Campus Home & Garden Life + Arts

Tips on throwing a spooky but safe Halloween dorm party

Lily Huynh/The Cougar

Spooky season is just around the corner and it’s officially time to start looking for a costume and decorating dorms for a Halloween party.

Halloween parties are one of the most popular attractions for college students. However, throwing a party in the dorm might be trickier than it looks. 

Not to worry, the Cougar can help! Here are a few tips students can follow to practice a dorm-friendly Halloween party.

Be aware of dorm policies

Before students and residents start planning out a spooky get-together, it is important to familiarize yourself with various dorm policies.

Understand the rules about noise, guest permissions and limits, decorations and especially alcohol usage.

If students fail to abide, it can lead to consequences that aren’t fun and the wrong type of scary for a Halloween party. 

Limit the guest list

Once all the policies are read and kept in mind, it’s time to finally start prepping! Naturally, the first step is to curate a guest list. 

Since dorms are smaller, it is advisable to keep the party small and intimate. This way it’s easier to keep an eye on everyone as well. 

This will also enable the organizers to make sure no rules are being broken, creating a safe, stress-free and comfortable environment for everyone. 

Use dorm-safe, spooktacular decorations

It’s time to decorate! One of the most enjoyable parts of Halloween is decorating living spaces, in this case dorms, to be the perfect level of scary. 

While it is easy to get carried away with all the fun items available, it is equally important to be mindful of using dorm-safe decorations. 

Avoid items that are too complicated or can easily break. This will only cause more chaos. Keep things classy and simple. Avoid open flames like candles and opt for battery-powered LED candles instead. 

Students can use string lights, paper bats, fake cobwebs and removable wall decals to avoid damaging walls or furniture.

Spooky snacks

What’s a party without some tasty food to keep the party going and energized? Arrange some Halloween-themed snacks to check the vibe. 

There could be spooky witch cookies, Halloween themes candies, vampire blood punch, monster popcorn and more.

Avoid using items that require cooking equipment or too much baking time. Go for easy-to-make, no-bake treats instead.

Curate a playlist

Make sure to have a killer, scary music playlist ready to set the right vibe. Include classics like “Monster Mash” by Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers and “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. 

Spotify even has its own spooky playlist all ready to go if students don’t want to make one. Make sure to keep the volume low in order to not disturb anyone, while also keeping the fun alive. 

Enjoy!

It’s time to enjoy the party! Have fun and be safe. College is all about creating wonderful memories. Enjoy the music, play games and have tasty food. 

Take some scary pictures and follow the dorm policies. Be mindful and throw the most memorable Halloween party!

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