This is Halloween. Having a child with a birthday around Halloween only means one thing, that eventually they will have a Halloween themed birthday party. Since our love for Disney runs deep, then what would be better than incorporating the theme from the movie Nightmare Before Christmas. If you haven’t seen the movie yet than you are missing out. Yes it is over 25 years old, but did you know that it was a stop motion picture (kind of like puppets) and it took one whole week to make one minute of film? Sorry for my nerdiness coming through. They started filming the movie before the ending was written and it took them 3 years to finish it. Crazy I know. So now when you watch it you will surely appreciate it just a little more.
So how do you plan a Nightmare Before Christmas party? The answer is pretty simple really and you could do it yourself too.
Setting the Scene
Start with the location of the party and decide if you want it to be at your house or a destination. I longed to have a birthday party at our local zoo and was devastated when I found out that they no longer host parties there. I knew that this time of year they are open for Wild Zoo Halloween where kids come in costumes and trick or treat. So the thought of doing this of course got my wheels turning. I looked up rental facilities at the adjoining park and rented a pavilion to host the party.
Black Stripes, Dark Purple, and a Touch of Scary
Oh how I wanted to make this super scary but I had to keep reminding myself that there will come a day when I can do just that. So for now we added small touches of scary decorations. When I think about the movie, Jack Skellington comes to mind and his black and white striped suit. So naturally, I picked black and white stripes complimented by dark purple as my color scheme. The tables were covered in purple table cloths and black and white striped runners. The centerpieces were black trees and purple lights with a character from the movie. Joann Fabrics had a ton of black and white pumpkins this year which worked perfectly. All the banners, signs, and beautifully matched themed artwork was provided by Spectra Art Studio. The focal point of all the decorations was the cake table with a ‘Happy Birthday’ vinyl backdrop purchased from Specialty Banners and a purple curly willow table skirt from CV linens.
What’s this…Halloween Party Food
Nothing adds more to a party than good themed food and cake. The cake was made by Halls Takes the Cake. They always do outstanding cakes and I use them every time. Yes it does taste as good as it looks too. I complimented the cake with more themed food from Dead Man Fingers, Jack Skellington Cake Pops, Jack Snacks Popcorn, Vampire Bites, and Zero Kibble to Oogie Boogie Worm Bites and Nightmare Before Christmas Cursed Sugar Cookies. These cookies were so soft and tasted amazing from Sweet Girly Girl Cookies. She has such talent in designing cookies and totally keeping her in mind for my next party. The kids washed all that sweetness down with some perfectly themed drinks of Poison Punch made with grape juice, ginger ale, pineapple juice, and cherries and Frog’s Breath made with green Hawaiian Punch, Pineapple juice, and sprite.
Halloween Town Photo Booth
To document all the adorable Halloween costumes, I knew we needed a photo booth. Who would have thought that a shower curtain would be perfect? The Nightmare Before Christmas shower curtain was hung on a photography backdrop stand. Party City had cute photo props to match the theme, too. Just look at all the cute costumes!
Festive Hay Ride and Trick or Treating
We loaded up the kids and arrived after a short distance to the zoo. Sure we could have walked but escorting them in style seemed way more fun. Once at the zoo, the kids participated in all the treat stations. At times it was like herding cats but they all actually stuck together really well. Then our hay ride took us back to the party for cake and more sugar. I told you that I load these kids up on sugar and I am pretty sure they need a detox after they go home.
Trick or Treat Goodie Bags
Naturally the goodie bags needed to be trick or treat bags. Honestly, I planned on making them but time became a factor. There just wasn’t any. Then I found these super cute bags from Fallen Star Couture and they could monogram them with each kid’s name. Sign me up! The bags are very sturdy and I envision them being used for years and years. If you read my previous posts on parties than you know I strive to give favors that will last. Inside the bag, I included Oogie Boogie sacks filled with spooky creatures, whoopee cushions, Halloween sun-catcher crafts, homemade ornaments and of course candy. The Jack Skellington ornament turned out so cute and wasn’t hard to do. I bought clear ornaments, filled them with white paint, and put my circuit to work with black permanent vinyl.
Simply Meant to Be Costumes
It was a costume party after all right? So I convinced the boys that we all need to match. It worked, this time but not sure how. My hubby and I were the love birds, Jack and Sally. The birthday boy was Jack Junior and the other two boys were Barrel and Zero. My little guy made the cutest ghost puppy and loved flopping his ears around.
This Halloween party turned out to be a blast. Do you throw a costume Halloween party? I would love to hear about. I feel like this should happen every year.
