15 Ideas for a Spooky Halloween Birthday Party

🎵This is Halloween, this is Halloween!

Boo- you’re one year older and cooler! It’s your birthday and that time of the year when kids and ghosts knock on your door for some treats! If you’re lucky enough to be born on the 31st of October or to a close date of Halloween, you’re probably wondering how to host a birthday party that combines birthday fun and Halloween fright!

At Tagvenue, we’ve got you covered with some wickedly good Halloween birthday party ideas that will make your special day a hit! 

We’ve got the best Halloween-themed birthday parties, decoration ideas and tips to host a party that will be remembered for a long time! So without further ado, let’s jump right in!

🎃 Top 15 Ideas for a Halloween Birthday Bash 

1. A Lush Vampire Dinner

Turn your chic dinner party into something more sinister and send chills down everyone’s spine! Throw on some elegant vampire-looking attire and get down to planning. 

The easiest way to create mysterious and eerie vibes at a vampire dinner is to pick a crimson colour scheme. Why? Because it mimics the colour of blood!  

Don’t be afraid to add some bright red colours to the centre of the table, and throw in some black balloons, red roses, banners and candles. And during the event, dim the lights! It will add an aura of mystery to the whole dining experience. 

When it comes to the menu, consider serving something that a real vampire wouldn’t be ashamed to eat, such as a medium-rare steak, beef brisket or chicken tenders with some sides. Of course, you also can’t forget about serving red wine from blood bags! While this may sound a bit naff, trust us, it will get everyone in the right spooky frame of mind. 

And how about having dinner at one of the best restaurants in town? Restaurants offer an ideal setting that is perfect for a  bone-chilling birthday dinner.  Plus, you won’t need to prepare any decorations on your own or worry about the cleanup.

1. Keep it Classic with a Costume Party.

As an adult, running around the house or neighbourhood in a Pikachu suit or a mummy costume is tough. Halloween is the only time you can dress up as anything and get away with it! If you have been dreaming of dressing up as Harry Potter or Voldemort, now is your chance!

 Encourage your guests to get creative and dress up as their favourite characters. Since it’s your day, you may add a theme to the event, such as Harry Potter, Hocus Pocus or something as simple as Creatures of the Night! 

Award prizes such as the biggest piece of a cake or a bag of treats for the best costume. Who knows? It might be you!

3. Witches on their Brooms

Ladies, this idea is just for you! Turn your party place into a modern coven instead where you won’t be afraid to cast love spells and drink alcohol-fueled magic potions. 

Use decorations in bright green, orange, purple and black. Throw in some balloons, candles, as well as witch hat toppers on the finger foods to add to the ambience. Also, don’t be afraid to match different patterns and, for example, match a polka dot table runner with a chequered tablecloth. 

When the setting is ready, grab your broomsticks, don your capes and witch hats and get ready for a magical celebration!

4. Creepy Circus Party

Keep the atmosphere eerie by transforming the party space into a run-down circus tent. Use old sheets to drape the ceiling and walls so it looks like a real tent. Add red balloons, fake skeletons, and a few other animal decorations such as rats, monkeys, owls, snakes, and hang clown props in the least expected spots. 

To hype up your crowd for the event, send birthday party invitations that look like circus tickets. And get ready to scare your guests with this setting!

5. Jack-O’-Lantern Party 

What’s the symbol of Halloween? A pumpkin! So how about making this delicious vegetable the main decoration? This Halloween birthday theme is extremely fun and easy to pull off. 

Create a spooky setting by carving pumpkins into scary creatures. And you can engage other guests to join the fun and help you! Then, place them in visible spots so that everyone can see them. Once you pop the tea lights inside the pumpkins and turn off the lights, everyone will have chills running up their spine. 

With the pumpkin flesh that is left over after carving, you can prepare a whole pumpkin-oriented menu and serve some delicious pumpkin pie, muffins, creamy pumpkin pasta, or spicy pumpkin soup. Sounds delicious, right?

6. Mad Scientist Party

What do Dr Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Bruce Bane have in common? They were all mad scientists! Their eccentric and evil side can inspire you to don your own lab coat and goggles and host a spine-chilling birthday bash to remember! 

