The holiday season is creeping up on us all. First to come is Halloween, and this year you’re hosting a Halloween bash. While you would like a party that all the boys and ghouls continue talking about for years to come, you’ll settle for an enjoyable time that goes off without a hitch. The only problem is that you have no idea where to start; you’ve never done anything like that before. You want your party to be creative and fun, with just a hint of spookiness and fright. But where should one begin? With a little time and inspiration, your party will be one of both taste and flair.

Fortunately, there’s a complete Halloween guide for you, called Party Halloween – go over there and check it out! I’ll wait … okay, did you buy it? Great! Here’s some more ideas …

Once you’ve decided on a Halloween party theme, it’s time to set the spooky mood with a fun party invitation. If you’ve gone all-out and turned your house into a specially decorated haunted house, you want partygoers to know your bash is going to be the real deal; spooky gatherings call for equally spirited invites. You can order custom invitations, use the variety of templates in the Halloween ebook, or access your inner artist and create some yourself.

Whatever you decide, consider some miniature plastic spiders inside the envelope for an extra surprise. If you can deliver the invitations yourself, have fun with props. Stick the invite in an apothecary-style bottle or have mini boxes filled with fake, gummy body parts. However, if time is of the essence there are numerous online retailers offering some great selections of spooky Halloween invites, Storkie is a retailer I have used with success.

Many people are under the impression that decorating for a holiday has to be expensive, but that could not be further from the truth. It is possible to find spooky décor ideas to fit any budget. Buy some plastic spiders and fake cobwebs and go to town on your house. Add a colony of bats to your walls, guiding guests to the main party area. Just find a bat template (or draw one of your own) and cut out various sizes of bats from black cardstock. Fold the bats in half and attach to your walls with double sided tape (or duct tape if they’re outside), keeping in mind that bats generally fly in a stream, following one another. For the exterior of your house be sure to find a lot of pumpkins. Add some fake ravens, found at many craft stores, to your front yard for an eerie entrance to your home.

Once you’ve got your decorations figured out and placed, it’s time to figure out party fare. Finger foods are generally ideal for Halloween parties, as they are easier to eat while in costume. Make some ‘bones’ out of pretzel sticks with mini marshmallows attached to each end and dipped in white chocolate. Create ‘mummy’ pizzas out of English muffin halves, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese strips, with olive eyes peeking out. Serve salsa or pico de gallo with a sour cream ‘spider web’ over the top. Simply put some sour cream in an icing bag and draw a web over the top and be sure to add some plastic spiders for added effect. And no Halloween party is complete without some caramel, candied, or chocolate covered apples.

Of course all the devilishly delicious food will leave the goblins feeling thirsty. If you’d like to serve some apple cider, up the fright ante by adding some ‘shrunken heads’. Fill a large cauldron with apple cider, either homemade or store-bought, and add apples that have been peeled and have faces cut out of them. As you simmer the cider, the ‘heads’ will shrink.

For a bone-chilling drink, serve punch with a ‘hand’ inside. Fill a non-powder surgical glove with water and freeze. Remove the glove, and add your hand-shaped ice to the punch. This works best with ‘blood’, or red punch. If you’d rather serve bottled drinks halve a pumpkin, scoop out the insides, fill with ice, and use as a party cooler.

Andrea Boley is a writer, blogger and a mom to twin boys (who love Halloween!). Her educational and parental backgrounds given her a solid foundation from which to draw experience and expertise in an array of topics, and she is always happy to share her passion for life and experiences through her writing.

Halloween is a fantastically spooky time for both young and old alike. Whether you go trick or treating, host a costume party or just decorate for friends and neighbors to see, everyone loves to get in on the festivities. Choosing the right music for your festivities is easy and fun. Think of your favorite scary movie…what would it be like without a soundtrack? The intense music used for scary movies can make your heart pound and leave you at the edge of your seat. You can do the same for your guests if you take the time to seek out the music you need.

Children’s Parties

For a child’s costume party, you don’t want it to be too scary. Depending on the ages of the kids, choose music that will make it scary, but still fun. “The Monster Mash” has always been a big hit with the kids. Use soundtracks of different scary noises such as witches cackling or bubbling cauldrons. Even the sound of the wind blowing and creaking doors is enough to make the little ones get goose bumps.

