Creating a Hauntingly Fun Vintage Halloween Party

For many of us, Halloween is the most looked forward to holiday of the year. The mystery and ghostly magic of Halloween attracts us, coaxing us to put on our best disguises and venture into the crisp fall air to mingle with the goblins and spirits that are about.

Halloween parties are a common part of October 31 revelry. If you're considering throwing a spooky shindig this year, try conjuring up a vintage Halloween party, and let everyone else go ahead with creating a garden variety party.

PARTY DECORATIONS

To devise an old-time Halloween party, start by focusing on these key concepts: ornate Halloween decorations; keeping things spooky, but not gruesome; and parlor games (beer pong does not qualify).

Toward the end of the Victorian Era in America, Halloween became less frightening and more fun. At that time, everyone was trying to keep up with, and surpass "the Jones'" too. This lead to Halloween invitations and party decorations that were cute, only a bit macabre, and somewhat fancily decorated. You've seen the old fashioned Halloween greeting cards that show a cute child being chased by a not-too-scary ghost. These are colorful and fanciful. That's the idea for your vintage Halloween party. Colorful (but not too colorful), fanciful, and just a bit scary.

Luckily, you can find some nice "vintage" invitations and decorations at specialty stores and online. Keep in mind that in Victorian and post Victorian days, people often went all out when decorating. You can find framed art, wall hangings, tablecloths and napkins, candelabras and chandeliers, dishes, plates, goblets and glasses, and other items to decorate with in stores, at thrift shops and yard and estate sales.

One interesting Halloween decorating idea would be to use mismatched china (or not china) and drinking glasses and goblets in black, white, brown, or orange. These Halloween colors will lend a seasonal appeal to your table, and the disjointed, mismatched nature of them will keep guests a bit off kilter.

And consider non-traditional Halloween decor, too. A black and white framed print of a full moon, or a picture of the old-time Man in the Moon would look great watching over guests. A black crow or two perched on top of a shelf or watching over the food table will add an air of ominous fun.

A vintage Halloween party won't be vintage without some type of parlor game. Set up a Ouija Board, or have one of your guests read the future by looking into a crystal ball (or hire a fortune teller).

Because many parlor games from the Victorian Era were focused on when or who someone would marry, they may or may not work for your party situation. To predict when a party guest will marry, blindfold the guest and have her try to blow out a lit candle. If she blows it out in one breath, she'll marry within a year. Two or three tries means she'll have to wait a couple years. More than three breaths suggests that the player should give up on romance for the rest of the current year.

If weather permits, set up a few outdoor games that can be adapted to Halloweening, such as a large board painted with a jack-o-lantern face with the eyes, nose and mouth cut out--this makes for a fun ring or beanbag toss game.

You can set the scene for a thrilling and chilling vintage Halloween party by planning for fanciful fun, using only slightly frightful old style decorations; and by arranging for some fun games for your guests to entertain themselves with.

Creating a Hauntingly Fun Vintage Halloween Party

PARTY DECORATIONS

Vintage Halloween Decorations - Hard Plastic Halloween Decorations and Toys

One of the most popular categories of collectible vintage Halloween decorations is the hard plastic decorations and toys that were manufactured from the 1940s and onwards. It's primarily the vintage plastic items that are of interest to collectors, so you will mostly want to take a look at products made in the Forties and Fifties, but some later finds from the Sixties and beyond are certainly interesting as well if you want to put together a fun and whimsical collection.

luau party decorations

Some of the brand names to take note of are Irwin, Knickerbocker, Rosen, Rosbro and Union Products, but they aren't even close to being the only companies making polystyrene and celluloid plastic novelty items for Halloween. They are just some of the most well known companies and therefore quite collectible.

PARTY DECORATIONS

Examples of some of the vintage hard plastic Halloween decorations include items like blow mold pieces in various shapes - Jack O'Lanterns, witches, and black cats are popular (and frequently together in a single piece) and many of the Halloween blow molds light up, glowing orange, especially Jack O'Lanterns, of course, but there are all kinds of shapes that are turned into lanterns as well.

But it isn't just the larger blow mold pieces that are popular. You'll also find lots of smaller items in hard plastic that are fun to collect. Look for party decorations such as cake picks, cake toppers and other small decorative pieces made to decorate cakes and cupcakes and other Halloween treats. You can also find Halloween drink stirrers for more adult parties too.

