Throw the kookiest Wednesday Addams-themed birthday party
Wednesday Addams scoffs at the idea of a birthday party. Yet, in Tim Burton's recent take on The Addams Family, she fondly recalls the story of one of her birthdays, involving a tarantula piñata full of...tarantulas. The other children were terrified, of course, which Wednesday was quite pleased with. A girl after her mother's own heart, Wednesday delights in all things macabre.
We've put together some ideas to make the process of planning a Wednessday Addams-themed birthday party less mysterious and more kooky. From what to wear to what to eat, check out these gothic-chic recommendations that are sure to create the perfect event that even Wednesday Addams couldn’t pass up…with fewer real spiders.
Costumes
Wednesday
For Adults
For Kids
Hair
Synonymous with goth fashion and 90s nostalgia, Wednesday Addams is known for her iconic long, straight, and jet-black hair with a distinctive center-parted fringe that reaches down to her eyebrows.
Pugsley
Pugsley’s outfit consists of a horizontal striped shirt (long-sleeve or short-sleeve is okay), black shorts, tall black socks, and black sneakers. Although you couldn’t really tell, in the black-and-white versions of The Addams Family, Pugsley actually wears more colorful clothing (and the Addams’ house was a variety of shades of pink and yellow!). Even though we’re seeing them now in full color on screen, their signature colors have remained monochromatic, so a Pugsley costume will be more recognizable in black and white.
Morticia birthday party costume ideas
Morticia is a sharp-witted, sultry woman who dresses in a long formal black gown that either has a deep V or is off-the-shoulder. To complete the look, you can’t forget her long, straight, black hair parted down the middle.
Gomez
Gomez’s dapper look is essentially a wide-lapeled, pinstripe suit in the style of a 1920s-1940s gangster, known as a Zoot Suit. You could choose a double-breasted style like Raul Julia wore in the 1991 film The Addams Family, or a single-breasted jacket Luis Guzman sports in Wednesday.
Uncle Fester
Uncle Fester’s look is simple, but it’s best worn in cooler weather. He wears an oversized dark charcoal or black peacoat with a fur collar. Alternatively, don a black monk-style tunic. You can top it off with a black fedora or even a cow-print helmet to complete the look (note that the item listed here is just the helmet cover - helmet is not included).
Lurch
Like Gomez, Lurch also wears a suit. However, it’s a more formal 3-piece suit with notched lapels and a bowtie or more of a stock tie. It can be either plain black or black or charcoal pinstripe.
Makeup
To achieve an even more spooky, gothic look, you can use makeup to match the Addams' pale complexion, dark circles under the eyes and sharp, angular eyebrows.
What to eat?
Main dish and sides
- Graveyard pizza: https://www.staceyhomemaker.com/halloween-graveyard-pizza/
- Mummy dogs, a spooky take on the classic pigs in a blanket. Kick it up a notch and use pretzel dough instead of crescent dough: https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/crescent-mummy-dogs/d52a57d7-ab8a-4a1c-8dae-f9f90d03b912
- You could also pair those mummy dogs with some mummy jalapeno poppers: https://www.thehopelesshousewife.com/?hhw_recipes=halloweeno-jalapeno-popper-mummies#.VglIenqqqko
- This witches hair pasta uses squid ink to get a rich black color: https://www.sprinklesandsprouts.com/witches-hair-pasta-squid-ink-pasta/
- Graveyard taco dip: https://blog.chickabug.com/graveyard-taco-dip/
- Spiders on a log: spread peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter) on celery sticks and top with plastic spiders. Or for a fully-edible version, stick a couple of chocolate chips into the nut butter upside-down and pipe some chocolate legs on each.