To rock this Halloween birthday theme, try to make the setting eerie and thrilling by having neon lab banners, dry ice, bubbling liquids, skulls and fake brains in jars as centrepieces. You can also create lab stations where people can sip drinks from blood bags and syringes, as well as eat spooky-looking finger foods like eyeball cookies, pretzel bones or spicy orange bat wings. 

And why not top off the celebration with a birthday cake that looks like a brain!

7. Murder Mansion Party

Transform your home into an abandoned mansion by spreading fake spider webs across the room in places like the ceilings, around shelves, on the mirrors and on the lamps. Don’t skimp on the webs  –use them as much as possible! Once you’re done, hang crepe cloth and place some skeletons, spiders and skulls all over the house. This will add a special chilling touch to the decor when you dim the lights! 

Your guests will be afraid to move any further once they step into your house. But that’s not all! To make the party more fun and spooky at the same time, invite everyone to solve a murder mystery game together. You can easily find murder mystery kits online or book a virtual event with a host that will guide you through the experience!

8. Scary-oke Party

Scare the spooky monsters and witches away with some terrifying singing! This Halloween birthday party idea is not only budget-friendly but also super fun and easy to pull off. Decorate the room to your taste for a creepy ambience and ask everyone to come dressed up as musical icons. 

Create a playlist with Halloween hits and share it with everyone in advance, so they can prepare and warm up their vocal cords. When the booze kicks in, let the real fun start. 

Another great idea is to dress up and take everyone for a Halloween singing session at a real karaoke bar. 

On Tagvenue, you will find places that charge from as low as £8 per hour!

9. The Walking Dead Party 

Invite zombies to your house and have a blast! Well, not real zombies, of course. For this party, guests that show up dressed up as zombies will do!  

Prepare flashy decorations and birthday party banners with signs like Attention – Zombie Area. You can also serve a signature drink and tag it as a curing vaccine that will help everyone to return to their normal selves. 

Make sure to throw some disposable cameras around, as such a celebration will be worth capturing!

10.  Haunting Escape Room

Want to try something this new to celebrate another year of life? Test your survival skills with an escape room! Turn your home or venue into a creepy space and challenge your guests to escape before time! You can even use this DIY escape room option to plan your own from scratch.

 Set up some puzzles, hidden clues and eerie challenges your guests must solve to escape the haunted premises. You may hire professionals to host your escape room at home or ask a few volunteers to organise the event. Remember to lighten the evening with Halloween-themed drinks and treats after the game!

11. Dance the Howling Night Away

The scene was rockin’; all were diggin’ the sounds! 

Dance parties are always a success plus, they’re easy to plan and host! Toss in some Halloween-themed music and watch the werewolves, vampires and zombies put on their best moves. 

Make sure to queue up the tunes in advance on a special birthday playlist to get the party right on time. Check out this classic Halloween playlist featuring Monster Mash, Addams Family for some scary-good tunes or this Halloween Pop Playlist for something more upbeat.

12. Solve a Murder for Dinner

Fans of detective novels, we’ve got you covered! Spice up your boring dinner nights with a murder mystery! Hire a murder mystery company to host the game, or simply put together a DIY murder mystery game with your guests.

 We recommend asking a third party to host the game for you, as you would have the opportunity to experience something new without worrying about anything.  

You can also ask your guests to play a character and provide them with clues while watching the mystery unfold during the evening. It’s a fun way to celebrate a Halloween-themed anniversary!

13. Spooky Movie Marathon

‘What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie?’ From contemporary classics like Scream to the cult classic The Shining, there are many horror movies to choose from. Create an eerie atmosphere by hanging spider cobs and witches’ hats around the room. 

Remember to get a themed birthday cake with Pennywise or Chucky on it! As for the snacks, you can get some pumpkin-flavoured popcorn and pumpkin spice lattes for your guests to get all cosy. 

Just make sure that whatever you do, you don’t fall asleep, or else you may find yourself on Elm Street!

14. Seance in a Haunted Mansion

One of our favourite places to host a Halloween party is a haunted mansion! If you’re a fan of The Haunting of Hill House or The Fall of the House of Usher, you will undoubtedly enjoy this idea! And you can find one for rent close to your home. 

