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12 Scary Halloween Party Invitation Templates – Word | PDF

Halloween is a popular fall season event that most people will typically be looking forward to it. Many fun activities, guest lists, themes, and other particulars must be planned like any other party.

One of the principal things you need to prepare is the Halloween party invitation templates. Invitations are designed and sent out to alert the guests on the type of party that will be held so that they can prepare in advance, typically 4-6 weeks. The Halloween party invitation template can be designed to be scary and memorable. Halloween is one of the two biggest holidays in America, second to Christmas, with an estimated consumer spending of $9.1 billion (2017. However, unlike Christmas, which is celebrated globally, Halloween is primarily celebrated in the US and Canada. 

What is Halloween?

Halloween is celebrated annually on the last day of October (Oct 31). It is a holiday rich in history that spans centuries. Financial institutions and businesses are not closed on Halloween as it is not a bank holiday. Halloween parties are thus typically held in the evening or the weekend before or after Halloween, should Oct 31 fall on a weekday.

It hails from an ancient holiday known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in) celebrated by Celtic pagans to celebrate a night in which they believed the realms of the living and the spirit world were thinnest. Therefore, on this night, it was believed that the dead could visit the druids (Celtic priests) on earth. However, the date of Samhain had to be moved after the dominance of Christianity across Europe. This was after Pope Gregory III included the celebration of saints to the All Martyr’s Day, which would be celebrated on Nov 1 instead of May 13. In addition, Nov 2 was made by the church All Souls’ Day (to honor the dead) in 1000AD.

This holiday was celebrated by costumes, bonfires, and parades, similar to what is currently the tradition of Halloween. This attempt is popularly considered to have been an attempt to replace Samhain. The church-sanctioned holiday borrowed the festivities of the Celtic festival, including bonfires and costumes to represent angles, saints, devils, and parades. All Saints’ Day was referred to as All-hallows or All-Hallowmas, meaning All Saints’ Day. The night before All Saints’ Day was named All-hallows eve, today popularly known as Halloween.    

5 Ways to Celebrate Halloween Party

Despite the common theme of Halloween, it is celebrated differently among different age groups, social classes, and regions. It would be best to consider this when crafting or selecting Halloween party invitation templates.

Different ways to celebrate Halloween include:

Trick-or-treating

Trick-or-treating involves children going door-to-door dressed in costumes, asking for candies and other treats. On the evening of Halloween, children go to neighbors’ doors or preferred neighborhoods carrying baskets or pouches to collect treats or tricks. Once the door is opened, the children say, “trick or treat.” The person is expected to give a treat or have the kids do the trick. However, tricks are rarely chosen nowadays. Nevertheless, this is one of the most popular ways of celebrating Halloween. People can opt-out of participation by turning off the lights at their front door.

In some cases, parents opt to accompany their children. The trick-or-treat practice may have originated from the British celebration of All Souls’ Day, where the poor would hold parades begging for food from different homes. Families would bake “soul cakes” and give them out to people who knocked on their doors. The church endorsed this practice instead of leaving wine and food for the souls. 

Halloween costumes

The second most popular way of celebrating Halloween is through costumes. Families come together to put together their wardrobes for the occasion. Friends and family members dress up in costumes ranging from funny to frightening, depending on the taste and preference of the individuals. This can be a time for people to exercise their creativity as any type, shape, and size of costume can be worn.

Costumes can also be store-bought for both children and adults and even pets. Families or friends can choose a theme and pick their costumes based on this. This approach stemmed from the All Souls’ Day tradition, where children would dress up as saints and martyrs. Additionally, based on All-hallows eve tradition where people dressed in masks apparently to trick spirits. 

Halloween parties

A Halloween party is a gathering of individuals, which may be friends, family, or co-workers. The venue is decorated in spooky decorations such as ribbons, statues, lights, etc. At the party, they either watch horror movies or listen to scary songs and share what people have seen. The person who hosts the party would provide food, drinks, music, activities such as games (bobbing for apples, Ouija boards, and fortune-telling), and arts and crafts for everyone to partake in.

Bobbing for apples stems from the Roman holiday named Pomona, celebrated on Nov 1. Apples were traditionally associated with fertility and fortune-telling. For example, bobbing for apples was used to foretell a woman’s future husband, a practice performed by druids during Samhain, as mentioned earlier. The Ouija board game was introduced in 1981 to communicate with the dead. 