Desserts
With just a few adjustments, these Frankenstein’s monster cookies could easily pass as Lurch cookies: https://momswhosave.com/frankensteins-monster-bride-of-frankenstein-cookies/
Or you could bake a batch of finger cookies (just don’t let Thing see them!): https://muybuenocookbook.com/spooky-witch-finger-cookies/
Of course, for a birthday party you’ll have to have a cake. In the show, Wednesday’s cake looks like it’s probably chocolate, or at least chocolate-frosted. To make a true black chocolate frosting, use black cocoa powder.
For the recipe, try Bruce Bogtrotter’s ooey gooey chocolate cake.
What to drink?
To mimic the smoky punch from the Raven dance in episode 4, use dry ice. Make it extra spooky by adding candy eyeballs.
Decorations
Get yourself a grim reaper cake topper just like Wednesday’s, plus some sparkler candles.
DIY a Cousin Itt using some rafia grass, a tomato cage for structure, a bowler hat, and sunglasses:
And don’t forget about Thing!
Add some goth glam to your food table with a black tiered serving tray, along with ivory or black remote-controlled flameless pillar candles to set the mood. For even more dramatic flare, use tapered candles with a black candelabra.
A black lace tablecloth and some well-placed bats help round out the food display. Be sure to get the right shape for your table.
Games/activities
For adults
For a party with more adults than children, enjoy a murder mystery game (based on reviews for this game, expect it to take a couple of hours).
Or try this shorter card game for 2-9 players.
For a smaller party, kids can enjoy the classic Clue board game.
If you don’t expect many kids to stay still for long enough to complete a board game, try a scavenger hunt! Have them search for things like a raven (a real one or just the word printed somewhere or a picture in a book), a spider web, an umbrella, or something with stripes.
Try one of these spins on the classic “pin the tail on the donkey” game: pin the heart on the skeleton or pin the smile on the jack-o-lantern.
Check out these fun spooky-themed minute-to-win-it games: https://www.jenbradleymoms.com/halloween-minute-to-win-it-games/?doing_wp_cron=1673232724.8438630104064941406250
Music/entertainment
Check out Spotify’s recommendations for spooky Halloween music, or have any of your favorite screen redentitions playing in the background.
Also in...
- Costumes & Fashion
- Fashion from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
- Cozy up with the Knives Out cable-knit sweater
- Our costume journey as extras for The Chosen
- A look at Bridgerton’s undergarments
- A history of kilts by way of Outlander
- Holidays & Festivities
- Festive movies to put you in the holiday spirit
Also on...
Netflix
Netflix basic with Ads
Wednesday
Wednesday Addams is sent to Nevermore Academy, a bizarre boarding school where she attempts to master her psychic powers, stop a monstrous killing spree of the town citizens, and solve the supernatural mystery that affected her family 25 years ago — all while navigating her new relationships.
Other Spotlights
The Addams Family
A satirical inversion of the ideal of the perfect American nuclear family, they are an eccentric wealthy family who delight in everything grotesque and macabre, and are never really aware that people find them bizarre or frightening. In fact, they themselves are often terrified by "normal" people.
Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
Fandango At Home
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Addams Family Values
Siblings Wednesday and Pugsley Addams will stop at nothing to get rid of Pubert, the new baby boy adored by parents Gomez and Morticia. Things go from bad to worse when the new "black widow" nanny, Debbie Jellinsky, launches her plan to add Fester to her collection of dead husbands.
Redbox
The Addams Family 2
The Addams get tangled up in more wacky adventures and find themselves involved in hilarious run-ins with all sorts of unsuspecting characters.
Amazon Prime Video
Epix Amazon Channel
YouTube
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ Amazon Channel
Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel
Microsoft Store
DIRECTV
The Addams Family
When a man claiming to be long-lost Uncle Fester reappears after 25 years lost, the family plans a celebration to wake the dead. But the kids barely have time to warm up the electric chair before Morticia begins to suspect Fester is fraud when he can't recall any of the details of Fester's life.
The Addams Family
The Addams family's lives begin to unravel when they face-off against a treacherous, greedy crafty reality-TV host while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration.
