Essential Tips to Throw a Cool Teen Halloween Party

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Teen Halloween Party Ideas:

Guest list and invitations

Discuss the guest list with your teen and make sure he/she knows that you are around. Have a backup plan for dealing with uninvited guests, because you are probably going to have a few. When planning invites, be prepared that your teen may not appreciate the idea of Halloween themed paper invitations, so don’t insist. Let him/her choose the communication method for invitations, which most likely would be an email or a text.

Create a Haunted House on a Budget with these cool tips:

Halloween Party Ideas: Privacy Counts!

The last thing teenagers want is parents lurking around. So, give your teen and his/her friends some space and privacy. In order to ensure that things don’t get out of control, it’s wise to stay close by but defiantly in a different room. Peek in occasionally but don’t interfere.

Safe-proof the surroundings

It’s possible to bump into a glass object when lights are dim so, remove expensive and breakable items from the party area. To avoid accidents and longs hours of after party clean ups, consider using plastic or disposable cups and bowls instead of glass.

Halloween Food Ideas

Teenagers love to eat so, provide them with lot of food from chips to pizzas to baked items. Keep an eye on the bowls and plates and fill them as soon as they run empty. Make sure to check with your teen if any of the guests have special dietary needs.

Take a look at our 20 Halloween Party Treat Ideas here.

While, these are some basic tips that you must keep in mind when hosting a Halloween party for teenagers, be sure to include your teen in the planning process for a sure shot hit.

For more Halloween party ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Simple Halloween Ideas with No Pumpkin Carving

Gather Craft Items to Avoid Pumpkin Carving :

Look around your home; your craft room; or in your sewing basket. Gather items such as buttons, yarn, string, elastic, pom poms, glitter, fabric, left over paint, duct tape….get the idea? Essentially, grab anything you have and pile it all in front of you and your purchased pumpkin. You will also want to gather some glue, or short pushpins. Here are some inspiring ideas for all the items you may have collected:

By gluing buttons on your pumpkin for eyes, nose, and mouth, you have a simple, yet creative pumpkin.  Buttons can also be used to spell out scary words across your pumpkin. Take a look at this photo where buttons spell out ‘Boo!’ Use your imagination to spell scary messages across your pumpkin.

We love these pom pom pumpkin decorating ideas from BHG.

For a cute and cuddly pumpkin, cover it with colorful pom poms! Simply glue pom poms all over the pumpkin – voila! Your pumpkin is turned into a cuddly creature.

Pumpkin Decorating Ideas: Use Duct Tape

There are so many styles of duct tape on the market right now. In fact, decorating with duct tape is a big trend. Browse through your local craft store for a variety of duct tape styles. If you don’t want to purchase new duct tape, try using solid white tape and paste it Kris-cross all over your pumpkin in a random pattern, draw some small black eyes, or use black buttons for the eyes ; step back and admire your mummified pumpkin!

These duct tape pumpkin decorating ideas are a great no pumpkin carving idea from Home Talk!

Pumpkin Painting Ideas for your Halloween Pumpkin

What better way to make your pumpkins match your homes décor then by painting it with left over wall color? Grab that paint can from the garage ̶ you know the one that has that perfect color that you found for your kitchen or den ̶ then slather this color all over your pumpkin, allow to dry and presto – you have a pumpkin customized to your home.

Style Caster features pretty and cute pumpkin painting ideas here.

Try Pumpkin Stencils using Pumpkin Painting Ideas:

The great thing about these last minute décor ideas is that you only have to spend the few dollars on your pumpkin, the rest of the items can all be found in your very own home. Have fun searching your home for ideas to create your own creative pumpkin masterpiece.

For more Halloween Ideas for your home take a look at these.

Happy Halloween!  All your kids and grown-ups alike look forward to this special day of dressing up and trick-or-treating. To ensure you and your children are safe this Halloween look at these safety tips.  Don’t forget – today on ‘Your Weekly Home at Stagetecture’ radio we are talking all about last minute Halloween ideas, safety tips, alternatives to candy and lighting your exterior pathways with my guest blogger!

Join me today – 12pm EST – Link to Blog Talk Radio –> Stagetecture radio . Follow the Pinterest board –> Stagetecture radio board

Can’t listen in? No worries, download the show on iTunes  — > iTunes – Mathis Interiors Radio

One from the archives…

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Original Entry #317, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween Stagetecture readers! We’ve finally gotten to the day that kids and adults enjoy having fun and dressing up to go Trick-or-Treating. If you are still looking for last minute costume ideas, look at yesterday’s post.

Today I have a simple list for Halloween Safety from the CDC – Center for Disease Control & Prevention.

	Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible.
	Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
	Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
	Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
	Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you.
	Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent skin and eye irritation.
	Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.
	Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses.
	Only walk on sidewalks or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.
	Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.
	Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
	Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult. Otherwise, stay outside.
	Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.

Expecting trick-or-treaters or party guests?

• Provide healthier treats for trick-or-treaters, such as individual packs of raisins, trail mix, or pretzels. For party guests, offer a variety of fruits, vegetables, and cheeses.
• Use party games and trick-or-treat time as an opportunity for kids to get their daily dose of 60 minutes of physical activity.
• Be sure walking areas and stairs are well-lit and free of obstacles that could result in falls.
• Keep candle-lit jack-o’-lanterns and luminaries away from doorsteps, walkways, landings, and curtains. Place them on sturdy tables, keep them out of the reach of pets and small children, and never leave them unattended.
• Remind drivers to watch out for trick-or-treaters and to drive safely.

