Boo! We’re knee-deep into pumpkin-season and that means college students’ favorite holiday is almost upon us. Halloween? No. We’re talking about H-H-Halloweekend. Where college kids take Halloween and stretch it into a whole weekend celebration because why not? Halloween is a holiday for having a bubbling blast, complete with tricks, treats, and Halloween parties. Whether you’re looking to keep it in-house with a Halloween house party or it’s your pregame to kick off a long night, here’s how to cook up one screamer of a Halloween party in your college apartment.
Spooky snacks & meals to serve
Snacks are to parties as costumes are to Halloween. It’s just a simple fact — your Halloween party is going to have to have treats to nosh on, ideally ones that are easy to eat. Your finger-foods don’t have to be elaborate. To keep it sweet and simple, you could also decorate premade rice-krispie treats, make a s’mores dip with ghost peeps, or pop some ready-to-bake Pillsbury Halloween cookies in the oven. And you can’t go wrong with a bowl of your or your friends’ favorite candies (it’s like trick-or-treating but you skipped a few steps, right?). For a mix of sweet and salty, consider making snack or trail mixes with Chex or popcorn and candy corn, chocolate-covered pretzel sticks with festive sprinkles, or pretzel “broomsticks.” And if Halloween makes you sick of sweets, you can go for mummified pigs in a blanket.
If you’re looking to make your Halloween bash a dinner party, consider making a meal that guests can easily help themselves to like a big pot of soup or, my personal tradition, chili served over white rice. That way everybody can enjoy something warm and fitting for the season at their own pace. Plus, if this is a festive pre-game, it’s good to fill up on something hearty (and delicious!) before hitting the town and partying til the witching hour.
A quick trick is to use disposable dishes if you’re going out afterward so you don’t come home to a load of dishes to do the next morning when all you want to do is Rest In Pieces in bed.
Fangtastic drinks to serve
A party without drinks would be a fright so make sure to prepare some witch’s brew for your night. Perfect for a pregame or for a house party is the classic jello shot, which can easily be turned into a spooky sip by using festive molds, like brains or ghosts. A big punch bowl makes it easy for your friends to grab drinks and can be used as a decoration if you spice it up with add-ins like ice eyeballs or even hands or serve in a cauldron. You don’t have to be double toiling and troubling yourself with complicated cocktails.
Or, if you’re looking to make your Halloween party more of a casual wine night, try picking up something premade from the store, like Trader Joe’s pumpkin spice sangria (if you’re like me, without a TJ’s nearby, Target and other stores have similar options) or spiked cider. Pumpkin spice is inevitable, even in the alcohol aisle.
Eerie entertainment for your guests
Sometimes a house party is all about the eating and drinking, but this is a Halloweekend party. Why not throw some activities in the spirit of Halloween into the mix? You can’t go wrong with pumpkin carving — it’s a classically goopy good time. Just throw down some newspaper and grab some pumpkins from the store and either print out stencils from the internet or, if you’re feeling up to it, freestyle. You can even save the insides for a tasty late fall snack. If you’re looking for an activity with slightly less guts, you could also just paint pumpkins (and if they’re fake pumpkins, you can keep them around as decor for next year!).
Since Halloween is the best excuse in the book (of spells) to play dress up, you could host a costume contest and see which of your friends can come up with the best costume. Or if you’re looking to add something extra to the drinks menu, you could decorate shot glasses for Halloween with glass markers to have a fun and usable Halloween memento. And if you’re going for a more chill(ing) night in and plan to watch some classic horror movies, you can play Halloween-inspired drinking games. It’s really a pick your own adventure since it’s your party.
Setting the spooky scene for your party
Finally, a Halloween party isn’t complete without a little decoration and ambiance-setting. The easiest thing to do is to throw on a Halloween music playlist or Halloween movies in the background (My personal recommendation It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but maybe you’re more of a Hocus Pocus or Halloween person). You can do something more casual like orange flowers or an autumnal candle — things you can keep around into November too — or pick up some cobwebs or decorative pumpkins or skulls. The dollar sections at Target or even craft stores generally have quick and cute decor, but try to grab things that are reusable so you can keep them around for next year.
Have a Happy Halloween!