Harvest and Halloween Party Ideas
Start the countdown! You have 15 days to get your Halloween costume together for the haunted holiday — unless you’re running in the Eerie Erie – and then you only have 10! And whether you plan on throwing a party, (harvest, Halloween, or otherwise) or staying home to handout candy as you guess who’s who among the neighbor kids, here are a few costume, party and decoration ideas to get you in a seasonal mood.
Décor, Crafts and Candy
Retailers and home improvement stores have had their Halloween decorations in place for at least two weeks. And you can hop in your car and head to the nearby Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot or Orchard Town Center to find all kinds of scary décor to put inside and outside your home – from skeletons and zombies that talk when motion-activated, to pumpkins, gourds and candy of every kind and description.
If you’re more of an online shopper, the one-stop Halloween shop is Oriental Trading. You’ll find costumes, crafts, toys and games, candy, bags, outdoor decorations and party décor – including backdrops, handouts, masks and glow sticks and rings.
At the Halloween marketplace on Etsy you’ll find things like personalized pumpkin candy carriers, spider earrings and chokers, cabbage patch hats with hair for babies and batty door décor.
Halloween Fun and Games
On the fun side of Halloween are ways to layer your evening with atmosphere. Good Housekeeping has 60 ways to Halloween your holiday, from Witch’s Brew bottle label templates for soda and beer, to black cat garland with mini-lights for eyes, reusable tin-can lanterns and tacking huge googly eyes to your front door.
If the weather holds in at least the 50s, this Spider Race game for the backyard is a fun one for a kids’ harvest party (you could also rig it in your basement) from Kid-Friendly Things to Do. Make the spiders from pipe cleaners, googly eyes and coffee creamer tops topped with a sturdy straw, and the racecourse with yarn. One side is higher than the other so that gravity should send the spiders crawling to the finish line! 
Check out the Pumpkin Bowling game, Witch Hat Ring Toss and Unwrap the Mummy — also from Kid-Friendly Things to Do — which is little like a piñata with candy hidden inside. More kids’ games and crafts can be found at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom.
The Spruce curated 38 Halloween Party Games for adults, from a murder mystery that guests act out, to a scavenger hunt out and about using phones to shoot photos of scavenged items. The host creates a slide show which completes the evening with a big hilarious finish!
Make it & Love It will show you how to DIY gussied up skeleton trophies to hand out to game champs and costume winners, and My Name is Snickerdoodle has a way to present a Caramel Apple Nacho Bar for dessert that looks both delicious and festive.
Halloween Dinner Parties
While orange and black definitely has its place in Halloween décor – even table settings and mantel arrangements — there’s also room for a stylish thematic twist like this bar set up designed by Sugar and Cloth. Black candelabras and black lacey-leaved wreaths reflect a black-and-white theme with pops of red to balance what would seem too monochromatic, otherwise. A slightly different take on the B&W theme, this time with pops of gold to balance the opposites, shows off at Elle Décor.
Black pumpkins, sure why not? Interior Designer Sarah Baynes set a table with gobs of gourds painted black, with black plates, batty name tags and gold flatware. An all-black affair is festive, and much more sophisticated sans the orange (why is that?!). Chanel Dror of Camille Styles designed a hauntingly elegant setting, using dark and interesting leaves and greenery, spooky candlelight, and plenty of black table decor.
Eerie Costumes for Parties and Races
Pop Sugar has a ton of DIY costume ideas for men, women, couples and kids impersonating Frida Kahlo and Harry Potter, to Dustin from Stranger Things and Maverick from Top Gun lookalikes (for the partygoer who likes aping personalities), to hilarious group costumes for pairs, trios and foursomes.
Here’s a Frida Kahlo YouTube tutorial by TheHeather123 that covers hair, makeup – including the uni-brow – a floral headband, costume and attitude.
And If you’ve never run or walked in the Eerie Erie in full costume, this is the year to do it! All ages are welcome — it’s the most fun you can have running in costume! Sign up at the Optimists’ Club website or enter to win a free registration at Facebook – on the Colliers Hill page.
Halloween To Dos Near Colliers Hill
If you’re in a thrill-seeking mood, the Haunted Field of Screams in Thornton is less than 30 minutes from your front door in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill – and promises to thrill, scare and entertain from now until Halloween! Or, make time to visit the spectacular model homes offered by Meritage Homes, Richmond American Homes, and Century Communities. This is one of the fastest growing communities in Northern Colorado, so explore the amenities and find the perfect ranch-style or two-story design — priced from the high $300s.
