Halloween will soon be upon us, and if you are like me you are thinking that this holiday just isn’t for kids anymore.  I have been thinking that this year I will let the kids have their fun…and then I will have mine.   What could be more fun for grown-ups than to dress up in costumes and be on semi-bad behavior for a night?  I have put together a few ideas that I have rattling around to make my party both memorable and easy to pull off. 

First off, I am getting the invitations out early so that all my friends have time to plan their wild costumes. To get them pumped up, I am offering prizes for various themes. Some of the prize categories are: Most sexy costume, most scary, most creative and most unrecognizable wearer, etc. The prizes will be simple and funny and definitely adult-themed. This will help get everyone laughing and into the party spirit.

Decorations don’t need to be elaborate.  I am planning on using a lot of cobwebs, colored light bulbs for a spooky effect, and traditional Halloween wares such as lit Jack-O-Lanterns, etc.   My appetizers will be finger foods with a Halloween theme.  Some ideas that I have are “bat wings” (Hot wings) and Brain dip (hot artichoke dip) served with Bat chips (tortilla chips).  Make sure you label the items accordingly for that extra Halloween panache.  I plan on making a delicious alcoholic punch vamped up with food coloring to make it look a little more sinister.  Jell-O shots made with Halloween themed molds will also be offered.  If you don’t have one of these molds, shot glasses can be used instead.  Be sure to add a gummy worm in each glass for a creepy effect. 

As far as games go, we will start with the traditional “bobbing for apples” that are floating in red water (food coloring added to the water to make it look bloody.) Some people have substituted baked beans for the water to amp up the grossness quotient.  Passing a mini-pumpkin boy-girl-boy-girl from under the chin to under the chin will then get things warmed up.  Other games that I have planned include sort of a Fear Factor themed game with no “eating” involved only “feeling” various creepy things.  Some of the items might include peeled grapes (eyeballs), spaghetti (guts), uncooked liver (heart) Ketchup (blood), a damp glove filled with JELL-O (dead hand) and a Dried Apricot (ear) etc.  The idea is to have each person reach into every bowl to feel each item and see how many of them can be recalled afterward.  The gross-out factor of feeling these weird items is outstanding even though the items themselves are pretty harmless.   Make sure you have some hand-wipes around for clean up, that is really important.  If my guests are feeling a bit rowdy a round or 2 of Twister in costumes could get really interesting depending on what costumes everyone is donning.  At some point in the evening I will turn on the movie HALLOWEEN.  The rules of this game state that every time you see “JASON”…you have to down an eyeball (or other) shot. 

All in all, with a little careful planning (including designated drivers) your Halloween party should be a huge success.  It’s like I always say…”Ghouls just want to have fun!”