How to Have an Adult Halloween Party

Halloween conjures up images of children dressed as ghosts and goblins running through the streets in search of candy and sugar. Even though you aren't a child anymore, Halloween doesn't have to be lost and forgotten. More adults are throwing Halloween parties just for the heck of it. It is a great excuse to get your friends together, with or without the kids. Here are a few guidelines to help organize your next ghoulish gathering.

Instructions

1. Encourage everyone to dress in costume. Everybody loves dressing up, from the young to the old. The great thing about putting together a costume as an adult, however, is that you have more resources, and more points of reference. Definitely encourage your guests to, not only dress up in costume, but also get creative and esoteric with their costume choices. Part of the fun with wacky, think-outside-the-box Halloween costumes is watching the other guests figure out the different costumes. It can be as simple as strapping a red colored foam rectangle to your neck and going as a "you-shaped" Pez dispenser, to something more detail oriented like getting you and your significant other to dress like Sonny and Cher. Give a prize to the person with the most wacky, off the wall costume.

2. Provide refreshments. Halloween isn't just about candy bars and gummy bears once you have grown up. You can take the Halloween refreshments idea and go in any direction. If you like cooking and entertaining, think of it as another excuse to show off some of your kitchen skills, with a themed twist. Make a signature cocktail for the evening, and be sure to have plenty of ingredients for it on hand. A great shot to make is "The Floating Brain." Pour one part lime juice and one part Midori over ice and strain into a large shot glass. Pour one part Bailey's Irish Cream into the glass and top with a drizzle of grenadine syrup. You'll have an edible (and very adult) scary signature drink.

3. Make the party nostalgic. When decorating, think kitsch. Nothing puts people in the mood for a holiday like Halloween than remembering how much fun it used to be when they were little. Unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas, where sometimes people have bad past experiences that they don't like to dwell on, Halloween is all about pure fun and indulgence. Take a quick trip to your local drug store and peruse the Halloween aisle. You'll be sure to find some products on the market that were available when you were little. If nothing rings a bell, check out an online auction site and type in "Vintage Halloween." You'll most likely get thousands of products, many of which will take you back in time to Halloweens long since past. Put up some of the things you find when decorating for the party. They will be sure to start a lot of conversations.

4. Provide adult Halloween themed games. Games are a cornerstone of any Halloween party. Take some of the classics and make them more competitive by giving a door prize to the winner. Bobbing for apples is a great game that everyone will remember, and it's even more fun when you split everyone into teams. Have a Halloween themed drinking game. Put on a classic horror movie, and make everyone do a shot or take a drink whenever a victim in the movie gets killed, or whenever the tell tale theme music plays. This will be fun for everyone, especially those who love horror movies. Anything that reminds your guests of how much fun they had during Halloween as a child will be sure to entertain and delight everyone in attendance.