How to Host a Halloween Cocktail Party in 2025

Halloween is my favourite time of the year, when everyone can dress up in creative costumes and spooky decor is everywhere!

This year I’ve decided to host a cocktail night where guests have to match their drink and costume!

Preparing for the event!

For the costume/decor: 

Find some inspo and have a go at creating your own event vision board on Pinterest!

Here’s my Halloween 2025 pinterest board that all my planning and decorating went into! I created a bunch of collages for popular costume ideas with basic clothes items you can use to recreate the look + interesting makeup and accessories. 

Looksharp is a go-to for any party decor and costumes in New Zealand. They have a large selection of cheap full costume sets you can buy. However, I recommend using accessories or interesting items in your wardrobe to escalate a look.

Typo is fun stop for decor, they happened to have Nightmare before Christmas merch where I bought a cute candy bowl

Dangerfield is another great option to look for alternative and spooky themed clothes!

If you’re looking for a detailed fit without the effort of putting it all together yourself, you can look into costume hires.

I also happened to be lucky and worked at the Armageddon expo the same weekend, so found some costume pieces from cosplay vendors there! (The Spring Armageddon Expo is always held on Labour weekend, which usually ends up being the weekend just before Halloween!)

For the drinks: 

You’ll need a basic cocktail making set including a shaker, jigger and strainer.

Some basic cocktail ingredients to keep handy:

• Sugar syrup – you can make this by mixing sugar and boiling water with a 1:1 ratio cup of each.
• Lime juice or lemon juice – its great to have both but one can easily substitute the other – used in a lot of refreshing cocktails and especially useful if you’re using gin.
• Mint & citrus fruits for muddling & garnishes
• Plenty of ice to shake your drinks and serve them cold. If you want them to be a feature of the drink, try getting some ice trays for different shapes and sizes!

The Cocktails

Here are the drinks we made to match our costumes! Recipes are roughly what would have been in one drink but I’ve noted where they were made to serve multiple drinks.

Health & Mana Potions

These were adapted Long Island Ice Teas, and served in large bowls using 4x recipe.

The Three Bears

Baby Bear (Too cold)

Put the shot glasses in the fridge to cool them down

Fill the 3/4 of the shot glass with butterscotch liqueur 
Layer Bailey’s Irish cream on top

(Optional) add whipped cream on top

Mama Bear (Just Right – Bourbon Hokey Pokey Cocktail)

Papa Bear (Too Hot)

Add a large ice piece to your glass. or you can opt to serve this warm like a hot apple tea.

30ml Fireball Cinnamon Whisky 
Top up with Apple juice to taste

Thanks for joining me on my journey!

Let me know your Halloween event hosting tips in the comments below and feel free to check out my other event blog posts!