Nick Smith is no stranger to throwing an epic party. He is creator of Situation Sundays, Orlando’s ultimate downtown weekend event which includes five parties throughout the day. He is also Halloween obsessed and is known for throwing one of the most talked about annual Halloween parties in the community.
We chatted with Central Florida’s unofficial Pumpkin King to get some tips, tricks and ideas to help you elevate your Halloween game as you plan to throw a party of your own.
Pick a theme
While some plan their entire year around going all out with a costume, others are going to feel a little stressed trying to figure out what to wear. You can help narrow down the choices by having a theme for your Halloween party.
“I try to find a theme that is easy for everyone to get dressed up for because a lot of people are going to groan when they know there’s a costume involved,” Smith says. “I try to make it fun and put a dark twist on something I know people coming are passionate about. I’m a nerd, so in the past I had twisted Disney fairy tales, zombie superheroes, just find unique things that sound fun.”
Don’t go too specific with your theme. Make sure it is wide enough to elicit a variety of costume ideas.
“This year I was looking at ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ and ‘Friday the 13th’ but instead of going with a single movie, I went with ‘80s slasher films,” Smith says. “People are always looking for a direction. If you pick a wide theme then at least you can say ‘here’s the realm of what you’re looking for.’”
Who and when
When you start to send out the invites, have realistic expectations about how many will show up.
“Your guest list will be bigger than who actually shows up,” Smith says. “Anytime you do any kind of invite, you’re most likely only going to get about half of those. Even with the people who RSVP, only a portion of them are going to show up. Plus keep in mind how big your house is when you’re figuring out how many to invite. You want guests to feel comfortable and not be piled on top of each other.”
Also keep in mind that the people who show up will be rotating in and out; some will come late, some will leave early, some will stop in for a few minutes and some will stay all night. Smith says for better odds that you’ll have a big turnout, do not throw your Halloween party on actual Halloween night.
“I usually throw my parties a week or two before Halloween,” Smith says. “October is a busy month for the LGBTQ community. Besides competing with the usual Halloween parties and costume contests at the bars, there are also several Prides that hold events during October.”
Once you have picked out the theme and date, get those invites out immediately.
“Like I said, October is a busy time of the year for a lot of people in the community, so if you are going to invest time and money into a party, get the invites out as soon as you can.”
Less is more
When you start to prepare and decorate your house for your guests, Smith says less is more when you are going for a scary atmosphere. Let their imaginations fill in a lot of the fear.
“One year I did a Ouija board room that was a big hit,” Smith says. “And it took almost nothing to set up, you just have an empty room or space with candles, a couple creepy pictures and a Ouija board in the middle, instant creepiness.”
Smith also says to not worry about the small details when decorating because most guests won’t even notice. Instead create a scary atmosphere using fabric and lights.
“You’d be surprised by how scary you can make a space look just by draping dark fabrics over items and strategically placed lights,” Smith says. “Another year, I had a strobe light going at the end of the hall that people had to walk down to get to the bathroom. By the time they got to the end of it, they ran into a life-size Jason.”
Don’t start to gather decorations for your party only in the weeks leading up to it. A well decorated party starts the day after Halloween.
“The day after Halloween is the best time to get stuff for next year’s party,” Smith says. “It all goes on sale but you have to start early in the day. It’s just like Black Friday shopping, people get serious about it.”
If you are more of a DIY person, Smith recommends spending some time online checking out Facebook groups dedicated to sharing Halloween decorating tips.
“I love the Facebook group Halloween DIY,” Smith says. “I got a great tip on how to keep your tombstones standing in your yard all season long.”
Out of the scare zone
While Halloween is all about the scares, Smith says you’ll want to section off the party so that there is an area that is not all Halloween, all the time.
“Usually the inside of the house of my party is more the Halloween area with the decorations and themed music,” Smith says. “While the outside, that’s more some general mainstream music. If you’re inside you’re like, ‘Oh, this is a creepy house.’ Outside it’s more get me away from all that for a minute. It’s a good idea to have a section of your party that is not emerged in the theme.”
Costume’d up
If you are the one throwing the party, make sure you are in costume but you don’t have to go all out.
“When I’m the one hosting the party, I’m running around and turning on like 30 or 40 things inside the house and stuff like that and I’m sweating. I always fit the theme but I encourage everyone else to wear the big costumes,” Smith says.
Also take some time to reward your friends’ efforts.
“I don’t go all out with planned games or anything because most people just want to come, show off their costume and drink,” Smith says. “But I like to have costume contests during the night. I’ll pick a few categories and award them to those who really went all out.”
Ready for more Halloween? View all of Watermark’s Halloween 2021 coverage here.
