Whether you’re throwing a bash around the Halloween season or going all out for Halloween night, Tent Guys offers Halloween props and decoration rentals to transform your event into a monster mash! With all your basic party rental needs delivered straight to your door, with some setup included from Tent Guys, you can create a ghoulish good time or creepy thriller atmosphere no matter where you are.

Haunted mansion or haunted woods bash? Choosing a location is your first party-planning step.

For any party, the first and most important decision to make is where you want to have it. The location can control what date the party is, what time it begins and ends, the need for a tent rental, attendee capacity, as well as theme and need for decoration.

Go outdoors.

Halloween weather in the Carolinas tends to be mild, meaning it’s usually not too cold at night, and the days could still be relatively warm. If you own or can borrow a rural farm, a forest location, or even your backyard, the outdoors are perfect for a Halloween party that doesn’t have to end early in the night. Throwing a party in the outdoors will mean you can include bonfires, hayrides, and more. In case of rain or lower temperatures, you can easily shelter guests with a tent.

Rent a venue.

Venues are another option to throw a party if you want to stick to the indoors, but you’ll want to book early! Depending on the venue you rent, the times are usually fixed, meaning you’ll have a set amount of time to decorate, party, and tear down or clean up. In this case, you may want to hire a party planner or ask the venue about their deals and packages to take the worry of orchestrating off your plate, and try to get some rentals included in the venue.

Transform your own house into a haunted mansion!

The easiest place to throw a Halloween party is often your own house! With no restrictions on decorations, times, themes, set-up, or clean-up, throwing a Halloween party at your own house keeps party planning how it should be – fun! With Tent Guys, if you need tables, chairs, tents, or other party accessories, we deliver them right to your door the day before your event and pick them up the day after your event. You’ll have everything you need to decorate before your party, and plenty of time to clean up before the rentals need to be returned.

Make it a neighborhood affair!

Alternatively, if your neighborhood has low traffic and a great vibe, partner with your neighbors to throw a multi-house party or set up in a neighborhood or community space. There’s nothing better than getting together with neighbors and decorating for a big block party! If there’s an HOA or other neighborhood committee, there may be a budget for purchasing rentals. Many food trucks or local breweries will also come out to neighborhood and community events if given enough time to be put on their social calendars. 

Cover your 3 W’s: Who, What, When?

Who: Who is coming to your party? Start by creating a list of everyone you want to invite. Keep in mind capacity restrictions, and how many you think will come. You may also want to make a decision on whether the party will be family friendly and include children, or just be strictly adults.

What: What type of Halloween party are you throwing? Is a costume required or is there a broader theme expected? Will there be food and drink provided, and do guests need to bring anything? Will there be entertainment or activities planned?

When: When will the party be? Provide your guests with the party start time and end time, and make clear if there is a hard stop. You typically want to give guests a month in advance to plan to attend, and you may want to ask for RSVPs at least two weeks prior in order to have an accurate headcount for planning.

If you’re inviting adults with children, don’t interfere with trick or treating!

The night of Halloween isn’t always the best night to throw a party. This year, Halloween falls on a Sunday! The Saturday before Halloween or the Saturday the weekend prior are your best days to throw a Halloween party in 2021. Halloween itself shouldn’t interfere with kids trick or treating, or handing out candy! Plus throwing the party on a Saturday gives you all of Friday to prepare for the party, and Sunday to clean up and recover.

What you need for a Halloween party:

Enter if you dare.

Make a statement with your Halloween party entrance. Whether you’re hosting in your house or renting a tent, you’ll want your guests to feel like they are entering a spooky new world. Use our black drapes and piping to obscure walls and transform any space into an environment that’s dark and haunted. You can use our uplighting to highlight certain areas of your party, whether that’s a scary statue or food and drink. 

Park all the brooms at the door.

Don’t let your guests be bogged down with coats, purses, and other carry-ons. Provide them with a coat rack area to free up their hands of all the non-costume essentials. 

Don’t be shy, stop in for a spell…

Typically, the blind rule you can use to estimate how many tables you need for your guests is 1 table for every 10 guests. So if you had 50 guests, you would want 5 cocktail tables or 5 dining tables. If there aren’t going to be dining tables, you may want to rent 2 tables for every 10 guests. You typically don’t need a table to account for every guest, especially if there isn’t a formal dinner or point in your party where the entire group will settle down simultaneously. Guests typically mingle, grab a bite to eat and drink, and then move on. 

Halloween party themes

Since it’s Halloween, you don’t really have to choose a specific theme, but it can make decorating more fun and give your guests a reason to find a costume! You could shoot for broad themes that encompass a wide range of costumes, like a gore or horror theme, movie/TV characters theme, animals theme, or a black and orange theme. If you want something more laid back or are worried your guests won’t want to come dressed in a specific theme, you can always give them the option to wear something different or opt-out entirely.

