Pimpin' Pumpkin Party

This party theme is centered on the color of pumpkins in season, which is orange. To make party planning virtually hassle-free, you may choose to buy ready-made party invitations with pumpkin décor at you local arts n crafts store. Or you may opt to make your own, using an orange felt-tipped marker to write your information on the invitation in keeping with the orange theme, and pumpkin stickers or draw your own directly onto the card.

Ask everyone to dress in orange, or you can ask him or her to come dressed as pumpkins. You may suggest other orange-themed costumes to keep variety and surprise in your nifty little party. After all, you wouldn’t want a roomful of pumpkin people bearing down at your doorway on Halloween night.

Using an orange trash bag, you could suggest they come as a bag or autumn leaves, or maybe a carrot costume. How about covering themselves in Orange balloons and be a handful of orange M&M’s. One costume idea is to come as the Headless Horseman, using a pumpkin as a “head”. Or ask them to simply come as an orange fruit.

Establish the foundation for a memorable Halloween party by decorating the area leading up to your front door with the usual Halloween funfair and all the pertinent Halloween decorations befitting the occasion. You don’t have to make the setting too scary, after all what would a Halloween party be without a little fun and frolic?

For an unexpected twist, you could make your own “Decomposing” Pumpkin décor. You will need to carve out one hefty-sized pumpkin in the desired face pattern. Dip a paintbrush or toothbrush in some black paint or food coloring and splatter it along the pumpkin, both inside and out.

Repeat the same process with a green paint or food coloring making sure the pumpkin achieves a moldy greenish appearance. Let the color air-dry and for a final touch, place gummy worms in and around the pumpkin. Make sure some look like they’re "crawling" out around the openings to make it more gross and rotting. Stick to predominantly orange and black color scheme.

Ornamentation such as banners and balloons should be strategically scattered around the area to complement the holiday theme. Whatever decorations you may choose to go with, make sure they’re simple, disposable, and safe.

Food is an important part of any party. If you are inviting a variety of different people have several different types of food so no ones goes hungry. When you set up your serving table, prepare it so guests can eat buffet style. Cover your furniture with a Halloween-themed cloth, and put a pumpkin centerpiece in the middle of the table. Turning simple party food into ghoulish culinary delights will surprise and please your guests. Remember, the food is part of your overall presentation.

While games and activities are always fun to play at parties, you should space them out accordingly. You should have a couple of ice-breakers first if your guests don’t know each other. Any game where you can break people off into teams will help to get everyone talking. Pumpkin carving contests are always a good idea, and make sure you have lots of prizes to spare.