It’s an original way to celebrate your birthday. You will have the opportunity to visit the mansion and learn a few fun…or creepy facts about the place, and you can also relax and treat your guests to a delicious dinner in the dining hall. 

 Ask your guests to wear some period pieces for some Instagram-worthy shots! Trust us- there’s no way your guests will leave the party unimpressed!

15. Birthday Binge with a Graveyard Picnic

What’s more memorable than a graveyard picnic on your birthday? Make the most of autumn by taking advantage of the great outdoors. Transform your venue into a unique graveyard picnic. 

Set up tombstone decorations, spooky lanterns and a spread of deliciously themed finger foods. 

Guests can relax on blankets while enjoying the eerie atmosphere of a graveyard-inspired setting. 

Remember to add a RIP birthday cake to celebrate the years gone by! If you’re looking for unique ideas, we recommend checking out this original Halloween party themes blog post.

🎃 Decoration Ideas for Your Halloween Birthday Party 

Hosting a themed birthday party without the right atmosphere is impossible. Get your guests in the mood for shenanigans with some tasteful or tacky decorations- it’s up to you.

 We’ve come up with a few decoration ideas that you can DIY or easily purchase from Amazon or party supply stores. So, let’s get busy crafting!

Light Up The Room with Paper Lanterns

Paper lanterns are one of the cheapest ways to transform your home or venue into something completely different. Use paint, studs, glitter, gauze and clip art to change your usual paper lanterns. You won’t believe how creepy they can appear in the dark.

Blow Some Ghostly Balloons 

Who needs a balloon arch when you can have ghost balloons floating around the room? Is that Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas? Who knows? You can use helium balloons for minimal effort or hang them around your setup. Here is a short DIY video to create your festive Halloween balloons. 

Give Away Themed-Party Bags

Keep your guests happy by handing out some personalised treat bags. Whether you are planning a kid’s or adult’s birthday party, a bag of treats will surely make anyone happy! Don’t forget the furry ghosts if they’re part of your guest list. Check out some fabulous treat bag ideas from the Spruce Crafts right here.

Personalise the Invitations 

There’s nothing more dull than a boring invitation! Invitation cards are like prequels to any party. It may not seem like they’re part of the decor, but trust us, they are! So, if you want your guests to show up, send out some Halloween-themed invitations with ghoulish characters or cute spooky elements like bats, ghosts or pumpkins.

You can use an easy tool like Canva and have access to free templates to create your very own chef-d’oeuvre!

Orange and Black Everything 

Sometimes keeping things simple is just the best decor idea! Since black and orange are the colours of Halloween, why not make it your birthday theme? Use balloons, jack’-o-lanterns, papers bats and streamers in Halloween colours to add a festive touch to your party. 

You could even ask everyone to dress in black and orange to take it to the next level!

Mummy Hot Dogs and Monster Cookies 

Someone once said that the success of a party lies in its food! Serve up some creepy but delicious snacks and treats that will tantalisetantalise the taste buds of everyone. We’re thinking mummy hot dogs, monster cookies, ghost-shaped cookies, creamsicle shakes, freaky Frankenstein cocktails and lots of delicious food that will make your party delicious! 

Look at some delicious Halloween cocktail recipes and some creative Halloween snacks here.

Not Your Regular Mantel 

Use your mantel as your piece de resistance. Makeover your mantel by playing with burgundy or other dark fabrics, candles, candelabras, and a picture of your favourite horror movie character on top of the mantel. 

Add some dark-coloured flowers to your decor to further the ambience! And voila, your eerie atmosphere is all set!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Cats

One of the fastest ways to make your party space festive is by hanging cat garlands all around! Get some coloured or black paper and cut at least 10 to as many cat face shapes as you want. Now get a hole puncher to punch eye holes in the cats’ faces. Slide string lights into the eyes, plug in and enjoy your new setup! Check out this DIY video to make your cat string light.

Get the Spooky Celebration Started

If your birthday falls in autumn, having a Halloween-themed birthday party sounds like a plan! And as you can see, there are plenty of Halloween birthday party ideas that can help make your event successful. 

So which one will make your guests the most excited? Get ready to make it happen and good luck! 

Wondering how to plan your birthday party from scratch? Check out our guide about everything you need to know in order to plan a successful celebration. 

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