Every year my husband and I host an adult Halloween party. It’s seriously a blast. However, it could get out of control budget wise if I’m not careful. I get sucked into Pinterest and hundreds of dollars later I’m wondering what happened! Here are 5 tips that I’ve learned over the years that have helped me stay on budget and also throw an amazing party.

1. Invites.  If you haven’t used Evite before, then you totally should. It has free options to make a cute Halloween Party invite and then you can also add in sign ups too! This is much cheaper and quicker than printing out you own invites and passing them around. Embrace the digital age and send a free digital invite!
2. Food. This can be the most expensive part of your party if you don’t plan right. If you have a large group coming, then your first goal will be to make a list of what you will be having. Then delegate! I noticed on Evite that you can make a sign up with all of the items you need. This is what I do and it’s super simple. This way you won’t be buying everything for the meal. Most of your guests will be happy to help!
3. Dinnerware/Utensils. Depending on your theme, you can go as fancy or as simply as you want. Most years I do get out my nice dinner set and use that. Then I grab some paper plates from the dollar store for dessert. This is super cheap way to do it. You can use your utensils on hand too. That’s free! If you are worrying about the clean up, then do a game to get it done while the party is going on. We do this every Thanksgiving and it works wonders. We go around the room and one person is “it”. They pick a number 1-100. Then you go around the room and take turns guessing. The one that gets it starts washing the dishes. We actually start with someone and then add the next person so there are two people washing and drying at a time. Then the next person to guess the right number relives one of the dish washers. The kitchen gets clean and you have fun!
4. Decorations. I’ll tell you, the best way to buy Halloween decor is AFTER Halloween. I’ve done this the past few years and have a nice collection now. If you need some before then check out the dollar store or your local Lowe’s for clearance items. You could also borrow items from neighbors and friends.
5. Activities. I like to use what we have on hand for these games. We play a lot of games that just involve paper and pencils. I’m pretty sure you have them in your home, so that would be free. If you check Pinterest for game ideas, then be on the look out for the materials you need well in advance. Buying items the day of will most likely mean you’ll pay full price.