My mom used to let me have the best Halloween parties when I was a kid! She would park the cars in the street and let us use the whole garage to decorate and transform into a one-night “room of terror.” It was actually an adorable kids’ holiday party, with yummy snacks and treats, Halloween games to play, and music to listen to (usually Michael Jackson’s Thriller over and over and over again!). My mom even got us a strobe light and we would dance or rollerblade. The big open space in the garage was perfect for that! A few of my best friends would come over to the party and we would play, eat, laugh, and tell spooky stories in the room of terror until it was time to go trick-or-treating! Those parties were the best!
Kids are so excited to host their own Halloween party, and just like my mom, you can always set them up in the garage if it’s not too cold (I have to admit, I was spoiled, as we lived in sunny San Diego!), family room, or a rec room. A few, simple (and inexpensive) Halloween decorations, along with some yummy, Halloween-inspired snacks, and you really can create a fantastic “room of terror” for your own kids this Halloween!
The awful news about my own Halloween parties is that we didn’t take any pictures! All the photo ops of decorating the garage together or playing in the garage? Yup, we don’t have any pics and it’s such a shame! The good news? You can learn from our mistake and make sure to take plenty of Halloween party pics at your own ghoulish party!
There are a few must-take photos opportunities that you must take advantage of at your kid’s next Halloween bash:
First, take photos of the final set up. After adding a spooky Halloween decoration here and there, a table or two with black or pumpkin-orange-colored table covers, and made a few oh-so-frightening Halloween snacks, you must take photos of your super-scary garage transformation! Even better? Take “before” pictures of the room, and then take “after” pictures of the room of terror! You’ll want to remember your adorable Halloween set-up, and these kinds of pictures are great for digital scrapbooking pages! Make sure you ask your kids to pose in the pictures too!
You’ll also want to take pictures of the kids playing in the room of terror! As each of your child’s friends come over, ask them if you can take two posed pictures next to your child. Make sure you take pics of your child and their friend next to some adorable decorations in the room of terror, and ask for a simple smile. The next photo, ask the kids to be wild and crazy- do something fun for the cameras (like a silly face), or make a fun stance that matches their Halloween costume. Doing this will create fun memories, great pics, and will ensure that your child has plenty of photos (that you and/or your child can digitally scrap with!) of each friend!
Make sure you also take some posed group shots of your child and their friends. Same thing- ask for a few smiles and a few silly faces. As you leave them to enjoy their Halloween party, you may want to leave a few disposable cameras (if your children don’t have their own digital cameras). Leave a few on the tables, and encourage them to take their own pictures. Getting silly, adorable pictures from their point of view will be a fun addition for Halloween digital scrapbooking projects. It also ensures that you have some posed pics (that you took) and some fun, kid’s pics (that they take) from two, wonderfully different perspectives!
Last but not least, after the party is over, and you are ready to scrap all the Halloween photos, add some “spooky” Halloween effects to favorite photos using Digital Scrapbooks and More’s Halloween Photo Editing Tutorials! Convert a favorite photo to black and white and then add a touch of color, for an exciting Halloween photo-effect!
If there were some scary kids’ costumes, add even more dramatic effects by emphasizing “scary” eyes in the pics! Play with Digital Scrapbooks and More’s special seasonal tutorials for adorable Halloween photos for digital scrapbooking projects or “thank you” cards for all the kids that attended the party!
Happy Halloween & Happy Scrapping!
-Jennifer
