder Mystery Sleepover
Invite your guests to your castle, mansion, hotel or any other haunted theme setting for your Murder Mystery to take place. Assign your guests to come dressed in character and let them decide whodunit. Other scary game ideas include Fear Factor, daring your guests to put their hands in a jar full of worms to find a penny or eating pureed peas with maggots (rice). If you are not that creative (or brave) you can play Pick Your Poison, a card game like Would You Rather?
Halloween Décor Swap
We all have seasonal decorations that we grow tired of and stop using. Instead of throwing them out, why not have an exchange with your friends? You can wrap them, give out numbers and let the players choose in numeric order. This allows other players to choose something still wrapped or steal something already chosen. No need to limit this swap to just decorations – include costumes, kids’ clothes, tableware, etc.
Pam Molnar is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about fun facts, lifestyle, women’s health and party planning.