Again, the Halloween party invitations can be tailored to suit the nature and theme of the party, and costumes can be encouraged to match the same theme. This mode of Halloween celebration was popularised in the 1800s. Another popular way people celebrate Halloween is by having bonfires or campfire parties at home. This is where people gather around a bonfire or fire pit outside to roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories, sing songs or chill out.

Halloween at schools

Many schools will celebrate Halloween by allowing students to come in different costumes, have a parade, hold dance competitions, and have a big party at the end of the day. This is an excellent way of celebrating Halloween since schools can have different themes and go all out to get the kids involved. In addition, parents are typically invited to watch the school’s parade.

Carving Jack-o’-lanterns 

Jack-o’-lanterns are pumpkins carved, typically with scary faces, to depict the ghosts of evil spirits, witches, and demons. These pumpkins are used as decorations with lights inside during Halloween or left outside for trick-or-treaters. The first known record of this tradition was in Ireland in the 1800s, where people carved potatoes, beets, turnips, and other vegetables to chase away evil spirits.

Once the Irish came to the US, they adopted pumpkins as their go-to fruit. The smashing of Jack-o’-lanterns is also a widespread practice or tradition in Halloween. You can design your Halloween party invitations to include images of the Jack-o’-lanterns.

What to Include in a Halloween Party Invitation?

Once you’ve decided on the particulars of your Halloween party, you can design the Halloween party invitation by using a template. While most people will struggle with what to include in the invitation for Halloween party, below are several things you should consider incorporating:

A few catchy phrases

It is best to start your Halloween party invitations with one or two catchy phrases. Ensure you capture the guests’ attention and get them excited about the party from the get-go. You can exercise some creativity, reference the theme, quote movies or borrow from your personality. Try to make it fun since Halloween parties are not formal parties where etiquette must be observed.

Lay out all the details

Ensure you provide all the necessary details. This includes: the Halloween Theme and what are the activities to be done. Give this information in short sentences; you do not want an overly long invitation for Halloween party.

Add the date and time

Never forget to include the date and time of the party. It is best to consider including it in bold font so people would not miss it. Also, ensure you set a start and end time for the party. Ensure the date is within Oct 31 for it to be meaningful to the event. Remember, people will be planning their schedule depending on the date and time you inform them. So, do not send out the Halloween party invitations until you know the Halloween party date. It would be best to consider the category of people you’re planning to invite; try to accommodate the majority’s schedule. Decide whether it is a daytime or night-time party, weekday or weekend.  

Specify the location

You must specify where the party will be held. People need to know where they will be going to decide if they will make it, how long it will take to get there, and the most convenient means of travel. Halloween parties can be held at home or at selected venues.

Make your guests aware of what is expected and provided

In a few words, take the guests through what to expect, whether there will be food, drinks, games, magic tunnels, etc. Ensure everyone is dressed in Halloween costumes, including the dress code information. This would be useful for people to come up with their costumes ideas, adding to the party’s fun and creativity. You have to try to be as informative as possible.

Include RSVP

Also, add your contact details so people can contact you to confirm attendance. This way, you will have a rough estimate of how many people will attend the party by determining who is coming, who’s bringing whom, etc. They can also use the RSVP contact to ask questions. You can also insist on an RSVP by a specific date; two to three weeks will usually be enough.

Halloween Party Invitation Templates

Templates can be used to create invitations for Halloween party. For our reader’s convenience, we have provided a few Halloween party invitation templates on our site. The free templates can be customized to suit different Halloween party themes. This way, you can quickly build a Halloween party invitation and send it out to your guests.

Following are some of the best Halloween party invitation templates you can use these invitations as a postcard to send an original greeting to your friends:

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    Final Remarks

    The Halloween party invitation is your first impression of your guests, so you want to ensure that it stands out and catches everyone’s attention. In addition, it should be designed to reflect the party’s theme and inspire your guests to attend. Designing the perfect Halloween party invitation template may be a lot of work, but it is worth it in the end.

    Keep in mind that there is no standard formula to follow as each party should be unique to celebrate the uniqueness of Halloween. Also, do not stress yourself out and research every little detail since an extended, too detailed invitation for Halloween party could turn potential guests away. Instead, utilizing templates can be a fast and easy way to create a simple and elegant invitation.

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