Follow these tips to help make the festivities fun and safe for everyone!

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Halloween chair decorations should be on the top of your list if you’re planning to host a Halloween dinner or party. This is one of the easiest ways to welcome the holiday into your home and enjoy it with family and friends gathered around the table. After you choose the Halloween centerpiece, tablecloth and table decorations, turn your attention to the seats around the table.

Ghoulish Idea: Dress Up Your Chairs For Halloween

Halloween chair covers – mini or maxi?

Don’t overdecorate or you will end up with a crowded room where no decorations will pop out  – just one or two chairs out of a 6 or 8 suite is enough to spark up the atmosphere. Take as example the photo below, seen on HammersAndHighHeels. This is a DiY project perfect for the days remaining until our favorite holiday, just follow the instructions and you will display a sophisticated chair cover with a customized stenciled gravestone – maybe even personalize it to display the name of the person sitting in that place, creating a different kind of place cards.

Halloween chair covers can embrace the backrest or they can cover the whole chair. A skeleton chair cover that completely hides the chair behind the material can be an ingenious way of decorating for Halloween and completely changing the look of a room.

Halloween chair painting projects

If you have painting skills, a Halloween painting project can be just the thing to unleash your creativity. Paint ghouly scenes, cats or brooms, use skull representation or any Halloween motif you might be attracted to. These two painted chairs below acts as inspiration for a Halloween-inspired painting project, but if you can’t paint that well, a few bat or dark houses silhouettes can do wonders on an old chair.

Sewing/gluing cute Halloween backrest decorations

If you’re into a cute Halloween style and your children love Do-it-yourself projects, an easy Halloween sewing/gluing  project will not only create a buzz, but help your kids learn how to create their own decorations. Using felt and glue is the easiest way to go, with spectacular result, while sewing takes a little more practice and supervision.

Finding Halloween-inspired designer chairs

Maybe you can include buying a skull chair in your Halloween budget – this would be an impressive acquisition that you can use for each year’s party. This fiberglass skull chair from the Nouvelle Vague collection by the French company Pool is just one of the creative skull chair design out there. Named Souviens Toi Que Tu Vas Mourir (meaning Remember That You Will Die in French), the creepy modern chair “shows the emblematic monobloc chair reinterpreted as an expression of vanity”, constructing the idea of transience so well seen in this special holiday.

Ghostly white, eerie orange and deep black are the perfect colors to choose for a traditional Halloween. A black chair wrap with spider web motif can add elegance to your Halloween decor, while a carefully crafted electric chair would keep you busy for a few hours.  A simple cheesecloth thrown over your favorite armchair is enough to get your heart rate up – add a pumpkin or a representative Halloween pillow and you have a creepy but comfortable reading corner to enjoy this autumn’s upcoming Halloween!

Ada Teicu is a dedicated writer sharing finds about architecture, design and creativity. Inspired by the new and exciting things she sees daily, Ada puts pieces side by side to offer the landscape of modern architecture, sometimes entangled with personal experiences on her blog.

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Halloween is fast approaching us – and has to be one of the most fun holiday seasons there are! What could be more fun than dressing up, eating candy and doing DIY pumpkin crafts with your children? There’s nothing more fun than carving pumpkins yourself and seeing the impressive results once you’re finished!

Easy Halloween DIY Pumpkin Carving Guide

It can be difficult knowing where to start though – as carving pumpkins can actually be quite tricky! If it’s something you really want to learn though we have a few great tips and tricks to get you started.

Also, remember, if scary, scowling faces aren’t your idea of a pretty pumpkin patch for Halloween – then fear not! There are loads of different ways you can decorate your pumpkin! Maybe carve out a witch on a broomstick, flames or a cat. All these things are Halloween themed – but not as scary looking, especially for young children.

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Carving your pumpkin

You need to carve out your pumpkin before you can start designing the patterns onto them. The best way to do this is to remove a lid first and then carve the insides out from the lid hole. It’s great to get younger children involved in this part of the process, as it doesn’t involve any sharp knives of cutting. All you need to do give the young ones some big spoons so they can get scooping.

Another great idea, is to saved all the pumpkin that you scoop out. This can be used later for cooking and baking. Your kids will love the idea of eating the pumpkin as well as carving them! You could even make Halloween themed pumpkin pie!

Transferring the pumpkin design

The next step is transferring your pumpkin design onto your pumpkin. You can do this by either printing off some design templates from online resources – there are loads of designs out there for you to try! Or you can simply buy a marker pen and draw on your own design.

If you’re doing the carving with children but are reluctant to let them handle the knives themselves, letting them do the drawing is a good idea. A marker pen is much safer than a knife after all! Let your children design the pumpkin and then you can go ahead with the actual cutting later on.

Pumpkin cutting tools

The most important thing to start with is gathering the right tools. You want to make sure you have some sharp knives – the sharper the knives the safer it will be for you. You’ll want to start out by gently scoring the pumpkin along the lines you’re children have designed. This will mean, when you later cut deep you’ll be less likely to slip with the knife – which means no accidents. Also, at this stage – remember to keep the pumpkin on a non-slip surface, flat surface.

After completing all of this you’ll not only have some very happy neighborhood children – but some very seasonal and decorative pumpkins too! Thanks to Distinctive Doors for this guide to a classic porch decoration.

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.