Adult Parties

Halloween Party by RaviN/Flickr

For an adult party you can go for the really creepy Halloween decor. If you have an organ in your house, put it in a secluded spot and have someone play strange music very loudly. You can use recorded CDs or other music to play music throughout the house. Have people hide throughout the house and occasionally let out a blood curdling scream. They can also be outside the house by a partially opened window, or behind trees to scare people as they approach.

Recordings that are backwards are always especially macabre. A good one to check out is “They’re Coming To Take Me Away”, or the backwards version, “Yawa Em Ekat Ot Gnimoc Er’yehT.” As a child I remember being scared to death by this in a darkened room.

Check out this article on using Sony Vegas to achieve your own scary effects.

Sometimes silence is the scariest music of all. Hearing nothing at all but perhaps heavy breathing, or a very loud clock ticking can make your heart race. And the evil laugh is always great for giving people the shivers. If you know someone who has the perfect skin crawling laugh, let them greet guests or just laugh from a darkened room. It’s enough to give anyone the shakes.

Outside The House

Scary house, by Ali West/Flickr

Perhaps you want to have a haunted walk. It won’t be the same without the perfect setting. Whether there are lots of trees to walk through, or a deserted path, make sure the sounds are there. An owl hooting, yowling cats, and don’t forget the chainsaw. Nothing makes your hair stand on end like being alone in the dark and hearing a chainsaw start up behind you.

Creepy laughter is always good in this setting as well. Ghosts moaning and the howling of wolves will keep you watching your back.

Set up speakers throughout the yard if you have a walkway where people walk to your house. This can be done for trick or treaters as well. It makes the advance to your door much spookier.

Sometimes the unexpected can be scarier than playing what your guests expect. For instance, a solemn flute player slowly playing a dirge on the flute, or maybe a record that just keeps skipping and skipping. The footsteps of someone running through the woods screaming and out of breath will make anyone move a little faster toward safety.

The options are endless to how you can incorporate the perfect music into your setting. Just look around you and think what would make it super scary to YOU, then have fun with it.

Jonathan McDonald is a choir director and loves to write content for holiday sites. He recommends www.christmassongs.org as a great reference for all Christmas song lyrics, including funny Christmas songs.

Halloween theme parties can be a huge success, especially if you take a little extra time to plan. There are so many different types of spooky decorations, if you’re not careful, the party can end up looking like a jumbled mess! Try picking one classic Halloween character and base the entire party around that. In this article, we give you some tips on how to throw a kid-friendly Frankenstein bash. Read at your own risk!

Decorations

• Jack-o’-lanterns. Instead of the traditional toothless grin, carve your pumpkins using a Frankenstein pattern. This stencil can be printed off and used to create all your pumpkins. Place them on the walkway up to the door or put them in front of windows to welcome guests to the party.
• Frankenstein’s Head Tin. This handmade craft can be used as spooky-but-cute centerpiece. These directions explain how to use an empty tin can, paint, felt, hot glue, and a few more art supplies to create a cartoon Frankenstein head suitable for a kid’s party. This project is a fun Halloween craft for ages 7 and up.
• And More! There are plenty of common Halloween decorations that you can use for the party that you might already have. Just ask yourself: would I find this in the lab where Frankenstein was created? Some ideas are spider webs, cauldrons, laboratory beakers, and other creepy crawlies.

Treats

While we’re not entirely sure if Frankenstein’s monster actually ate, your party guests mostly likely do! Here are a few monster-themed snacks for the party.

• Frankenstein’s Bolts. Follow this recipe to make a sweet dessert that looks like the bolts that stick out of Frankenstein’s neck. What you need: JELL-O No Bake Peanut Butter Cup Dessert mix, milk, orange and black sprinkles, popsicle sticks, and some cups.
• Frankenstein Brownies. Buy a box of brownie mix, and bake as directed. After they’ve cooled, cut them into even rectangles. Then, frost each brownie with the frosting you like best, adding green food coloring. Use piped icing to create the face and sprinkles for the hair. Lastly, add a piece of candy corn on each side of the brownie for Frankenstein’s bolts.
• Science Experiment Punch. Be dramatic and add some dry ice to your punch bowl, so your beverage station looks like a bubbly, messy concoction. Here are some tips and directions on how to (safely!) use dry ice at your party.

