My Plans For A Stylish And Kid Friendly Greatest Showman Themed Halloween party

Roll up, roll up! The spook-tacular Gold Is A Neutral Halloween party is about to roll into town…buy a ticket and take the ride if you dare!!!

If you follow me on Instagram you will know that Halloween is my favourite time of year…yes, I love it even more than Christmas. The fancy dress, the trick or treating…it’s all so much FUN! When I was little, trick or treating wasn’t a thing in my hometown so it was always a bit of a disappointment when most people refused to answer their door, and if they did they were surprised to see that it was Halloween and had to rummage around in the biscuit tin for a long forgotten squashed Wagon Wheel they could dish out.

But now the traditionally American celebration has well and truly filtered down to these shores. Last year the streets around where we live were teeming with little witches, zombies, werewolf’s and Harry Potter’s high on Haribo and Refreshers.

Aaaaand for the first time (despite years of threatening) we are throwing our very first Halloween party! In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m excited. Now I don’t do things by halves, I’m an all or nothing kind of girl. So with one week to go the planning has gone into overdrive. And as it will be too late after the event, I thought I’d share with you what I’m planning.

The Theme

Now this is a party for grown-ups and their little monsters. So the biggest thing I’ve had to take into account is the fact that despite the obvious requirement for a certain level of spookiness, I would also quite like my children to sleep at night (and I’m sure our guests will feel the same). So given that The Greatest Showman is currently on a loop in our house, it’s hardly surprising that I’ve decided to take my inspiration from that. With a spooky twist of course….The Greatest Freak Show on earth if you will. But we’re talking spooky, not terrifying, so any Chucky’s or Pennywise’s will not be admitted. Because I think I’d even have a hard time sleeping with them as guests.

The Decor

We’re going for a vintage circus feel so I’ve bought some cheap black and white striped fabric to act as a curtain at the front of the house and inside we’ll have monochrome bunting swagged along the walls, striped and spotted pinwheels down the staircase and black and white streamers draped from the sputnik chandeliers in the living room to the edges of the room to give the effect of a circus tent. Plus plenty of cobwebs, spiders, ravens…oh and a skeleton in a bath of dry ice.

The Costumes

I bought my vintage Pierrot style costume before settling on this theme but it still totally works. The plan was for Raf to be a strong man, and Nellie the bearded lady, with David as PT Barnum….BUT predictably the kids have their own ideas and are refusing to play ball. Raf won’t entertain being anyone other than the main man himself. He’s generously cast Dave in the role of Zac Efron, and given him strict instructions not to steal his thunder. Meanwhile after Brexit level negotiations, Nellie has agreed to a Pierrot style clown/acrobat hybrid…incorporating her favourite pink tutu and some very specific face paint instructions. So it’s not going to be quite the breadth of characters I had in mind but at least everyone is happy.

The Pumpkins

We are all about painted pumpkins this year. I’m sticking to the monochrome theme and doing spots, stripes, paint splatters and touches of gold glitter. Seriously painting, not carving pumpkins is a revelation. Here’s why…

1) It’s the perfect way to use up paint sample pots therefore totally justifying the £££’s you spent in the quest to find the perfect colour.

2) No risk of a rushed visit to A&E for stitches after you’ve sliced through your finger with a wayward carving utensil.

3) You will avoid the crushing disappointment you will almost certainly have to deliver to your children, when you realise that your promise to carve a detailed depiction of Hogwarts into the side of a pumpkin was perhaps a little over ambitious.

4) No, you won’t do anything with those pumpkin seeds. Every year my husband puts them in a tray and says he’s going to roast them for salads. And every year they end up in the bin.

The Entertainment

I don’t want to go overboard on the organised fun but at the same time I think it’s important to have something to keep the kids busy so that they don’t go completely feral. I’m planning a makeshift Ring Toss, a spooky game of What’s In The Box, Pin The Tail On The Elephant and good old fashioned Apple Bobbing (which I can see the grown-ups enjoying more than the kids). I’ve given our good friend Tom the task of putting together a Halloween playlist which will of course include MJ’s Thriller, Nina Simone’s I Put A Spell On You and Little Mix’s Black Magic, to name a few. And I’ve put David in charge of fireworks…because it wouldn’t be The Greatest Show without an impressive display of pyrotechnics now would it?

So that’s the idea…now I just need to make it all happen! I’ve put together a Pinterest board featuring my ideas and inspiration which you can check out here.

Happy Halloween all! I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned in the comments below.