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.

Easy DIY Halloween Crafts Ideas

Welcome Guests with a Halloween Chalkboard

Image via Etsy – Lily & Val – Halloween Chalkboard

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Handy Candy Dish

Do you remember “Thing” from the Addams Family?  Well for this idea we are going to bring “Thing” back but in a good way.  This idea works best for parties and small get-togethers.  But take a candy dish, tray, large bowl or plate that has some type of food, drink or item on it and place a stuffed black glove or a severed hand in the center of the dish holding a card.  Now it is completely up to you for what you want the card to say.  You could describe what’s on the dish, state a greeting, have a haunted saying etc. again up to you!  Or, you can put the hand to the side like the image above you will still get the same effect.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall – Halloween Craft Ideas

Now this idea can be used for any mirror that is placed around the home.  From the mirror placed in the entryway all the way to the mirror that is in the bathroom, it doesn’t matter.  First, cut some construction paper or if you can find a marker that can be erased on a mirror, cut or draw a crazy hairstyle and place it in the center of the mirror.  That way anyone who looks into it will have a funky hairstyle on top of their heads for them to remember.

Toilet Paper Disguises and Ghost Tootsies

Toilet paper is used for so many things and now we are going to use it for something else.  First, you can wrap the toilet paper in orange tissue paper and tie it at the top then put a face on it to look like a pumpkin jack-o-lantern.  Or you can just take a roll of toilet paper and paste a face on the paper with black felt and glue.  Either way you have your own mini disguise showcase for all to see. Now for the ghosts.  (This trick can also be a treat for kids)  Take a tootsie roll pop and place a small cloth over it, then take a ribbon or string and tie it in a knot underneath the tootsie head then draw a cute face on it.  These make great goodie gifts as well!

Halloween Decorating Idea: Walking Table

One simple decoration that you do not have to go on a splurge for is dressing up your table legs, literally.  Take four long socks that you might have (preferably those that have Halloween designs on them) and slip them on the legs of your display table.  Then for spunk, take 2 pairs of shoes and place one shoe on the bottom of each leg.  This will definitely be a crowd pleaser and one that the smaller kids will love and enjoy!

Halloween is always a super fun time of the year.  It’s filled with spooks, candy, mystery and fun.  So for this year go all out without having to go all in your wallet.  It’s the little things that can make a huge difference.  So take at the ideas above and also see what you can come up with then have a Happy Halloween!

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

For more DIY ideas on Stagetecture.

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.

Halloween season is here and creating fun homemade Halloween kids’ costume ideas make this time of year great! It seems that if you don’t get into the big box office store to buy your kids costumes now, then there will be nothing left by the time the first week of October arrives. But why rush to the store to buy a cheaply made costume that hundreds of other kids will also be wearing come Hallows Eve? Here are some really fun and inexpensive ways to dress your child for Halloween – you can rest assured your child will be the only ghoul in these one-of-a-kind costumes!

Image via: Pinterest

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Homemade Halloween Kids’s Costumes

Old Married Couple:

couple? This is the easiest costume! The boy simply wears a pair of black slacks  with a collared dress shirt, slick back his hair with some gel, put on a pair of black suspenders, carry a cane, and wear black-rimmed glasses  – voila! You have a nicely dressed gentleman. His leading lady will simply wear a pretty  cotton dress (think mad men style) and a proper ponytail tied high on her head. What could be easier?

Image via: Pinterest

Pinata

This costume will be too cute to ruin with a stick! To create a cute piñata costume for your child, simply get an old pair of pants and shirt that you no longer want to use. Then just cut strips of tissue paper about 3 inches wide and long enough to cover the width of the clothing.  Then slice vertically along the edge about halfway up each strip.  Glue these strips with a hot glue gun onto the old clothing, overlapping each one slightly over the other. It’s best to use typical piñata colors such as red, yellow, orange and green, and glue them on to form stripes (see photo).

Image via: CT Baker in the Acres

E.T. Phone Home

Here is an oldie but a goodie! Dress your child up like the young Elliott from ET (The Extra Terrestrial movie from Stephen Spielberg). Remember when he rode his bike with ET hiding in the front basket? Well, this scene is easy to recreate by simply having your child wear a red hoodie sweatshirt and prop a stuffed animal into the basket of their bike – just cover the animal up inside a blanket with only its head popping out, the same way ET did in the film. Maybe you could even find a stuffed ET somewhere online!

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

We all have those favorite sayings and quotes from films, books, or even people.  But, have you ever thought about taking these quotes and using them for more than just an inspiration to your mind or esteem?  What about taking the quotes and making them come to life for your Halloween decor?  Take a peek below and see where these quotes take you.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…” or “Mirror, mirror on the wall…”-Enchanted Black Mirror

Image via: Country Living

We all remember the infamous mirror on the wall that told the dark Queen that she was not the most beautiful in the land.  And we all know that beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.  So let’s recreate that mirror for your home.  Get a mirror that already has a black frame around it and print out ghostly images from countryliving.com/scary (mirror) and paste it to the glass and hang the mirror in the house.

“Why is a Raven like a writing desk…”- Desk with the Raven “Evermore”

Image via:  Focus Of New York

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This is quite a mix.  Alice in Wonderland and Edgar Allen Poe collide.  The Mad Hatter kept repeating the phrase, “Why is a Raven like a writing desk…” and Edgar Allen Poe wrote a poem called The Raven, so combine the two.  Have one of your tables or desk set up in a corner with a quill inside a jar of ink and a stuffed Raven on top of books on the other side of the ink jar.  Then set a sheet of paper in between the first two with “Evermore” written on it.

