Invitations:
You can really get creative here and make your invites in the shape of something Halloween themed! You could stick with something classically 'spooky' such as a bat or a pumpkin. Another good idea is a tombstone, which is fun but also quite simple to make. Try and come up with a fun slogan or pun to use on the invites too. There are so many different ideas you could use, so let your mind wander. A fun, original invitation means people will think the party will be fun and original too! Don't forget to put all the essential details on! You don't want the party to roll around and have nobody come because you forgot to put the address on the invites! Also, it's a good idea to ask for an rvsp so you can estimate how many people will be coming, making it much easier to decide how much food to make etc

Number of Guests:
The more the better! Though of course, make sure you only invite people you know who are nice and fun and wont cause any trouble. The more people you invite, the easier it will be to play games. Plus, with more guests there will always be someone to talk to, and the party will be much more lively!

Decorations:
You can get creative again here or keep it simple. If you want traditional decorations, just head to a party store and you're sure to find a bunch of suitable decorations. Or if you're a dab hand at art, you could make the decorations. Not only is this cheaper, but it's a lot more fun. You could rope in a few friends to help too and you'll be enjoying yourself even before the party begins.

What to wear:
Well, costumes of course! However, it's up to you to decide whether the guests should just wear Halloween themed outfits e.g ghost, witch, or give everyone the chance to wear any fancy dress costume they choose. Again, you can decide whether you make your own costume or buy/rent one.

Food:
Don't be boring and stick with the same old mini sausages and cheese on a stick. Have fun in the kitchen conjuring up some disgusting looking, but just as tasty treats:

1. Strained Eyeballs?

6 hard boiled eggs?
6 oz Whipped cream cheese?
7 oz Green olives -- with pimientos?
Red food coloring??

Peeleggs cut in half lengthwise. Remove the discard yolks. Fill the holes with cream cheese. Press an olive into each cream cheese eyeball, pimiento facing up, for an eerie green iris and startling red pupil! For a final touch, dip the tip of a toothpick in red food coloring and draw broken blood vessels in the cream cheese.

2. Bat Sandwiches

White Bread
Mustard
Prosciutto, thinly sliced
Monterey jack cheese, thinly sliced

Spread slices of bread with mustard and layer with prosciutto and jack cheese to make sandwiches. Use a bat-shaped cookie cutter to make cut-outs out of completed sandwiches. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

3. Brittle Meringue Bones??
3 large egg whites?
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar?
1/8 tsp.salt?
2/3 cup white sugar?
1/2 tsp.vanilla??
Preheat oven to 200F. Line cookie sheet with brown paper bag or parchment. In a medium sized bowl at high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt till fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add vanilla. Place in pastry bag fitted with a medium plain piping tip. Pipe 3" bone shapes onto parchment or brown paper bag. Bake 1 hour until set. Turn off oven, dry in oven 1 hour. Be sure to store in airtight containers or they will become soggy. Makes 4 to 5 dozen small finger-sized bones.

There are so many recipes to choose from. Search the internet to find even more!

Activities:
So you've got the invitations and decorations sorted. That's all very well, but there's no point in making your house look amazing if when you're guests arrive, you've got no activities planned!

1. Apple Bobbing
It may be old, but it's still a great game, and is hilarious to both play and watch! Here are the rules if you're not familiar with how to play:

You will need:
A large tub/container
Water
Apples

Fill the tub with the water and float some apples in it. Then playing in pairs, take it in turns to race to be the first one to grab an apple from the tub only using your mouth. Alternatively, fill the tub with flour and use sweets instead of apples. Then take it in turns and see who can pick up all the sweets using only their mouth in the quickest time. Don't forget your camera to catch your friends looking stupid!

2. Costume contest
Everybody loves looking at what everyone else has come dressed as, so why not turn it into a bit of a contest? At the end of the night, you could have a little ceremony and hand out an award for the best costume. If you want to include more people, you could award a few other titles, such as best dancer, and best game player.

3. Something a lot of teenagers love to do all year round is watch Horror movies, but at Halloween it's a necessity! Turn the lights down low, and put on the scariest film you can find. It could be a classic like Silence of The Lambs, or a more modern film such as 1408, just make sure it's terrifying.

4. And off course, it wouldn't be a party without a bit of dancing! So make a playlist of upbeat, danceable tracks that will get everybody on their feet and dance the night away! If you want to keep the Halloween theme running even through the music, here are a few suggestions:

-Bobby Pickett - Monster Mash
-Michael Jackson - Thriller
-Rockwell - Somebody's watching me
-DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince - Nightmare on my street
The Rocky Horror Picture Show - The Time Warp

Voila! All the essentials for an awesome party. Enjoy!

Resources:
Family Corner
Britta
Food Network