This is the never-ending summer.

Corona-times have changed everything, and when you’re a stay at home Mom like me, the days start to bleed into one another. I miss having events to look forward to since there’s not much on our calendar these days.

So when I learned Party City wanted my help showcasing their amazingly affordable Halloween  products, I literally squealed with excitement.

I mean first of all, Halloween is like one of the best holidays ever. Second of all, planning parties is my favorite. And thirdly, we finally had something to look forward to!

My party planning wheels instantly started spinning; and then came to a screeching halt.

Coronavirus…

How do you plan a party during Corona-times?

The answer turned out to be short and quite sweetly simple. A virtual Halloween party hosted on Zoom.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Party City. Thank you for supporting the brands that make This Crafty Mom possible.

Jumping into party planning mode, I immediately saw the challenge I had before me. How was I going to make a virtual party feel like a real celebration? I knew the first step was to make it look fun!

I decided to create sweet little party packs for our guests and fill them with goodies and decorations for their own homes. That way no matter the distance, we could bring the party to them!

I picked a date and got to work on the details. I knew I’d need super cute invites, adorable costumes, and amazing food and decorations.

Virtual or not, I was determined to make this the best virtual Halloween party ever celebrated! Well, ever celebrated in August anyways.

Halloween Costumes

The very first thing my girls wanted to do was grab their Halloween costumes. My youngest is obsessed with giraffes. A quick search of the Party City site showed some adorable giraffe costumes, but the Giraffe Costume Kit was immediately caught her eye.

I must say I do agree with her choice. Plus, it was insanely affordable. Has there ever been a cuter giraffe in all the world?My oldest insisted on scouring the site and looking at every single costume on there. She had a super hard time narrowing it down, but eventually settled on this beautiful Peacock Costume.

She oohed and aahed over it when it arrived. When she put it on the first time she instantly assumed her most regal of stances. It was pretty adorable!

Getting to wear their Halloween costumes and have a virtual Halloween party in August was probably some of the most excitement they’ve had all summer!

Virtual Halloween Party Invitations

Half the fun of planning a party is designing the invite! I quickly whipped up a fun little invitation that could be sent via email or snail mail. Bringing the “Boo to You”had a nice ring to it and seemed super cute so I tried to incorporate it a couple of times in the party.

I’ve included a copy of the blank invite in my freebies section for you to grab so you’ll be ready come Halloween. Chances are, Corona will still be around, and if not this is still an awesome way to party with friends and family that live some distance away!

Virtual Halloween Party Kit

A few days before the party I started assembling fun little party kits to be delivered to our party guests. I added decorations for their backdrop, delicious Halloween treats, and even some of our tableware. I’d found the most perfect Halloween plates  and napkins at Party City and didn’t want them to go to waste!

I had this fun little box I originally planned on putting everything it. Some of the stuff was too big, so I kept it out; but the box itself turned about adorably and the contents were even cuter! I added a little note inside to add to the fun.

Virtual Halloween Backdrops

I decided everyone could have fun creating their own backdrop. I already knew I wanted to go extra all out and purchased an a-mazing Paper Fan decorating kit. I fell in love with the it second that I saw it. Those gorgeous paper pin wheels make an amazing backdrop!

I also knew I wanted to make it easy for my friends to decorate their own home, and find something easy to mail if needed. So I grabbed this adorable Halloween Friends kit. It has a ton of decorations that are easy to split between families so everyone can have a sweet Halloween backdrop.

DIY

Halloween Party Food

One of my favorite things about party planning is coming up with cute food ideas. This was my first Halloween party but I’ve been saving ideas for years!

RELATED READING: DIY HALLOWEEN CRAFTS

Even though we wouldn’t have a big crowd coming to our house, I still wanted to make a cute table. I started with the gorgeous plates and napkins from Party City, and some fake blood bags and syringes filled with red Kool-Aid.

You can also see the sweet Don’t Make me Flip my Witch Switch sign I scored at Party City! It lights up and fit perfectly with the other decorations in the party. I can’t wait to use this sign again in a few months!

Because kids love cheese-balls, I knew we had to work them in some way. I just added a quick sharpie marker face to some bags stuffed with cheese balls and then secured them with a green pipe cleaner and voila, we had pumpkin bites!

In the treat box, I’d also included some baggies full of fun treats to make Monster Mash. I displayed these on my table in some old glasses inherited from my grandma. We had candy corn for Jack o’ Lantern’s teeth, marshmallows for Ghost Poop, chocolate chips for Witches Warts, and Golden Grahams for Monster Scabs. I also made printable tags for those to go in the Boo box the guest got. You can grab those free here.

I also created an old stand-by I’ve seen done for YEARS. Kleenex over a lollipop, secured with a pipe cleaner and adorned with Sharpie marker features creates the cutest Boo Things!

I jabbed them in an old beat up foam pumpkin and made the cutest little display!

And finally…what party would be complete without cake?

Only cake would be a nightmare to ship, so instead I had a local baker whip up some cute little cake pops. If you’re local you should check her out at Tasty Tidbits. She makes the most delicious cake pops and they were by far the favorite of all the kids at the party!
I had an old witches cauldron from my school teaching days that I stuck those inside with some crinkly paper strips.

Party Time!

Once everyone had their party supplies and the time, I created a Zoom link and emailed or texted it to everyone. We all logged on and it was so much fun seeing all the kids costumes and decorations in the back. Check out those adorable Party City backdrops!

There were so many giggles and we had the best time!

I tried to keep some spooky Halloween music running in the background but it was hard to hear over all the kids talking.

If I’d been able to get my hands on some pumpkins or Halloween crafts, we would’ve done a craft as a group. But alas, unlike Christmas, stores don’t usually put Halloween decorations out extra early.

RELATED READING:  20 FREE HALLOWEEN SVGS!

Our party guests were on the younger side, but it could also be fun to play games during a virtual Halloween party. With the help of a person shouting “Go!” you could even re-create Halloween favorites such as Bobbing for Apples or Pop Goes the Pumpkin (popping orange balloons). For pre-teens and teens, a game of Halloween themed Charades or Pictionary could also be fun.

Or if your crew is mostly six and under, like mine, it’s very likely that they’ll thoroughly enjoy just dressing up, decorating their space, eating Halloween treats, and sharing tons of giggles!

So when October rolls around and you’re still stuck at home, don’t let Corona get you down! Head to Party City and score some adorable costumes and decorations at extremely affordable prices, then share some goodies with your friends and hop on Zoom for a party you won’t soon forget!

While you’re at it, be sure to check out all of my Party planning adventures and follow me on Pinterest, where I’m constantly pinning awesome Party ideas and more!