Mad Scientist Halloween Party Idea

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doctorHere I’m going show you how I put together a mad scientist Halloween party with a twist.  As opposed to a traditional Dr. Frankenstein or crazy scientist theme, I opted to make my scientist a grieving widower trying desperately to bring his dearly departed love back from the dead.

This was actually the second adult Halloween party I ever organized. Like the vampire nurse party from the year before, this one wasn’t a themed party per se in the sense that I didn’t prescribe what kind of costumes my guests should wear. It did however, include a similar bait-and-punchline technique and was very well received by all who attended.

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Halloween Party Game Ideas for Kids

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kidsComing up with Halloween party game ideas for kids isn’t always easy. For one thing, there are a million ideas to choose from, but if you’re like me, you want some that are fun, easy, and safe. If possible, you’d rather they be free or at least inexpensive. Let me take a few moments to tell what works for me and what I recommend in the hopes of saving you some valuable time scouring the internet. If you’re hosting a teen party, you might want to check out these 10 Halloween games for teenagers instead.

Since becoming a father, I’ve begun hosting a Halloween party just for my daughter and her friends. I’ve had to find a number of games and activities to keep them entertained. She’s six at the time of writing this, but the children in question are typically between 3-10 years old, so the games and activities I’ll recommend tend to be a hit with kids anywhere in that age range.

Her Halloween kids parties usually involve 8-12 kids, but these games can easily be adapted to different sizes by dividing the children into smaller groups if necessary.

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How Long In Advance To Plan Your Halloween Party

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calendarLately people have been asking, “How long in advance do I need to plan my Halloween party?” That’s a great question and one that must obviously be considered at the very beginning of the process, so I thought I’d tackle it right away.

There are some rather standard best practices with respect to how far in advance you should start planning, but each situation is different and so what’s right for you can depend on a number of factors. Given this reality, I’ll cover both of these areas to help you make the decision that suits your particular needs.

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Halloween Window Cling Decorations: Finding the Best

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Halloween window cling decorations come in numerous types like vinyl decals, gel clings, stickers, and posters, but not all are created equal and frankly, not all are worth your money. There are some things you should know before you rush out and buy that really cool looking Halloween window cling.

I’ve learned what makes a good – and a terrible – window cling over the years by trial and error. To me, it comes down to three primary considerations: Stain-resistance, durability, and transparency. Since window clings aren’t typically very expensive, I’m going to leave cost out as a major deciding factor.

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Keep Tombstones From Falling Over: Securing Tips

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Are your Styrofoam or plastic Halloween tombstones falling over no matter how well you try to secure them? Does the wind keep blowing them away every year, causing you to chase after them down the street before you lose them or even worse, before they cause a car accident? If so, I know the feeling, believe me – and I can help.

The truth is that unless you live in a wind-free part of the world (I’ve yet to hear of one), the cheap plastic supports and small metal spikes included with the tombstones simply don’t work. Over the years I’ve tried numerous techniques to secure my decorative tombstones to my lawn, including adding wooden dowels along the back for support, using longer metal spikes for a deeper fit, and placing heavy bricks to the front and back for added resistance, all to no avail. The tombstones would simply tear off and fly away. At one point I became so disillusioned that I even gave up on the outdoor graveyard idea altogether.

The tombstones sat in my garage, daring me to find a way though — and because they just looked so good, I had to try again. Finally, after years of trial and error, I found success!

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Sodial Flameless Candles: Halloween Flickering Lights

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flicker lightsLooking for flameless candles to use as your Halloween flickering lights? I don’t blame you!

If you’ve ever struggled to light a candle inside a jack-o-lantern or burned your finger while depositing a lit teal light inside a pumpkin, you know the hassles people go through for the classic beauty of a flickering flame.

I personally switched from real tea lights to LED battery-operated flickering lights because they’re safer and last longer. I’ve tried different ones over the years, but found that I prefer the smaller teal light models because they’re not as bulky as larger flameless candles and pumpkin lights. The ones I currently use are made by a company called Sodial so I thought I’d put together a review of them for those of you who may not have tried them before.

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Halloween Dance Party Playlist: Music Made Easy

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djCreating the perfect Halloween dance party music playlist can be time-consuming and challenging, especially if you’re determined to get it right. After all, the difference between a random selection of mp3s on shuffle and a planned-out playlist optimized by beats-per-minute for maximum energy, mood, and enjoyment, is the amount of time, effort, and knowledge that’s put into it.

After years of planning and hosting Halloween parties, I’ve learned how to build a dance playlist that will keep guests moving and cheering all night long. By combining the insights of professional DJs with my own research and years of party-planning experience, I’ve been able to craft increasingly popular playlists that are a hoot at Halloween parties. I’d like to share my most recent – and most effective one – with you now, free of charge, in the hopes of helping make this crucial step of Halloween party planning easier for you.

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Washable Non-Staining Fake Blood: Make Your Own in 3 Steps

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bloody fingerIncreasingly, Halloween fans want to learn how to make their own washable, non-staining fake blood, ideally without food colouring, because stage blood is a key addition to so many costumes and effects. Sadly, the stage blood available in stores tends to stain, and ketchup-water recipes don’t turn out well. Seriously, though: fake blood that won’t stain – is it possible? Of course it is! Give me five minutes of your time and I’ll walk you through a simple method for making your own realistic, non-staining fake blood.

Believe me, I understand the hassle of fake blood that leaves stains. I’ve had to wash stains from my skin, clothes, and towels, as well as from my walls after some Halloween parties. So without further ado, let’s get right to my favourite method for making your own washable, non-stain version!

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American DJ Spherion Tri LED: Dance Club Effects

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spherion The American DJ Spherion Tri LED rotating dance light creates a variety of amazing multi-coloured light shows, turning your space into a dance club and heightening the energy level at your party. While looking at Halloween lights and decorations, I stumbled upon it and bought mine just in time for my 2014 Halloween party. I haven’t looked back since.

I’m not a DJ, so I wanted something I could just set and forget. While the American DJ Spherion Tri LED can be connected to a professional DMX lighting system, it also has no-hassle standalone mode. I just set my unit to the automatic random program, and it kept the show fun and varied all night long.

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GloMania Luminous Paint: Invisible Glow in the Dark Paint

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paintOne of my favourite tricks is to apply invisible glow-in-the-dark paint — that is, luminous paint that glows in the dark after having been exposed to natural sunlight long enough — to my Halloween props and decor. The question is, where you can find the best one?

Initially I tried some cheap ones that didn’t really glow much if at all because the pigment wasn’t sufficient. Others work fine but only come in a couple of colours, usually in the blue-green spectrum. That said, I’ve now been using the ones by GloMania for years and I’d definitely recommend them.

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