Halloween isn’t limited to the United States. Millions of people across the globe celebrate it on the same day every year — on 31st October!
Through the years, Singaporeans have also developed their own way of celebrating. Just think of the most creative costumes, the creepiest decorations and the assortment of candy available at the supermarket!
Bring the celebrations online easily with these 6 tips and tricks (pun intended!) for hosting a virtual Halloween party.
Choose a virtual meeting platform
Zoom? Google Hangouts? Skype? By now, everyone would have their preferred platform to meet virtually — even if it’s just for leisure. The “Zoom” fatigue is real¹!
Get your guests excited to hop online for your virtual spook-fest by deciding which platform works the best for everyone early. It’s also important to ensure that the platform you choose meets your party’s needs: if you want guests to customise their own virtual backgrounds, ensure that it can accommodate that. If you hope to use a polling feature to decide who is the best dressed of the night, make sure that it can do that too!
Send spooky invites via snail mail
Well, you could send digital invitations…but that’s no fun! If you’re the type to decorate your own home — or even better, make your own decorations — try doing the same with old-fashioned paper invitations!
With the event being virtual, you could even send over a complete Halloween party kit together with your invitation.
Try jazzing it up with themed gifts:
If it’s an intimate adults-only affair and you’ve got a slightly bigger budget, you could treat your guests to a tipple or two:
Babydoll Rose 2020
Marlborough
13.0%, 750ml
If your guests have a furry friend, don’t forget them! Show them some love too:
Craft a full menu
If you really want to be the hostess (or host!) with the mostess, you can craft a full menu for the night and arrange to have it delivered via contactless methods to your guests. Or you could turn it into a fun activity and make it together!
Keep in mind to choose simple recipes that are easy to whip up.
Appetiser: Deviled Eggs
Main course: Pasta with bloodied eyeballs
There’s nothing easier than throwing an entire main meal together! This One-Pan Pasta with Canned Tomatoes is the perfect fuel for you and your guests throughout the night.
If you prefer a more Frankenstein vibe instead, mix in this spinach pesto sauce which is so easy to do. Edible eyeballs are the best way to top it all off!
Serves: 2 pax
Ingredients:
– 6 Bocconcini or Fresh Mozzarella Balls
– 3 Black Olives (Halved)
– Salt and ground pepper, to taste
– Shredded cheese, to garnish
All you need is to press one half of a black olive into a bocconcini or fresh mozzarella ball! Sprinkle salt and ground pepper to taste, then garnish with shredded cheese.
Tip: For a bolognese or tomato-based pasta, it’s the only time you can smear the sauce all over the plate to make it look like a bloodied crime scene. The bloodier, the better!
You can easily substitute canned tomato sauce with a bottled one instead:
Looking to turn pasta-making into an activity instead? This handmade egg noodles recipe is perfect for pasta as well! Your guests can cut them to whatever thickness and length they prefer — no machine required!
You’ll need high-quality flour to get started:
Dessert: Bake up a storm with these Chocolate Button Cookies — you can dress them up however you like. It definitely looks like you’ve just sweetened up the savoury cheesy eyeballs!
Celebrate the best of the night!
From the best-dressed to the one with the most creative and creepiest background, maintain your guests’ energy by incentivising them with prizes! Before you get the party in full swing, you should settle on a theme and clear guidelines. Is it a reunion of superheroes or the most evil devils and witches?
Whatever you choose, remember to keep it family-friendly if you’ve got guests across diverse age groups.
Tip: Make everyone feel like they have a chance at winning by including different types of costume categories. Say if your theme is centred on superheroes, it could be expanded into the scariest, funniest and most original, or even the best DIY costume!
You can appoint secret judges within your guest list so everyone is kept on their toes, or keep to the polling feature to allow everyone to have a say in deciding who’s the best of the night!
Create an event hashtag
Choose your event hashtag wisely — you can use the chosen theme or an abbreviation that’s easy to remember. Hashtags are not case sensitive but you can make it easier to read by capitalising each word like #HannahsHalloween.
Generate hype and maintain it throughout and after your party with a hashtag. Encourage your guests to snap pictures with their phone and even screenshots as they have fun throughout the night. Remind them throughout your party that they can upload their photos and videos to social media with your hashtag. This allows everyone to reminisce all the fun they had on that night!
We hope that these tips are useful in getting you started with your plans for hosting a spooky virtual Halloween party. Shop for all the Halloween party essentials you need online at FairPrice here. Stay safe and spooked!
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References:
¹ Ramachandran, V 2021, Stanford researchers identify four causes for ‘Zoom fatigue’ and their simple fixes, Stanford University, California, viewed 27 September 2021