Costumes

If you are the one throwing the party, the honor of dressing as the classic monster should be yours. Tall, green skin, flat top – you know what he looks like. These Frankenstein costumes pretty much have you covered. Not everyone can be the big guy, though, so here are a few other ideas for party goers:

• Frankenstein’s Bride. Even monsters can fall in love, even if their partners have to be specially created just for them. Bonus points if you don’t need a wig to get your hair to look like that.
• Mad Scientist. There would be no monster without Dr. Frankenstein himself.
• Frankie Stein. A great way to get a tween girl excited about a “really dorky” party? Monster High. Just sayin’…

Kid’s Activities

• Zombie Walk-Off. Set up a runway and see who has the best zombie stagger. Spectators can judge the monsters on their limp walks, expressionless faces, and chilling groans.
• Frankenstein Marbles. To setup for this game, find an empty shoe or cereal box. Cut teeth out of the edge and flip it upside-down, so the teeth touch the table. Use paint, construction paper, googly eyes, and screws to decorate the box to look like Frankenstein. Then, place the box on the ground and mark off a starting line with masking tape. Give each kid a handful of marbles to flick into Frankenstein’s mouth. The player who gets the most wins!
• Franken-Tag. Now is the time to use what you learned during the zombie walk-off! The rules of Franken-Tag are the same as the playground game, but in this case, if you’re tagged as “it,” you can only walk like Frankenstein.
• Frankenstein Puppets. Set up a table for party guests to make their own monster, just like the evil doctor did. Supply craft materials like paint, markers, googly eyes, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, scissors, glue, and paper plates. Make a few puppets in advance by following these instructions and lay them on the table so kids can use them for inspiration.

It’s almost that time of year again – Halloween is almost upon us! While most of the world thinks about dressing up in costumes or going trick or treating, there are other uses for this holiday … like weddings! If you are into ghosts, goblins, and all that is ghoulish, this is one wedding and reception nobody will forget!

This is a great way to welcome in the spookiest aspects of your personality. Though you may not think of Halloween as a time for a wedding, it can be really fun. If your personality is geared around this theme then you can create the perfect “undead wedding reception”. This obviously will depend heavily on the right party decorations to pull it off … as well as the cooperation of the, urr, undead wedding party (had to use a double entendre here!) If you’re having a “normal” wedding beforehand, have your wedding party then dress as zombies and ghouls for the dinner reception! The groom can dress in an elaborate Victorian costume with top hat, and the bride can change into a dress that looks like it’s been buried for far too long.

Dark But Special Decorations

Awesome wedding cake, by noblerobinette @ Flickr

For the reception, start with the tables and work your way out. For table decorations, you may find that using elements such as table crystals really take things up a notch. However, instead of the traditional clear crystals, look for black ones. Continue the theme with black tablecloths, black napkins, black flowers, and even black, Gothic chair covers. This needs to not only set the tone for the wedding and the theme but drape the venue in that perfect shade for the undead. If you believe your guests to be comfortable with this “not quite traditional” wedding reception, continue with a centerpiece of jellied eyeballs at each table.

Try some other subtle hints to add to each table: glue small skeletons to the place card holders. Even better, instead of simply numbering the tables, give each one a ghoulish name – “The Skeleton Table,” “The Shaun of the Dead Table”, etc. Each table can also feature something distinctive, such as a Shaun of the Dead action figure for that table, (which you can find at Amazon.) You can also make a contest where someone at the table will win the centerpiece.

Glamorously Dark

Away from the table, decorate the rest of the room with black and orange streamers, spiders hanging from the ceiling, cobwebs along the corners of the walls, and skull vases to hold the flowers. Finally, “top off” the cake with an undead bride and groom cake topper (I’ve seen these at Etsy.)

This can be a really fun theme and a great way to enjoy your special day. If you want to capture that perfect undead theme then get the right party decorations and make this really shine … err, dimly lit, as the wedding to remember!

Most people think of spring as the time of birth and making things new again. If however you love to embrace your dark side, or are a diehard fan of Halloween, then you can make this season all about the “undead”. Yes, you read that right – some people would much rather celebrate the dark, the wretched, and the road less traveled. Spring to these people (and you know who you are – does the bright spring sun hurt more?) is all about everything being undead, and this is simply ghastly to them!

To the vampires, ghosts, and goblins of the world, this is a time where the awful light starts streaming in and the earth is so terribly waking up. If you want to reflect back on the dark and dreary days of Halloween, then consider throwing some such party ideas like a spring undead party. This is such a fun theme and a very unique way of looking at this time of usual renewal—give it an unexpected twist! If you don’t have any Halloween decorations, or they are packed away, you can still buy them any time of the year online.

What Are Those “Things” Erupting From the Ground?