Mad scientist/Dr. Frankenstein

Encourage a little chemistry of your own with a cocktail making contest! Stir up a little friendly competition by having guests come prepared with the special ingredient of their choice, and providing booze, glassware, garnishes, and mixers to let the cocktail experimentation begin.

“It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus!”

Throwback to everyone’s favorite 90’s movie, Hocus Pocus! Who wouldn’t want to party with the Sanderson sisters, Winifred and, Mary and Sarah? You can include all the typical Sanderson home décor – brooms, black pots, candles, a spellbook, and a black cat. Whether you watch the movie with a drinking game or play some trivia, everyone will love a Hocus Pocus theme. A Hocus Pocus party is also a perfect excuse to uninvite children!

Make dinner more mysterious with a murder mystery dinner party!

Serve up a little mystery with dinner by keeping your guests engaged and entertained with solving a murder! Picture this: you’re seated among friends who are adorned in their Halloween costumes, sharing hors d’oeuvres and spooky cocktails when suddenly – a scream! The lights flicker and you all rush to another room, where there lies…the “body” of your friend! A murder among you! But now you get to decide who’s a friend or a suspect.

A murder mystery is a themed event where a group of around 8 or more people investigates a fictitious murder – who the murderer is, how they did it, and why. There can also be subplots, affairs, and other hidden agendas. There are a ton of great resources online on how to throw a perfect murder mystery party, as well as online games if distance or COVID precautions make a virtual murder mystery more suitable.

Think: Black linens, drapery, dishes, utensils, and candleholders.

Create a scary movie drive-in or host a backyard movie night.

The cool thing about including a scary movie as part of your party is that the movies can keep on rolling without guests having to gather particularly around the projector. All you’ll need for a movie night is a blank wall or sheet, and a portable projector to hook up into your laptop or another device. Comfy seating can be as rustic as a couple of hay bales, blankets, and pillows, or ask your guests to bring their own lawn chairs! A creepy concession stand and popcorn are a must!

Kid-friendly activities:

– Build and decorate a haunted gingerbread house! Who says you have to wait until Christmas to decorate a gingerbread house?

– Pumpkin spice everything! It’s basically just a regular party, but with everything pumpkin flavored!

– Host a zombie prom. Get dressed up for prom but with a twist – you’ll be partying with the undead! Tell your friends and family to come in their zombie best!

– Make caramel apples – they’re the most delicious part of fall, so why not host a whole party around making and decorating them?

– Halloween brunch with bouncy houses! Don’t wait until the sun goes down to get the party started. Gather family and friends for brunch delights, and afterward, let the adults enjoy mimosas and the kids get their energy out on rented bouncy houses.

– Ghouls Night In with your favorite board game or online multiplayer party game.

– What’s better than getting into the Halloween spirit with a Pumpkin-carving party

Eat, drink, and be scary!

● Get a pumpkin flavored keg from your favorite local brewery

● Make a witches’ brew cocktail with three easy ingredients: sparkling wine, and ice cubes made with apricot nectar and citrus juices

● Carve and empty out a pumpkin, fill with ice and drinks to serve as your refreshment-holding gourd.

● Don’t forget the candy! Adults love candy too on Halloween. Fill a black vase or urn with all the Halloween sweets, and add a banner or place card that reads “Pick Your Poison.” Your guests will love this treat display!

● Add “blood” to any drink or food with food coloring, or grenadine (if sweet!).

● Set up a table of horrors and delights with plastic wrap over a number of bowls and plates. Invite your guests to touch if they dare brains, organs, and more. There are so many ways to scare your guests with common household items like wet cooked noodles (intestines or worms), damp sponges (brains), peeled grapes (eyeballs), corn kernels (teeth), and so much more! 

Keep the tunes on point with a killer playlist:

Spotify and Pandora have a ton of awesome, premade Halloween playlists ready to go for your Halloween party. Just make sure that you have The Monster Mash and Thriller, and you’re bound to have a dance-off! Don’t forget that we also offer various sizes of dance floors as well as stages and lighting if you’re wanting to take your party to the next level. 

Who you gonna call? Well, maybe Ghost Busters, but mainly your local Tent Guys!

Halloween is a real treat, so don’t get tricked by waiting until the last minute to plan your party! Whether you need a tent to throw your big Halloween bash in or just some pipe, drapes, tables, and seating, we’re here for all your party rental needs. Contact Tent Guys today to secure your party rentals, and most importantly — Spooky Halloween!