October is the best time for a Mom’s Night because everyone is settled into the school routine, the weather is still nice, and you can get a full charge of friendship before the rush of the upcoming holiday season. Since Halloween is at the end of the month, why not make it a Ghoul’s Night In? Check out our 10 Halloween-themed nights for you and your ghouls!

FRIGHT FEST MOVIE NIGHT

Set up your family room or outdoor space to watch a horror film after the sun has gone down. Choose from older movies like The Shining, Nightmare on Elm Street, or Rosemary’s Baby. Be sure to include all the movie-watching snacks. Set up a buffet with popcorn and various toppings, candies, sodas, soft pretzels and cheese, pizza, and slushies.

AT-HOME ESCAPE ROOM

Create or purchase a scary, themed escape room you can set up in your home. These include a detailed storyline, directions for layout, and supply list. Your guests can solve puzzles, find clues, and work together to “escape.” Some include real locks so you feel like you are at an escape room venue instead of playing in your living room. Look for themes like haunted houses, creepy morgues, or dark castles.

MONSTER MIXOLOGY CLASS

Ask everyone to bring a Halloween-themed drink to mix up and share with friends. Every guest will take turns demonstrating how to prepare their drink, and everyone gets a cocktail flight glass to taste. Include a recipe card for each guest so they can recreate the ones they like. If your friends are not drinking alcohol, you can create many of the cool themes in a mocktail version.

HALLOWEEN CRAFT NIGHT

There are hundreds of craft ideas to fit a Halloween-themed girl’s night in. You can paint wine glasses or make wreaths, jewelry, wall décor, candles, welcome mats, t-shirts, garland, no-sew blankets, or front door signs–the list is endless. For an easy, last-minute idea, simply purchase Dollar Tree Halloween coloring books and boxes of crayons to set up a coloring station for your guests to enjoy.

STEPHEN KING NIGHT BOOK CLUB

Even if your friends don’t have a regular book club, this is a fun idea. Choose a Stephen King or another horror genre author’s book, and ask your guests to read it before your party. Look online for book club guided reading questions that go with the book you chose or make some up as you read. Consider choosing a book that has already been made into a movie and watch after your discussion.

CHILLING CHARCUTERIE BOARDS

There are dozens of creative Halloween-themed charcuterie boards on Pinterest and TikTok. Ask your guests to bring one based on themes like Witch’s Brew, Hocus Pocus, No Bones About It, Monster Mash, Somebody’s Watching Me, Grizzly Graveyard, You’ve Been Ghosted, Pumpkin Spice, or Iced Scream. Go beyond the typical boards and consider including fondue, nacho platters, an ice cream sundae buffet, waffle bar, or individual soup shooters.

DANCE NIGHT–LEARN THE “THRILLER” DANCE

It’s time to take kitchen dancing to a new level. Move the table out of the way and learn the choreography to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance. There are several YouTube tutorials available to teach you the dance, step by step. Ask your guests to come dressed as zombies, complete with makeup. When your friends have memorized the dance steps, don’t forget to make a fun video to share on social media.

FAVORITE THINGS WITH A HALLOWEEN THEME

Spend a night enjoying your favorite things with your favorite people. Ask everyone to bring three of their favorite Halloween items (with a dollar limit) in gift bags. All the bags will be displayed, and guests get to choose three different bags of someone else’s favorite things. You can extend the party with guests bringing their favorite appetizer or dessert and include a recipe card to go with it.

HAVE A MURDER MYSTERY SLEEPOVER

Invite your guests to your castle, mansion, hotel, or any other haunted theme setting for your Murder Mystery to take place. Assign your guests to come dressed in character and let them decide whodunit. Other scary game ideas include Fear Factor, daring your guests to put their hands in a jar full of worms to find a penny or eating pureed peas with maggots (rice). If you are not that creative (or brave) you can play Pick Your Poison, a card game like Would
You Rather?

HALLOWEEN DÉCOR SWAP

We all have seasonal decorations that we grow tired of and stop using. Instead of throwing them out, why not have an exchange with your friends? You can wrap them, give out numbers, and let the players choose in numeric order. This allows other players to choose something still wrapped or steal something already chosen. No need to limit this swap to just decorations–include costumes, kids’ clothes, tableware, etc.