4 Halloween Events for Your Bar or Brewery

With people in the mood to celebrate the spooky season, you can anticipate a larger turnout for your Halloween party, as previously seen pre-pandemic.

Consumers plan to spend an average of $100 on costumes, candy, and decorations this Halloween, according to a survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation. Total spending is predicted to hit a record $10.6 billion.

We’ve done the work by planning some unique cocktails, games, and a unique twist on the classic costume contest.

Apply these correctly and you’ll surely see a spike in customer growth and profits—no, we’re not tricking you!

1. Make it A Monster Mash With Ghoulish Games

Once you have fully decorated your bar/brewery with fake spider webs, skeletons, and headstones, you’re ready to welcome guests to your graveyard smash!

Let guests settle in with a couple of cocktails and treats before kicking off the ghoulish games for the evening. This is a great way to kick off the party and get guests out of their chairs and interacting with the other partygoers.

Here are a few games that are minimal effort and maximum entertainment:

The Mummy Wrap

Pairs of competitors race to completely wrap each other in toilet paper. The accompanying rushing around or spinning will undoubtedly spark the celebration. To keep costs down and the celebration going, you may always give out drinks.

Tricks and Trivia

For customers, live trivia night is usually a treat. But as part of your Halloween advertising and activities, you're now going to toss in some tricks.

As you ask Halloween-themed trivia questions, have your staff play tricks on the house like suddenly killing the lights or throwing fake spiders to distract players.

Need tips for hosting a profitable trivia night? Check out How to Make Money by Hosting Trivia Night At Your Brewery or Bar.

2. Create of Speciality Cocktail for The Evening

Of course, most people visit pubs for the drinks. Even though special occasions and holidays are typically busy nights, there are a few tips you may use to offer thematic and entertaining great sellers.

If you want to give clear drinks a sweet flavor and a rich crimson color that will please vampires and zombies, try adding grenadine or black raspberry liqueur. In a similar vein, you can tint drinks a thematic black color.

An eyeball floating in a martini glass can be created using a peeled radish with a cut olive in the center that’s held together with a toothpick.

Creepy Cocktail Recipe Ideas:

The Poisoned Apple

Instructions: Add all ingredients to the martini shaker with ice. Shake and strain into chilled martini glass.

Spooky Garnish: Serve with a small chip of dried ice!

Beetlejuice

Instructions: Ice should be added to a double old-fashioned glass. Vodka, melon liqueur, raspberry liqueur, blue curaçao, and sweet & sour should all be added to the glass. Pour the cranberry juice on top slowly.

Spooky Garnish: Serve with black & white striped straw then say “Beetlejuice!” three times fast.

3. Costume Contest—With A Twist

The annual Halloween costume contest is always a given at a party. But consider how you can have more winners and unique costumes. By creating unique categories, you give patrons more opportunities to win treats and, most of all, to participate in the party!

Try these different options:

Best Staff Costume

If your staff is working the party, might as well give them the chance to participate too. Encourage your bartenders and servers to dress up and have patrons vote for their favorite. Winning staff costumes can earn a gift card for a local restaurant or swag.

Best Theme Costume

A themed costume can be broken down into subcategories too, depending on the variety of participants. Use your best judgment when reviewing the range of costumes as party guests arrive. Theme options can include: TV characters, vampires, contemporary, best couple costume, etc.

Best Category Costume

Similar to above, use a category to determine your costumes: most realistic, scariest, funniest, etc. Winners in each category take the stage in order to determine the overall champion for best category costume.

4. Puppy Halloween Parade

According to CBS News, The National Retail Federation reports that Americans will spend $490 million on pet costumes—more than double what owners spent nearly a decade ago.

With that in mind, consider making your Halloween party pet friendly. If you do, your bar/brewery could gain a higher number of followers, acquire more check-ins on Untappd, and accrue more tags on social media.

Encourage patrons to bring toys and treats to donate to a local humane society and consider offering cocktail tokens for the pet’s owner for the best puppy costume!

If you need tips and tricks for how to make your patio more puppy friendly, check out our guide to the 7 Ways Breweries Have Become More Dog Friendly.

With just a little time and effort, your upcoming Halloween celebration might become the buzz of the town. Consider this holiday your chance to organize a hauntingly fun and profitable event!