When it comes to Halloween parties for adults, many hosts and hostesses think in terms of tradition. They drape trees, shrubs, and perhaps the entranceway with fake spider webs and maybe hang a plastic skeleton or two on the porch. Not that there’s anything wrong with using such decorations. After all, it is Halloween.
The problem is that hosts and hostesses tell their guests to wear whatever costumes they wish; and they do exactly that, dressing in everything from castoff sheets to Grandma’s old housecoat to superhero suits and exotic-dancer attire. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with any of these costumes, that is, unless the invitees include the local pastor and his wife, who might not approve of the exotic-dancer attire.
Instead of risking a guest appearing in something a bit too risqué, people might consider establishing a theme for the costumes their guests will wear. After all, an established theme will not only be a refreshing break from tradition but also give guests the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and perhaps even have fun doing so.
Halloween Theme Party Costume Ideas
There are myriad themes that people can use for Halloween costume parties, including the following:
- Politics in America: Guests must come as a political figure, past or present, for example, Abraham Lincoln, Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, or George W. Bush.
- History Around the World: Guests must come as a historical figure, for example, the Marquis de Sade, Ivan the Terrible, Anne of Bolen, Ponce de Leon, or Davy Crockett.
- In the News: Guests must come as someone currently newsworthy, for example, Sarah Palin, Caroline Wozniacki, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, or Bernard Madoff.
- All Things Literary: Guest must come as a literary figure, either real of fictional, for example, Arthur Conan Doyle or Sherlock Holmes, Erle Stanley Gardner or Perry Mason, J. K. Rowling or Harry Potter, etc.
- On the Air: Guests must come as a TV or radio talk-show personality, for example, Oprah Winfrey, Keith Oberman, Jay Leno, or Rush Limbaugh.
- Hollywood and Vine: Guests must come as a movie star, past or present, for example, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Jennifer Anniston, or Brad Pitt.
- The Wild, Wild West: Guests must come as a famous character of the Old West, for example, Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, Geronimo, Wyatt Earp, or Doc Holliday
To make this even more fun, hosts and hostesses should ask their guests to “act the part” from the moment they arrive, by adopting certain mannerisms, speech patterns, etc, which are associated with their characters.
Halloween Theme Party Game Ideas
One game that naturally goes with a costume theme party is to have everyone try to guess who everyone else is and then award a prize to the person who stumps everyone else with his or her character portrayal and costume.
Another suggested game is to play charades, but with a twist: the person who is taking a turn must use a phrase or, in the case of literature or movies, a title associated with his or her character; for example,
- Someone dressed as George W. Bush could use the phrase, “Mission Accomplished.”
- Someone dressed as Abraham Lincoln could use the phrase “Four score and seven years ago.”
- Someone dressed as Sarah Palin could use the title of her book—Going Rogue: An American Life.
- Someone dressed as Clark Gable could, of course, use the title of Margaret Mitchell’s novel — Gone with the Wind.
Yet another suggested game is to have everyone bring two or three written clues to the person or character he or she is portraying and pass the clues out at the beginning of the evening. Then, as the evening progresses, guests are allowed to use each clue once—and only once—in order to try to determine whom someone else is portraying.
In summary, Halloween parties for adults do not have to be conventional, not if people put on their creative-thinking caps and come up with a costume theme that everyone will enjoy and probably still be talking about weeks later. In fact, guests might still be talking about the party when the following Halloween comes around.
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