Just when dark lovers and vampires everywhere thought that they were comfortably embedded in the harsh cold of winter, all of a sudden something terrible happens. The light comes back in, filtering through our windows. There’s something more than that though – there are some unfamiliar and disgusting petaled balls of bright colors coming out of the ground.

Flowers – that’s what most people call them, but to you this is nothing to celebrate. Use this to start off the theme of the party and really embrace it. Come dressed in your darkest costume, even if it’s something as simple as all black as if you are mourning. Pitch black fancy dress wigs such as the crazy mop worn by Edward Scissorhands makes a perfect mockery of flowers. You can even have a flower toss or some other smashing session of flowers. This is therapeutic in a way because you get to smash up all those supposedly innocent little flowers.

Fun for the cold winter lovers and yet actually fun as a theme for a party, even for those that normally love spring. Come with bad attitudes, frowns on your face, and do everything to show off just how miserable you are that spring is finally here!

Reflecting Back on Darkness

You can’t have a spring undead party without truly embracing the darkness. One creepy idea is holding it outside in the pitch black with nothing but dim candlelight to keep your party going.

Consider draping off the venue of the party in all black and blocking any outside light for the right effect. You can come as a ghost, goblin, ghoul, vampire or other gothic fancy dress costume and really celebrate the dark side of Halloween rather than the rebirth of spring.

Your mindset is all about how awful this period of light is so go for the darkness and really celebrate it for all that it is. Consider embracing your inner “Oscar the Grouch” where everything is miserable, icky, gross, and disgusting. While others are celebrating the beautiful rebirth of flowers and all that is beautiful in spring, you’ll be hurling insults at it all day long!

Preparing Yourself for the “Season of the Retched”

Let’s be honest, this is a theme that is all about being opposite of what you feel. Though there are some people who love the cold and dark, most of us can’t wait to embrace the warm days of spring. The fun part of this is getting in touch with your dark side and celebrating all the funk and filth around you while the rest of the world embraces the rest!

So this makes for a perfect time to celebrate the terrible “season of the retched” which is otherwise known as the “summer blockbuster movie season”. It’s always a bust, there is so much hype built up around these movies and they almost always fail (even if they do make a billion gajillion dollars.)

So use this negative force at work to celebrate all that is dark with the world. Rent a few awful blockbusters from summers past (ie. anything by Michael Bay), even better if they are terrible continuations or sequels of movies that were once good (Batman & Robin?) Watch these, dressed in your darkest and gloomiest attire, and ridicule just how retched the world really is. You can actually have a lot of fun celebrating dark and gloom, and this makes for one fun dreadfully delicious party!

Looking for a zombie game? Here’s how to have a Zombie Chase at Your Halloween Party!

This zombie game is no ordinary race, because everyone knows that zombies carry a deadly zombie virus. If you’re attacked, you will become a zombie. That mere scientific fact makes this a race for your life.

Both teens and adults will “die” from excitement with this zombie race game. But death is only temporary when it comes to zombies, so watch out!

It takes a little preparation to create a frightfully good chase, but don’t let that scare you. It’s well worth it.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• To distinguish whether guests are zombies or humans, either green and orange ribbons with safety pins. Or get elaborate with green T-shirts or a mask for each zombie.



• “Checkpoint Flags” (simple colored strips of construction paper will do).
• Space to have a race course such as a large back yard or neighborhood block.
• A facilitator: someone to hand out ribbons or T-shirts and tell humans and zombies when they can start.
• A map if the course if very involved.

The zombie chase is a race from a start line to a finish line. There are two teams: humans and zombies. Participants wear either orange or green ribbons to distinguish which group they belong to. You could also purchase green T-shirts (or any color if you find a good deal) for the zombies to wear. If you use ribbons, orange represents humans and green zombies. Zombies get extra zombie ribbons or T-shirts they’ll give to humans they infect.

Start with four humans to every one zombie. You’ll determine who will play which by a draw. To do this, you could put four orange ribbons to every green ribbon in a bowl. Participants close their eyes and randomly draw to see which team they will be on.

The object of the chase is for humans to make it from the start line to the finish line, gathering all the checkpoint flags along the way, without getting tagged by a zombie. Checkpoints are set throughout the race (see illustration for an example). Humans must visit each checkpoint to gather a colored flag (construction paper is fine, but you could also use cloth). Each checkpoint should have a different colored flag. The checkpoints are safe zones where zombies cannot attack humans.

In this zombie game, once a human has been tagged by a zombie, the virus acts fast. The zombie who tags the human gives the new zombie either a T-shirt or ribbon. This new zombie’s mission becomes infecting more humans.