Also, keep on the lookout for hard plastic candy containers. In addition to the large ones designed for kids to take out trick or treating (the large Jack O'Lanterns with straps), there are lots of small candy containers designed for the table. You could arrange a whole collection of them on a shelf together.

In addition to items that are meant to be decorations, there are also lots of hard plastic Halloween toys. You can find lots of little roller toys that are in good condition, so if you're looking for a witch on roller skates you'll be sure to find her. Or maybe you want a ghost that pops out of a Jack O'Lantern to scare you.

Vintage Halloween Decorations - Hard Plastic Halloween Decorations and Toys

PARTY DECORATIONS

Have You Ever Considered a Vintage Stroller?

Do you live in a neighborhood that has sidewalks and allows you the luxury of walking your baby in his stroller whenever you want to? Don't you wish you had one of those vintage strollers with the big wheels and the canopy that covered your baby's face from the sun but allowed him to lay completely flat and sleep during his bouncy ride? There are a number of websites out there catering to nostalgia and in some case collectors.

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If you desire to have a piece of history you can purchase the like new condition Swiss made low riding chariot called the Helvetica for four hundred fifty Euros. They also have a very sleek Italian Giordani Brevetato with chrome bumpers and in original showroom condition for only 00. They also have another Giordani model Bambino Carriage for the same price.

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Other vintage strollers can be found at flea markets, antique stores and swap meets. Many are from the Victorian era and are of what are called a pram style. It is the baby carriage style you saw in Saturday morning cartoons and was called out at the beginning of the classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit? "I'm not bad; I'm just drawn this way". The problem with vintage strollers is that they are almost universally heavy and cumbersome. As society became more mobile there was a need to make baby strollers more portable. Hence the advent of the umbrella stroller.

In the years before World War II and the 1970s European design was applied to strollers and many futuristic designs and fancy strollers were produced. When first introduced these strollers were very pricey and can now capture thousand dollar plus prices on the vintage stroller market. Baby joggers and convertible bike trailers are now the norm in neighborhoods around America. While many still hark back to the halcyon days of the 1950s you can customize your baby jogger at Kid Kustoms and create your very own vintage stroller. You can add fins and tins to your stroller and the Classic series takes you back to the cool days of the '57 Chevy and the great colors (Aqua, Red, Purple, Tangerine, White and Pink) of those cars.

Have You Ever Considered a Vintage Stroller?

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Halloween Decorating Ideas - Vintage Halloween Decoration Ideas Inspired by the 1940's

Here are some ideas for Halloween decorations that can be used indoors or outdoors. Decorations like these were popular in the 1940's and many are still common-place today.

zebra party decorations

A traditional and easily prepared outdoor decoration is made of autumn leaves (real or fake) with corn stalks from your local farmer and lit Jack o'lanterns around the base. The corn stalks can be attached to a porch support beam, a light pole or a shepherds hook that held the summer's flowers.

PARTY DECORATIONS

Another traditional Halloween decoration is the Jack o' lanterns. Put them in groups, line them up on a fence, porch railing, along a walkway or along a driveway. Candles, dishes of alcohol and salt were popular on Hallowe'en. Add blue Christmas lights to give a ghostly illumination.

Free hand silhouettes/cuttings of black and/or orange construction paper hung on the windows and walls make for a neat effect. Some items to draw include witches, pumpkins, cats, bats, elves, fairies, spiders, owls, cauldrons, broomsticks or peaked hats. Search the internet for figures you can print and trace. You can also create unique lamp shades for your Halloween party. Use stiff orange and black paper cut out like Jack-o'-lanterns, witches, cats and other popular Halloween symbols.

Popular decorations were created from various fruits and vegetables. Apples, turnips and carrots can be cut into grotesque faces and displayed as is or used to hold candlesticks. You can also create Halloween goblins from the fruit and vegetables. Use Jack o'lanterns for the heads. The body is a smaller pumpkin and carrots are used for arms and legs which are fastened to the body with wire.

What would Halloween be without ghosts? Use a Jack o'lantern for the head which is attached to an upright post. Drape a white sheet or tablecloth from the post. You can then pin/stake the ends of the sheet out a few feet or just allow the sheet to blow in the wind.

Whatever your taste in Halloween decorating is, you may find that some of these vintage halloween decorating ideas may be ideal for your own haunted home this Halloween.

Halloween Decorating Ideas - Vintage Halloween Decoration Ideas Inspired by the 1940's

PARTY DECORATIONS