Having a Halloween party is a time-honored tradition. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a grown-up or a child; everyone enjoys dressing up in costume to celebrate this spooky holiday. Almost as much fun is decorating the house to make it appear “haunted.” What follows are some ideas for having a Halloween party.

Make the house scary inside and out. Hang phony cobwebs from trees and porches, along with some plastic spiders, rats and bats. Make or purchase a pretend coffin and place it on the lawn with the lid open and a corpse inside. Some families even choose to have a living corpse to scare trick-or-treaters!

Every Halloween party needs pumpkins, right? Carve some jack o’ lanterns and place lighted candles inside – keep them away from the cobwebs and other items that ignite easily! String mini orange and black twinkle lights all around to add to the effect, and don’t forget the fog machine! Cardboard tombstones will complete the look.

Keep the inside dark, but light the way with candles, purple and red light bulbs and orange twinkle lights. Cover the furniture with white sheets to make them look like those in a deserted house. Hang cobwebs with spiders from the corners, and stuff a pair of jeans and a shirt to make them look like a corpse. Black, orange and purple helium balloons can be hung from the ceiling to make the Halloween party atmosphere festive. Don’t forget the spooky music!

The best part about hosting a Halloween party is having the guests arrive in costume. To ensure your guests go all out with their Halloween party costumes, arrange to give out prizes to the best dressers. Perhaps you can have categories such as “scariest costume” or “most glamorous costume,” with one grand prize for the all around winner. All of your guests can vote on their favorites.

You’ll also want to provide food and beverages at your Halloween party. Some ideas include:

• Pumpkin cookies, pies and bread
• Spinach dip inside a pumpkin shell or empty gourd
• Chocolate cake shaped like a witch’s hat or black cat
• Drinks served with ice cubes featuring plastic bugs or fake body parts frozen inside

For some great ideas for Halloween party fun and games, visit your local library. Books abound with decorating tips, recipes and things to do. The Internet is also a great place to find ideas, many of them inexpensive. Soon you won’t be able to decide what’s most fun, planning a Halloween party or attending one!