All humans get a short head start (even just a few seconds). The amount of time for the head start is determined by the length of your race. The longer the race course, the more fun it will be. Organizing a zombie chase for your entire block or neighborhood is a great idea!

The first human to make it to the finish line with all of his or her checkpoint flags wins. The zombie wins if all humans become infected!

Don’t let the fun stop with this zombie game! See these other Halloween party games for kids and adults!

By Jennifer Scheffel of themed-party-ideas.com

For some people, Halloween is only a few months away and is something to look forward to. For a slightly smaller but no less enthusiastic group, the excitement lies less than a month after Halloween on November 19^th. At midnight on this day, several ecstatic kids, young adults (the O.G. fans) and even some older members of society will all gather at their local movie theater to see Part I of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – the first part of the last book in the Harry Potter series. This is a great way to celebrate this Halloween or even on the eve of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I premiere if you are a fan of Harry Potter.

If you are a big fan of Harry Potter, feel free to read on. If you only watch the films, SPOILER ALERT: reading on may spoil the last film for you!

I am a die-hard Harry Potter fan. Reading the books since the age of 9, I have literally grown up reading the series and watching the films. Now, at age 21, the films seem to be coming to a bittersweet end right along with my childhood. Although my cake art leaves something to be desired, I hope that this delicious baked treat idea will add some much needed fun and joy to a most beloved series, holiday and soon to be the end of a book series and film legacy.

I think this is a delicious treat for any Harry Potter themed Halloween party or as a great treat before heading off to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I premiere. I used basic yellow cake mix that I purchased at Stater Brothers; any cake mix will do though. Just make sure you love the flavor of cake that you decide on!

I chose to use Betty Crocker’s Hershey dark chocolate frosting as the last of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a dark one and, of course, because chocolate is delicious! I then used gel icing in green and black from Cake Mate to create 7 Horcrux decorations with the gel icing on each of 7 cupcakes. They are really a bit pathetic as I’m not the best cake artist and this gel icing is difficult for detail use. I recommend purchasing the detail gel icing from Michaels or any other local craft store because the quality is better. So if you’re a perfectionist, opt for a craft icing brand.

If you’re not a Harry Potter fan, this same treat idea can be applied to anything you like, any other series or show for Halloween or to traditional Halloween designs i.e. pumpkins, ghosts and witches. Any of those would work really well and be a lot of fun for adults and kids alike. Below are photos of the cupcakes and the meaning of each design.

Voldemort’s Seven Horcruxes

Each of these seven horcruxes, created by murder, holds a small piece of Voldemort’s soul. Top from the left to right: Lightning Bolt represents Harry Potter himself, the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, the Gaunt ring with the sign of the Hallows on it, and Nagini Voldemort’s snake. Bottom from the left to right: the Slytherin locket, Tom Riddle’s diary, and lastly, the Hufflepuff cup.

Horcrux #1: The Diary

Go ahead and laugh. I did. This was really fun to create, but obviously, LOL, the design was not what I had imagined. I hope you can do better than me. This is supposed to be Tom Marvolo Riddle’s diary. The same one destroyed in book #2 or film #2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Horcrux #2: Hufflepuff’s Cup

This is representation of Hufflepuff’s cup, stolen from Hepzibah Smith along with Slytherin’s locket.

Horcrux #3: Slytherin’s Locket

This is representation of Slytherin’s Locket, also taken by Tom Riddle (Voldemort) from Hepzibah Smith.

Horcrux #4: Gaunt’s Ring

Owned by the Grandfather of Tom Riddle (Voldemort), Marvolo Gaunt, this ring was taken by Tom Riddle (Voldemort). He killed them and took the ring.

Horcrux #5: The Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw

The Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, originally owned by Rowena Ravenclaw, was stolen by her daughter Helena, was hidden in Albania so her mother could never find it. Charmed by Tom Riddle (Voldemort) who she told of the diadem’s location, Tom Riddle then traveled to Albania where he transformed this priceless Ravenclaw heirloom into a horcrux. He then hid the horcrux within Hogwarts in the Room of Requirement.

Horcrux #6: Nagini

The origin of where Nagini came from is unknown, but the significance to the snake loved by Voldemort is in his ability to speak parseltongue. This is the ability to communicate with snakes.

