7 Most Over-The-Top Halloween Parties Slideshow
1. Bette Midler’s Hulaween 2008
Every year, the renowned actress hosts an over-the-top Halloween party where the dress is "costumes or else" to raise much-needed funding for her New York Restoration Project, but the dancing diva outdid herself in 2008. During cocktails, guests like Martha Stewart, John McEnroe, Pink, and Jimmy Buffet were treated to an assortment of appetizers prepared on-site by chefs like April Bloomfield, David Chang, Tom Colicchio, Fergus Henderson, and Jonathan Waxman. Michael Kors, as always, judged costumes; Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame was awarded the "Wind Beneath My Wings" award, and Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine finished off the night with an unforgettable concert. This year, you too can attend and rub elbows with guests like Carmelo Anthony, enjoy a menu crafted by the one and only Rick Bayless, and dance along to music icon Stevie Wonder.
2. Heidi Klum’s Halloween Party
She might be known for her beautiful looks, her role on Project Runway, and as the wife of music artist Seal (and the mother of four), but she also throws one unforgettable Halloween party every year. Sometimes it's in LA (as it was in '08 and '09), while in 2010, her 11th annual soiree took place at New York's LAVO on Halloween Night. Dressed up in red and purple as a robotic superhero, Klum mingled with guests like Ke$ha, Sports Illustrated model Brooklyn Decker, Ashanti, and Kim Kardashian, and sipped on Absolut Bloodys. This year, Klum is taking the red carpet and her over-the-top costumes to Las Vegas for the first time, hosting this year's party at Tao at The Venetian on Saturday the 29th with one of her favorite DJs, QuestLove. Then, according to Page Six, she's jetting to NYC to continue the celebrations at the Dream Downtown hotel. Are you going?
3. Playboy Mansion’s Annual Kandy Halloween Party
Since 2006, the Karma Foundation has transformed Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion into an overly imaginative, lavish spectacle every Halloween. Kandy Halloween is one of the most sensational and popular parties in the nation, with painted models, a 4,000-square-foot haunted house, nearly one hundred actors dressed up in costume, music, and open bars — all to raise thousands of dollars for charity. But at $1,000 a pop, tickets aren't cheap.
4. PAMA’s 2008 Halloween Masquerade Hosted by Kim Kardashian
The reality television star partied and played with fellow Dancing with the Stars friends including Derek Hough, Cheryl Burke dressed as a sexy scout, and Lance Bass as a scholar all night long at LA's Stone Rose Bar in West Hollywood. Kim, being the superhero she is, sported a sexy Wonder Woman costume, while mom, "General" Kris Jenner, showed up in military garb.
6. LA Dream Halloween Party
At this fun and festive costume party for all ages, stars across the country dress up in their best and bring their costumed kids to the series of annual masquerades that have been a celebrity favorite for nearly 18 years, raising more than $36 million for the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. In 2007, Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher chaired the event, raising more than $45,000 alone by auctioning off her Queen of Hearts-inspired Badgley Mischka gown (and a coordinating Barbie doll). Jamie Lee Curtis hosted the event, for the 10th year in a row. "It's my favorite event," she said in an interview with USA Today, "It's all of the spirit and fun that show business should be." For Rumer Willis, the annual event brings back many memories, especially as it brought Willis, along with her father Bruce and mom Demi Moore, from their snow-covered home in Idaho to warmer LA — it's better for trick-or-treating.
5. Haunted Ball in San Francisco
It's been called the biggest, most expensive theatrical Halloween production in the nation, certainly in San Francisco. At $75,000 alone for creepy décor and haunting creatures alone to create spaces like "The Witches Coven," and the "Graveyard of the Living Dead," it's no surprise. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the masquerade celebration, presented by Donovan, as usual, who is known for his highly successful, innovative, and sophisticated parties. This year, the party is again at Ana Mandara, the Vietnamese restaurant owned by Miami Vice's Don Johnson and Cheech Marin, of Cheech and Chong, and number four on our list of the 25 best celebrity-owned restaurants.
7. Kate Hudson’s Annual Pacific Palisades Bash
This actress' annual Halloween bash at her Pacific Palisades home is another star-studded favorite. Her 2008 Halloween might have almost got broken up due to its large size, but the 2010 event was another sweeping success. It is always the hottest ticket in town, and no detail is spared — even when it comes to the guests' costumes. Many opted for something comfy, like David Spade dressed up as a coach, and Mamma Mia's Amanda Seyfried as a big furry dog. Others went sexy, like Gwen Stefani as Catwoman, and an Indian-warrior Rachel Zoe. Susan Sarandon couldn't hide in her silver wig and silver makeup — but Leonardo DiCaprio did, dressed with a man-purse in hand as a baboon, with a mask that he didn't take off all night.