Dress Up from the Neck Up: An Easy Halloween Costume Party

Halloween masks! If the idea is to hide your identity a Halloween mask can do it as well as a whole costume. This is great fun and not as much trouble as the usual Halloween costume party. Ask your friends to come and only dress from the neck up. Or supply them with what they need to do just that (just in case they come out of "costume"). Why bother with the whole rigmarole (I'm not sure how to spell that, folks) when you can limit your Halloween costume to your neck, ears and head?

Halloween Mask Invitations
Send a personalized Halloween invitation that will wow your guests and conveys the rules...dress up from the neck up!
 
Another creative way to invite everyone to your Neck-Up Halloween party is to send them a plain mask and ask them to decorate it. Attach an invitation to the back of the package. This way you can give your guests a "head" start on getting their costumes together.

Sprinkle a little Halloween confetti in the envelope to dress it up, and then drop it in the mail.

Halloween Mask Costume Ideas
I think it is a great idea to let your guest know if you will be supplying the costume. Buy a variety of hats, wigs and masks or maybe some sunglasses or other fun eyewear ... anything and everything your guests can use to decorate themselves. And then let them have at it.

Now that everyone is "dressed up from the neck up" it is time to get some pictures! Hand out personalized Halloween cameras and let everyone capture the creative costumes! It's a good idea to set up an area for posed group shots. Hang up a white sheet as a background, or get an inexpensive scene setter and use that as a backdrop. We think the catacombs backdrop with a sea of skulls would make for some great photos!

Halloween Mask Party Decorations
Your overall decorations should focus on heads. You can choose how gory you want to be. Try skeleton heads, witches heads, vampire heads, shrunken heads. Of course, I think you should put an enlargement of your head at the front entrance. Hang it from the ceiling...

Or, you can try some Creepy Things to Surprise, Shock and Amaze, where the unusual is usual.

Halloween neck up table decorations and menu
A fun table idea is to use a huge white cover. Gather enough material to form a ghost's head, stuff it and draw a face on it. Tie with a festive Halloween ribbon, and you've got a head centerpiece and your table cover all in one. Little bat and crow heads would make great confetti.

You might want to visit your local costume store for ghoulish heads that can be stuffed and placed as centerpieces.
 
Let your budget rule your menu. Finger food at a Halloween party is just fine. Color the food in orange and black (see our Black and Orange Ball) or just serve whatever makes your head feel good!

Halloween Party Games and Activities
Take a few fun party games and make them fit your theme. Scavenger hunts are always a blast. Have your guests scurrying around looking for head related items, here are a few -
  • Fancy toothpick
  • Comb
  • Q-Tip
  • Travel pack of tissues
  • Eyeglass repair kit
  • Scrunchie
Or your can do "head" themed karaoke -
  • Burt Bacharach “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”
  • Elvis “Hard Headed Woman”
  • Tony Bennet “You go to my head”
  • Tom Petty “A Face in the Crowd”
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd “Hide Your Face”
  • Peter Gabriel “In Your Eyes”
You get the idea :) Don't forget to check out our Halloween Party Games and for more party game fun.

Halloween Mask Party Favors
Try Halloween themed gift bags filled with candy. Most everyone has a sweet tooth, and since you're focusing on the neck up…
Have a great party from the neck up!