Horcrux #7: Harry Potter

The lightning bolt represents the Boy Who Lived and the scar that has so defined much of his life. Many have guest and the last book and film confirm it: Harry Potter is the last horcrux. Unintentionally created by Voldemort the night Harry Potter’s parents were murdered. Even Voldemort does not know Harry Potter holds a piece of his soul within himself.

Any ideas what happened after I beautifully designed all of these lovely cupcakes?

This is what was left!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

1. Harry Potter Party

Enjoy this Halloween by dressing up as characters from the Harry Potter series! Deck your house out in Hogwarts type décor such as medieval style cutlery, plates and pick your favorite Hogwart’s House to help create a color theme for your party.

Example: Green and Silver for Slytherin House, Red and Gold for Gryfindor House, Blue and Bronze for Ravenclaw House and Yellow and Black for Huffelpuff House. This would make a great theme for kids or Harry Potter fans!

• Harry Potter party supplies from Shindigz

2. True Blood Bash

Have a bloody, sexy bash this Hallow’s Eve by having all of your guests come as the cast of True Blood. Make sure you get your staple characters: Eric Northman, Sookie Stackhouse, Bill Compton, Lafayette, Tara and Sam Merlott.

This is more a theme for adults, especially considering the content of the show itself (*clearing throat*). If your guests are over 21, feel free to serve deliciously bloody cocktails and serve Louisiana cuisine. You could also have a dual theme with faeries and vampires if you want to stir things up. This could broaden food and drink options. Whatever you do, enjoy and don’t drink and drive!

• Vampire costumes and party supplies from Buycostumes

3. Twilight Party:

If you’re a big fan of the Twilight saga, having a Twilight themed party may be the way to go. Dress up as Bella, Edward, Jacob and others this Halloween and serve saga inspired food and drink. Imagine a Bella Bloody Mary! If possible, consider having your party outside near some greenery to get the Forks, WA atmosphere. This party theme is suitable for all ages.

• Twilight party supplies from Buycostumes

4. Underworld Themed Party

Deck yourself and your guests out in leather and boots. Come equipped with fake weapons as Selene, Kraven, Lucian or Michael Corvinus. Silver and blue make a great color scheme for this! If possible, hold this party in a mansion or large house and dim the lights for that otherworldly effect.

5. Ferngully Fairy Dinner Party

Dress up in earth-friendly clothing and serve all raw foods and organics! Fruity cocktails and vegan or vegetarian foods. This is a great idea for people who are vegan or vegetarian and want to enjoy the evening in spite of a sometimes limited or strict lifestyle. Decorate your home in paper lanterns or hang up some string lights. Eat your delicious treats and drink on soft cushions or set up a picnic in the backyard.

A bonus environmental theme party would, of course, be Avatar. Check out a great Avatar theme party setup here.

6. Zombie Party

Turn your house into Zombie land, literally! Dress up as your favorite celebrity, historical figure or yourself, zombified. Serve decaying flesh (Spaghetti or Lasagna), a banana brain cake for desert, and Zombie cocktails!

7. Mysterious Masquerade Ball

Dress up in your finest on this special evening formal wear and match it with a Venetian mask! Cater for a high class meal and uptown cocktails. If you can, opt for renting out a banquet hall and orchestra for traditional waltzes and ballads. Also, check out a Phantom of the Opera theme party.

8. Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Are you an Alice in Wonderland fan? Love the Mad Hatter or Queen of Hearts? Have a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party complete with traditional tea wares, tea cakes, tailcoats and pinafores! Hang pastel paper lanterns and enjoy your party in the backyard on a picnic table with a blue picnic table. Whatever you do, be sure to serve a Un-Birthday Cake!

• Search for Alice in Wonderland supplies at Shindigz

9. We Are Sparta!

Enjoy a more traditional party theme and dress up as Greek Gods & Goddesses or the cast of Sparta. Drink wine, cheese and bread and rare luncheon meats. Enjoy them with blue and silver or red and gold theme décor. Have the movie 300 playing in the background.

• Look for Greek party supplies at Shindigz

10. Comics & Superheroes Party

Pick your favorite comic book character or super hero and decorate your house or a banquet hall in bright comic style colors! Theme your drinks to give your specific super hero abilities! Serve up some kryptonite for your enemies!

• View superhero party supplies at Buycostumes

Alcoholic & Non-Alcoholic

This Halloween is approaching quickly and like many, I love to dress up and either attend a party or host one of my own. Many ideas come to mind about what my costume will be, how to decorate my home and most importantly since I am over 21, what drinks to serve!

