Zombie Halloween Party

Where else can you dress up like the walking dead, with ripped clothes, frizzled hair and shallow eyes and feel right at home? A zombie themed party of course! (although this is the attire in my household too!) For my husband’s 30th that falls right around Halloween, I actually threw him a surprise Walking Dead bash in the city with our friends and family. I told him one of my mommy friends was having a kids Halloween party so we had to bring my 6 month daughter too (so sneaky!). My husband was obsessed with the “Walking Dead” at the time so I suggested maybe we dress up like a zombie family? He bought it! I must say, he got a little suspicious when we parked near the Hudson Hotel and took the elevator to the penthouse suite….

I wanted a high-end and luxurious space, spacious enough to host a party of 45 people. I also wanted it isolated enough that we could have music, food and a party without getting kicked out for noise!

What I really was looking for was a penthouse in a swanky NYC hotel. I checked around and found the perfect spot at the Hudson Hotel near Columbus Circle off West 58th and 9th Avenue. Their penthouse is breathtaking, with views of the Empire State Building, its own outdoor rooftop, and a glass-enclosed solarium covered in vines. There is a very spacious party space, bedroom and two bathrooms, approximately 1200sq ft! 

I booked the Penthouse, and also booked the Hudson’s catering service with a full bar and waitstaff. I went all out for Carl, and started planning months before. I invited all his closest friends and family, and instructed everyone to come ready to party in their zombie-finest! 

So when I host parties, I feel a need to have an entertainment aspect–people can’t just stand around and socialize. That’s not my definition of a party!

To up the costume party, I reached out to a few makeup artists in the city and found a professional makeup-artist whom works with many of the big movie production companies–she sent me some of her previous work with zombie and horror films and I booked her immediately! 

I had Carl’s younger brother put together a slide show of baby pictures of Carl, and some recent photos of him and his friends and family. We showed this during the party.

For the invitations, I used a combination of Photoshop and MyOnlineSuite to add zombies and walking dead characters. I also used MyOnlineSuite to create all the menu’s, posters and labels for the party favors. I love the attention to detail, and had to really brush up on my “Walking Dead” trivia to incorporate many of the sayings in the party. 

For the party favors, I made “Carol’s Cookies” which if you are a “Walking Dead” fan you know which episode this is from. 

I also designed the ultimate Waking Dead cake, and reached out to the amazing artists at Conte’s bakery on Morris Park in the Bronx! There was no way I could even try to do a cake of this stature without raising eyebrows from my husband! How amazing is that cake?! It was also delicious—ultimate fudgy-chocolate.

For the centerpieces, I added white carnations and baby’s breath in mason jars and named it “Look at the Flowers, Carl.” Again, if you have seen the episode where Carol says this to a particular little girl, you would get this reference too!

Here are some more photos from the party; hope our party gives you some spooky inspo for Halloween!!

Aaaaghhhh,

Lana

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