“Two heads are better than one…”-A charmed locket

Image via:  Country Living

Ever heard that sometimes in order to complete a task at hand that two minds are better than one alone?  Well the same will be said about this decoration.  Now you can use a charmed locket or if you just prefer the twin double image to stand alone then that is perfectly fine.  But if you decide to, purchase the locket from lilydscraftsupplies.etsy.com and print an image of the haunted twins to put in it (countryliving.com/twinsphoto).  This idea does not have to stop with a locket or even a tragic twin photo, search for different ways to twist this quote for your Halloween enjoyment!

“Let them eat cake…”- Ouija-Board Cake

Image via:  Country Living

Thank you, Maria Antoinette!  The “Let them eat cake…” will reign supreme for this decoration.  You can order a downloaded version of the Ouija-Board from cakeart.com, and they will create 8”X10” sheet of edible wafer paper ($4.75).  Bake a rectangular sixed 9”X13” from a store bought cake mix, which ever flavor you like and spread white frosting or buttercream over it.  Then place the wafer paper on top like the image above.  You may need extra cream or frosting just in case.

Creativity can come from anywhere; from nature, a memory or even a simple quote.  Who would have thought that from one phrase an entire scene can come to life?  So take a look above and see how these ideas help you with your Halloween spirit.  But don’t just stop there go out and explore more phrases and quotes that can give you the haunted scenes you will love!

For more Halloween decor on Stagetecture, click here.

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…

Image via

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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.

Halloween is just a few days away. If you are still worried about what you will wear for the costume party, then this might just solve your problem. Try this DIY Halloween Wolf Hoodie costume and you will be a head-turner. The concept is to dress as Little Red and the Wolf – a perfect way to dress-up for the party!

All images via

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Materials Needed

• Wolf pattern
• Gray Hoodie
• Stick glue
• Needle with gray thread
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Felt paper (yellow, black, gray and white)
• Pins

Directions

1. Prepare all the materials needed and plug in the Glue gun.
2. Cut the felt paper according to the wolf pattern. Be careful with selecting the right color of the felt paper for each part.
3. Arranged the cut parts to form the face of the wolf. This will ensure that you have everything done for this project.
4. Using the glue gun, join all the pieces together like the eyes and ears.
5. Find the center-top of your Hoodie and glue the nose part.
6. Then, glue the eyes of your wolf over the nose and under the hood.
7. Turn it over and ensure that the parts are properly attached.
8. Glue the claws into the sleeves.
9. Use safety pins to attach the ears on top of the hood. You need these pins to make the ears look better and hold on to its proper place.
10. Check all the parts that you attached and make sure that they are all securely fastened.

That’s it! You can now try to fit your masterpiece and evaluate the beauty and style of your Halloween Wolf Hoodie costume. You also have to check whether or not you feel comfortable and convenient wearing the costume. This project will definitely be exciting and fun to do. So, grab your materials and start getting your Halloween costume together.

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

]]> https://stagetecture.com/create-this-adult-diy-halloween-wolf-hoodie-costume/feed/ 2 35692 https://stagetecture.com/guest-blogger-safely-lighting-your-outdoor-halloween-home/ https://stagetecture.com/guest-blogger-safely-lighting-your-outdoor-halloween-home/#respond Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:30:36 +0000 https://stagetecture.com/?p=35596 Guest Blogger #745, Entry #1745, October 22, 2012

Whether you are still trying to determine how to decorate your outdoor home for Halloween are you are concerned that trick or treaters may not safely get to your front door, lighting pathways on Halloween night. Today I asked Paul R Gosselin from Nightscenes Landscape to join me and talk about getting your holiday home safely lit.

Safely Lighting your Outdoor Halloween Home

Making your pathways safe

The little ghouls are on the way!  They show up with bags, buckets, and body bags (I mean pillow cases) to collect as many goodies as they can carry.  Yes, Halloween is almost here – and what else would I be talking about but outdoor lighting to make sure these little monsters make their rounds without tripping and getting themselves injured.  We don’t want any unintentional spilled blood, now do we?

We all know that if we expect these little princesses, super-heroes, aliens and goblins we should leave our front door light on, right?  While this is a great way to let them know they are welcome, does it also do a good job of lighting the approach to and from your door?  Are any steps along the way to your haunted mansion illuminated well?  If you have a flagstone walkway with grass between the stones, is it well lit to avoid an accidental fall?

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Choosing the right Halloween lighting

The best way to make sure everyone can move around safely is to use some well positioned quality path or spread lighting fixtures.  A good fixture will cast a ring of light that is approximately 10’ around and shines the light down onto the walkway without shining into the eyes of the person walking along the way.  It’s also a good idea to stagger the fixtures from side to side or place them all on one side of the walkway to avoid the “runway” look that we see far too often.

Remember that these little ones frequently have something over their face which can interfere with their vision, so anything you can do to make it safer for them to receive their treat would make Mom and Dad Monster especially grateful.  Happy Halloween – and may the lighting force be with you!

Paul Gosselin from NightScenes Landscape Lighting Professionals explains how walkway lighting is important for children safety at Halloween. This topic is so important for parents, and home owners trying to ensure the holiday is safe for all!

Thanks Paul, and listen for a highlight on the Radio Show – Your Weekly Home on Stagetecture on Oct. 24th! If you’re interested in being a guest blogger featured on my radio show, contact me.

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.