Roping in friends & family...as "scareactors "
Join us...
Harder than it looks unless they are like-minded & enjoy giving their time occasionally.
More often than not you have to plan & design around a single or family set up, in our own instance there are 3 of us including my now 7 yr old daughter, by dedicating the day to set up, & preparing the living room window the day before for a projector test run we run the whole "shebang"
Our Dogs are put away for the evening, (& treated with a thankyou slap up meal afterwards).
The living room with the projector leads running are off limits (ish) from 3pm that day ..just in case.
Izzy's diminuitive stature means that to keep an eye on her as she looks out for incoming "guests" is to wear a halloween top hat that raises her height by a good 12 inches, so we can make sure she doesn't wander off on her own or tagging onto a group of departing children.
If you can though get in a friend, even one more will make a great deal of difference ...
(especially with a few beers & food to seal the deal).
The golden rule for characters is NO CONTACT! ..do not touch any of the nights visitors, adult or children, get close up as you attempt to spook them, jump out at them etc, however it's all best performed with a no contact policy, use every trick in the book but no contact., claw, hiss, bellow, skulk, creep, sneak, moan, shake, rattle, wail, & groan, ..affect their other senses!
Don't give them the worst jobs, that is basically yours to deal with my friend!, ..after all you do want their help again don't you? ...actually there should not be a bad job at all just some more fun than others!
If they are the less exuberant types don't expect them to "thesp-out" in costume character ad-hoc, place them in a costume to hand out treats, glow bracelets, & to stand & let you know when there are children coming so you can get ready to enhance the expererience.
Discuss with men shaving before turning up, especially if you plan to apply make-up or latex prosthetics to facial features, ..stubble causes trouble! ..this may sound a bit picky but placeing layers of make-up or latex & glue on someone is far less traumatic if they've shaved, especially at removal time.
The costumes got to fit! ..so try & get them "revved up" beforehand by means of a trip out to get a feel as to how they want to participate on the night, after all enthusiasm counts on a cold night!
If at all possible get your helpers together for a dry run, including places to hide, jump out, etc.. sounds simple however without a bit of forward planning! ..after all sugar hyped munchkins don't care what the crisis is ...they will come in hordes without pause, relentlessly wave after wave.... amazing how a bunch of 5yr olds can suddenly become intimidating!
Lastly, get everyone involved to arrive in plenty of time, it will always take longer than you think!
Wet wipes are great for getting rid of the worst of your scaractors make-up before they sully your bathroom scrubbing off the last remnants at the end of the night!
More often than not you have to plan & design around a single or family set up, in our own instance there are 3 of us including my now 7 yr old daughter, by dedicating the day to set up, & preparing the living room window the day before for a projector test run we run the whole "shebang"
Our Dogs are put away for the evening, (& treated with a thankyou slap up meal afterwards).
The living room with the projector leads running are off limits (ish) from 3pm that day ..just in case.
Izzy's diminuitive stature means that to keep an eye on her as she looks out for incoming "guests" is to wear a halloween top hat that raises her height by a good 12 inches, so we can make sure she doesn't wander off on her own or tagging onto a group of departing children.
If you can though get in a friend, even one more will make a great deal of difference ...
(especially with a few beers & food to seal the deal).
The golden rule for characters is NO CONTACT! ..do not touch any of the nights visitors, adult or children, get close up as you attempt to spook them, jump out at them etc, however it's all best performed with a no contact policy, use every trick in the book but no contact., claw, hiss, bellow, skulk, creep, sneak, moan, shake, rattle, wail, & groan, ..affect their other senses!
Don't give them the worst jobs, that is basically yours to deal with my friend!, ..after all you do want their help again don't you? ...actually there should not be a bad job at all just some more fun than others!
If they are the less exuberant types don't expect them to "thesp-out" in costume character ad-hoc, place them in a costume to hand out treats, glow bracelets, & to stand & let you know when there are children coming so you can get ready to enhance the expererience.
Discuss with men shaving before turning up, especially if you plan to apply make-up or latex prosthetics to facial features, ..stubble causes trouble! ..this may sound a bit picky but placeing layers of make-up or latex & glue on someone is far less traumatic if they've shaved, especially at removal time.
The costumes got to fit! ..so try & get them "revved up" beforehand by means of a trip out to get a feel as to how they want to participate on the night, after all enthusiasm counts on a cold night!
If at all possible get your helpers together for a dry run, including places to hide, jump out, etc.. sounds simple however without a bit of forward planning! ..after all sugar hyped munchkins don't care what the crisis is ...they will come in hordes without pause, relentlessly wave after wave.... amazing how a bunch of 5yr olds can suddenly become intimidating!
Lastly, get everyone involved to arrive in plenty of time, it will always take longer than you think!
Wet wipes are great for getting rid of the worst of your scaractors make-up before they sully your bathroom scrubbing off the last remnants at the end of the night!