Boo! 5 Unique Halloween Party Ideas

When it comes to holidays, I like to celebrate in a non-traditional way as much as possible…alternative color schemes, unique DIY ideas, an unexpected menu, etc, etc. So, with that in mind, I put together a color-filled bash complete with 5 unique Halloween party ideas, that you can easily recreate at home.

I worked with ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers once again to bring everything to life, from the paper garlands and mod backdrop, to tassel placemats and paper wrapped vases. Bonus! Because I chose a color scheme that errors toward fall, and not just Halloween, you could easily reuse these ideas for Thanksgiving as well – just swap out the Eclipse Black Astrobrights paper for a more fall-inspired color option (like Re-Entry Red) and you’re good to go.

Click through for the all 5 DIY party ideas.

Unique Halloween Party Ideas #1: Abstract ‘Witch Hat’ DIY Galaxy Garland

This was a fun one and oh-so-easy to make too! All you do is hole punch circles in various sizes (mine are all between 2 and 5 inches), then make a slit halfway up each circle on one side. Place the slit into a long string that will be used as your garland and form a cone or hat shape from there, by overlapping one part of the slit over the other. Hot glue into place and repeat the entire process until you’ve reached a desired length.

Take it further… To make things even more fun, I hit each piece of Eclipse Black Astrobrights paper with a tiny bit of spray paint (front and back), before punching the holes. I gave it a splatter galaxy look by spraying the paint upward, away from the paper and letting it drop back onto it as it fell from above.

Unique Halloween Party Ideas #2: Cascading Halloween Centerpiece with Paper Wrapped Vases

If you have trouble whipping up floral arrangements, this centerpiece is going to be your go-to. You’ll need 5-7 vases or glassware that are varying heights and straight up and down (no angles – you want everything to be a tube shape to make it easy to wrap).

Just add a piece of tape to one end of the paper, attach it to the vase, and then tape the other end (or you can hot glue the paper to itself, so you don’t see any tape). I did the galaxy treatment on the paper for this one as well to tie the centerpiece in with what was happening with the garland hanging in the background.

Then arrange them on the table with the highest vases being in the center and lowest vases spreading out to the sides. Then add water and flowers! I chose dahlias because they are beautiful (obviously), but also have a tiny bit of an eerie vibe to them, when paired with dark colors, like the vases. They almost look like they’re wilting, but in a really, really pretty way. So they were a great pick.

Then to fill in a couple of areas that still felt bare, I added a few small pumpkins to the centerpiece as well, that were painted black ahead of time.

Unique Halloween Party Ideas #3: Mod DIY Photo Booth Backdrop for Halloween (and Thanksgiving)

This was the easiest part to put together of the whole party. All I did was tape up large sheets of Astrobrights paper (in Orbit Orange, Galaxy Gold, and Cosmic Orange) in a random pattern. Starting at the bottom of the wall and working my way up.

To give the backdrop more dimension, the ‘witch hat’ garlands were draped over top and I added a handful of honeycomb diamonds (from Oh Happy Day) as well to round things out.

Unique Halloween Party Ideas #4: Paper Tassel Placemats

To continue adding dimension to the table, paper tassels were added to the back of a piece of Galaxy Gold paper that was cut slightly smaller than the orange one underneath it.

To make the tassels, fringe (3/4 of the way up) a strip of cardstock that is 6-8 inches long and 2-3 inches wide. Then roll it up and attach the end with a bead of glue or tape. Hot glue to the back of the smaller sheet of cardstock until one end is covered with tassels (I used 20 tassels per placemat).

Once completed, fold over the side of a table and add a plate on top, along with place settings, to keep it in place. And use any leftover tassels for adding to drinks, etc.

Unique Halloween Party Ideas #5: Candy Coated Halloween Place Cards

To keep things light and fun, try a candy-centric place setting. All you need is a bowl filled with candy, a honeycomb ball or teardrop (mine are from Oh Happy Day), and a place card using heavy cardstock that sticks into the honeycomb (my place cards are from Moglea, but you can also make your own).

Photography Amelia Tatnall Lawrence
Modeling Stephanie Reagan
Styling Brittni Mehlhoff

And that pretty much covers it – 5 unique Halloween party ideas that you can DIY in a hurry. Hope these ideas will give you a little inspiration this Halloween season. And for even more DIY paper party ideas like these, visit the paper party ideas page.

Which project is your favorite from the bunch? Do you see anything you can pluck out for your own Halloween party (or even Thanksgiving)?

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 This post is in partnership with Astrobrights. I am a Bright Life ambassador and have used (and loved) Astrobrights papers for years. Thanks for supporting the brands that help keep Paper & Stitch running.