Although at best I can only be considered a social drinker, I love to enjoy thirst-quenching themed cocktails, non-alcoholic and alcoholic, on my most favorite holiday of the year. It’s for this very reason that I have collected a great list of my favorite drinks that can be enjoyed by anyone over 21 and some that may be enjoyed by all.

Although the directions and ingredients are listed, feel free to get creative and garnish your drinks with the ultimate complements: Gooey Flavored Eyeballs, Vampire Jelly Teeth, Flavored Slime, Etc.

Here is a great Halloween Shaker you can use to mix any or all of these dreadfully delicious drinks (I can’t find this available anymore, but check and see what Amazon has):

Scream Soda (Alcoholic)

This alcoholic cocktail will make you scream in delight! A nice amber colored drink filled with dark, mysterious spirits is perfect for your breaks in between dancing to the Monster Mash!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Oz. Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
• 5 Oz. Lemon Lime Soda

Directions: Combine all ingredients with ice into a tall glass and stir until mixed thoroughly. Garnish with small pieces of lemon and lime.

*Any lemon lime soda is fine; 7Up, Sprite or Sierra Mist work well or their Diet counterparts work well as a lower calorie alternative!

The Black Widow (Alcoholic)

Are you newly single due to the “untimely” death of your significant other? Was your lover tragically murdered? Are you dressed to kill? If so, this is the perfect cocktail for you! This is a great cocktail for all those who are murderously marvelous and looking for an extra stiff drink.

Ingredients:

• 2 Oz. Blavod Black Vodka, Chilled
• 3 Oz. Chilled Cranberry Juice

Directions: Fill a small martini glass (or your glass of choice) with ice. Pour the Cranberry Juice over the ice. Gently lay the Black Vodka over the juice. Serve.

*Garnish with marschino cherries soaked in corn syrup (simple syrup/agave nectar syrup are healthier alternatives) with red food coloring.

Swamp Water (Alcoholic)

Have you ever been lost in the swamp and coerced by faeries to drink the swamp water? Next thing you know, you and your friends wake up 3 days later underground, covered in vines and no recollection of how you got there? If you want a uniquely flavored drink that promises to take you up the beanstock and into a Grimm Faery Tale, this is the drink that will make it happen.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Oz. Spiced Rum
• 10 Fresh Mint Leaves
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• Juice of 1/2 a Lime
• 2 Oz. Club Soda
• Splash of your choice of Dark Cola

Directions: In a your glass of choice, combine the lime juice, mint and sugar. Smash together to bring out the mint’s juice and break up the leaves. Add ice to your glass, then pour the rum over the ice.Add club soda and cola to give it that slimey swamp flavor!

* Feel free to add your choice of Ghoulish Garnish such as Blackberries or whatever you like.

The Ghost (Alcoholic)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Oz. Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka
• 1/4 Oz. Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
• 1/4 Oz. Half & Half
• 1/4 Oz. Simple Syrup

Directions: Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake until mixed thoroughly and strain into your choice of glass.

* For extra fun, add white chocolate garnish to the rim of the glass and freeze your glass of choice to get the steamy, foggy effect.

Zombie Punch Bowl (Alcoholic)

Zombie punch is just like any average, everyday viral infection and it’s ready to turn all unsuspecting victims into flesh-eating zombies! Bring out your primal instincts this Halloween with Zombie Punch!

Ingredients:

• 2 Fifths Dark Rum
• 2 Fifths Light Rum
• 1 Fifth Bacardi 151 Rum
• 2 Pints Triple Sec
• 3 Quarts Lemon Juice
• 1 Quart Grenadine

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a large punch bowl or pitcher with ice. Let chill for an hour in a refrigerator without ice or out with ice. Make approximately 80 Servings.

Vampiro (Alcoholic)

The ultimate refreshment for any immortal creature of the night. No need to breathe, just down this drink to revitalize your energy and enliven your supernatural senses once again!

Ingredients:

Syrup:

• 2 Cups Sugar
• 2 Cups Water
• 1/4 Cup Dried Hibiscus Flowers
• 2 Inch slice of Ginger, unpeeled

Cocktail:

• 4 Cups White Tequila
• 2 Cups Lime Juice, Strained
• 1 Cup Triple Sec
• Cubes of Ice, As needed or desired
• Thin sliced Lime to be used as garnish

Directions:

For the Syrup: Bring all syrup ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Strain and refrigerate til chilled.

