How to throw a Walking Dead Zombie Party

Last year for my brother’s big 40th birthday, we decided to throw our summer party with a theme he could appreciate.  Every weekend in October he transforms into his alter ego- Mr Nice Guy- for a Green Bay Haunt attraction that raises money for the Children’s Shriner Hospitals. In order to offer a party everyone could dress up for, we tailored the theme around a popular television following and broadened it to “Zombies.” 

Never having see the show “Walking Dead” myself, I did some online research and focused on a few things that seemed iconic to the series.  At the end of the day the party decor revolved around these key elements:  zombies, themed food, zombies, old stuff we had laying around and…zombies!

Here we go-

The best part of the party set up was that we could use our garage as the setting- being that we were in the process of emptying it before demo and all of the locations in the show are dirty, abandoned and creepy. Some people marveled at our dingy and grotesque shake wall. How did we achieve the perfect abandoned house look? Truth be told, all I really did was grab an old squeeze bottle of red acrylic craft paint, add water, shake the bottle and squirt it on the wall. The rest is 100% authentic creepy old house.

Want to know what other creepy old house stuff made it to the party?

This bathtub:

This just happens to be the bathtub that was in our house when we bought it. Cast iron tubs are incredibly heavy and for lack of ambition to find a way to get rid of it, it has been in the back of our barn ever since we started our remodel. It became the perfect vessel for one of Nick’s zombie creations and a place for ice and bottled water during the party. I filled the extra space around the zombie with packing bubbles and an old shower curtain I also distressed with “blood.”

Pallets and beer cans:

While not as old as the bathtub, we did turn these pallets into zombie fencing and raided the recycle bin for cans to use as zombie warning bells (as seen in the show).

This tube TV:

In perhaps my most brilliant (or most lazy) re-purposing to date, I simply printed the logo of the tv show’s title and taped it to the front of this old tv that I didn’t have time to move or get rid of before the party started. As an added bonus I was able to turn old paint cans into industrial size pudding containers- also featured in the show.

Other props inspired by the show “The Walking Dead” included a baseball bat, that should have been wrapped in barb wire, but we used what we had.

Now onto The Food:

A crock pot of shredded chicken acted as the “squirrel” meat for the main course while pudding was once again a feature and a few other people participated in a collection of spooky potluck treats!

A cranberry and vodka drink with a bit of red food coloring on the rim was the suggested signature drink.

Of course the tiki bar and our campfire has it’s usual important place in the yard-

And finally, the prop lingering in the background that you have all been waiting to better see…the zombies!

Zombie!

Zombie!

Zombie!

Nick actually built these out of 2×4 lumber. Before he added the masks and old clothing stuffed with newspapers, these dead heads were just friendly framework waiting around in the yard.

Nick is still most impressed with the craftsmanship he put into these party props, which was why he felt the need to try to sculpt demogorgons for the Stranger Things party this year. The framework was recycled so the demogorgon creatures could stand.

All in all the “Walking Dead-Zombie Party” turned out pretty great! We created some memorable ways to showcase the theme and my brother was able to become Mr. Nice Guy for another day out of the year!

And I was able to become my own version of my brother’s iconic character to honor his 40th birthday!

This Halloween you can visit Mr Nice Guy at Green Bay Fear Haunt attraction, and feel good knowing proceeds go to help children in need at the Shrine Hospitals of America.

Cheers and Happy Halloween!