1) Invitations: Before even thinking about delightfully alarming food and decorations for your party, you need to invite your ghoulish guests! The classic pen and paper invitations are very charming and personal, but in this day and age, emailed invites are a lot more common. Here is a link to some Halloween-themed invitations from Evite that will excite your guests: http://www.evite.com/gallery/category/halloween/.

2) Decorations: Go all out for the night of the 31st! Party City and Spirit of Halloween stores are great places for some frightening decorations. If you would like more toned-down and not-so-scary adornments, you can visit your local grocery store and buy cool-looking squash and pumpkins for the center of your table and around your house. A tablecloth with Halloween colors is also a good idea. Light some candles and turn off the lights if you would like a creepier atmosphere. Set the table with Halloween plates, which you can also purchase at your local grocery store, for a terrifying table setting, not to mention easy clean-up!

3) Food: Whatever you serve your guests should be warm to compensate for the chilly Colorado weather in late October. It’s a good idea to have a meal that is seasonal. For example, use “warm spices” (these include nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and other spices) and different squashes in your cooking. Chili is always a go-to for Halloween parties if you don’t have any other ideas. It is the perfect dish to warm your stomach and you can have all different types of toppings so your guests can personalize their dining experience. Here’s a tip: to add spookiness to your food selection, label your food, in a Halloween font, as something scary or gross. For example, cilantro could be called “unlucky clovers”. And for the most important part, desert, of course! Pumpkin bread or spice cake are dreadfully delicious and can be baked into single servings easily in a cupcake tin. Decorate with orange and black frosting and some candy corn for a super scary Halloween treat. Trick-or-treating candy for your guests would also be a delight. For a seasonal drink that will warm chilled bones, check out http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooker-cider for a devilishly delicious and eerily easy apple cider recipe.

4) Activities: There are many fun activities that can be enjoyed at a Halloween party. Bobbing for apples, scary scavenger hunts, and Mafia are a few fun games. A costume contest is also a good idea if you would like your guests to dress up for your event, and pumpkin carving is a good way to have your guests contribute to the decorative ambience of your party. Scary movies or scary stories are always a must at any All Hallow’s Eve celebration.

5) Favors: An easy frightful favor to give to your guests something to remember their fun time at your Spookily Sensational Halloween Party is to buy Halloween-themed favor bags from either Michael’s or Hobby Lobby and fill it to the brim with candy. Another option is to get Halloween-themed party favors from a Halloween store or from Party City. Here’s how to make a fun, home-made Halloween party favor:
Step One: cut a pice of orange tissue paper into a circle (you can choose the size).
Step Two: put some candy or party favors in the center of the circle.
Step Three: pull the edges of the tissue paper to the center of the circle (so all the candy is covered).
Step Four: tape the gathered up edges of tissue paper together with green tape.
Step Five: your finished product should look like a little candy-filled pumpkin! If so desired, you can decorate your pumpkins with markers or stickers. Hand out to your friends and make sure to enjoy one yourself!

Happy party-planning, and have a horribly terrifyingly happy Halloween!