For the Cocktail: Combine the Tequila, 2 Cups Hibiscus Syrup, & Triple Sec in a pitcher. May be refrigerated a day ahead of time, then served the next day.

To Serve: Fill a shaker with ice and add vampiro cocktail as desired. Shake well. Strain and serve straight up or with ice and lime garnish.

Alice in Nightmareland Drink (Alcoholic)

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to take a trip down the rabbit hole? Have a delightful tea party with the one and only Mad Hatter? Now you can, with a dark twist! Experience the night life of Wonderland with this curious and curiouser cocktail!

Ingredients:

• 1 Part Blue Curacao
• 1 Part Jagermeister
• 1 Part Kahlua

Directions: Pour all ingredients over ice or into a shot glass.

Ghoulish Graveyard Punch (Non-Alcoholic)

Want to call spirits and ghouls to party with you and your kids on Hallow’s Eve? If not, you can still enjoy this delightfully green spritzer while watching scary horror flicks or hosting a family Halloween party! Whatever you do, this will be a ghoulishly great addition to your night!

Ingredients:

• Lime Slices
• 1 Liter of Lemon Lime Soda
• 5 Tablespoons of Lime Grenadine

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a pitcher  and serve over ice in single glasses or place all ingredients in a punch bowl for self serving.

Harry Potter Butterbeer (Non-Alcoholic)

I don’t know about you, but I am HUGE fan of Harry Potter! Millions of kids around are all big fans and with good reason. As a complement to any Harry Potter theme costumes or parties, this drink is sure to be a big hit! If nothing else, it tastes delicious and will bring a smile to any child’s face at the magic involved in this Harry Potter Butterbeer.

Ingredients:

• 1 Pint Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1/4 Cup Butter at room temperature
• 1/2 Teaspoon Butterscotch Extract
• 1/4  Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• 1 Quart Apple Cider
• Apple Slices (Optional)

Directions: Beat together ice cream, butterscotch extract, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon with a mixer until well distributed. Pour into a container and freeze. When ice cream mixture has refrozen, heat apple cider in a pan until steaming hot. Put one-three scoops of ice cream mix into a tall glass. Pour hot cider over ice cream mix and add apples if desired.

Alienade Drink (Non-Alcoholic)

This drink is out of your world! Literally. Made for humans and extraterrestrials alike and encompasses the greatest tastes in the milky way!

Ingredients:

• 1 8-12 Oz. Glass of Lemonade
• One Drop Blue Food Coloring
• One Drop Green Food Coloring
• Ice Cubes, as needed

Directions: Add ice cubes to a glass and pour desired lemonade into glass. Add one drop of Blue food coloring and one drop of Green food Coloring. Stir to distribute color. Enjoy!

While Halloween is always fun for adults, it’s the kids who absolutely delight in all things creepy and scary. Add to their fun this year, both at parties and just for some every day Halloween excitement, with these Spooky (and delicious) Snacks!

Ghost Cookies

• 20 Oreo Cookies
• 1 Tub Vanilla Frosting
• 60 chocolate chips

Spread a generous layer of frosting onto the top of each cookie, using your knife to draw off the excess in a ghostly “tail”. Add inverted chocolate chip eyes and mouth and plate up for some sweet scary fun!

Witches Hat Crispy Treats

• 2 cups puffed rice cereal
• 4 Milky Way or Mars Bars
• 1/2 cup butter
• Witch Hat Cookie Cutter

Melt the butter and candy bars in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the cereal and turn to coat completely. Pour the mixture into a lightly greased pan and press into the corners, making sure the surface is fairly smooth. Once the cereal bars are cool, cut out witches hats using a cookie cutter or simply cut into triangles with a sharp knife.

Mummy Dogs

• 8 Hot dogs
• 1 package crescent rolls

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Unroll the crescent rolls but do not separate the triangles. Instead, use a pizza cutter to cut 16 thin strips. Starting at the top of the hotdog, wrap one strip around, leaving a gap for the “face” and continue wrapping down the hotdog. Use a second strip of dough to wrap up in the opposite direction creating a criss-cross effect. Use a skewer to poke “eyes” before placing in the oven on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes or until the dough has turned golden.

Ice Cream Witches

• 1 tub mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 8 chocolate ice cream cones
• Black liquorice shoestrings
• Chocolate chips, jimmies and other small candies

Place a large, rounded scoop of ice cream onto each serving plate. Use the candies to create the “face” for the witch and the liquorice stings for hair. Top with an ice cream cone “hat” and serve up to your favorite little goblins!