Your Halloween party needs a bit of planning to be a success. Let's review the basics, and we'll explore a possible theme for your party.

Here is a suggested sequence of actions:

1- October 31: This is the official Halloween date, but are you sure your best friends will be around to celebrate with you? Before you plan anything, make a list of friends you want to invite over to your home, and call them just to see what their plans are.

If they already have planned something for this date, just pick October 29 or 30 to throw your bash. It's better to be a little ahead of the times, than to be celebrating alone in a spooky home on October 31!

2- Pick a theme: Contests are always a fave among party-goers. Let's say you will pick the "Halloween costume" theme for your contest.

The costumed contestants will compete in one or several categories: the best, the worst, the most extravagant, the most incredible, the ugliest, the most beautiful, the spookiest, the grungiest, the dirtiest, the sexiest,... the choice is theirs.

The good thing with organizing a costume contest is that it lightens up your load: you don't have to do all the work, your guests will do it for you!

3- Prepare your invitations: You need to invite people officially, and then call them to confirm.

To prepare for your contest, type up the categories, the rules, and the prizes. In this way, you tell your guests what to do, and what to expect (don't announce the prizes, they must remain a surprise).

Let's say your categories are the following:

* Most surprising Halloween costume

* Most extravagant Halloween costume

* Ugliest Halloween costume

* Spookiest Halloween costume

* Sexiest Halloween costume

The more friends you invite, the more categories you can create.

Now, type the rules: they must be easy to follow, and not too restrictive. You want your friends to use their imagination, and rules are not friendly to imagination.

Let's say your rule is:

*** Anything goes! Just don't show up naked.***

Now, let's decide on the prizes. They need not be expensive, or hard to find: lipstick for girls, car or motorcycle magazines for boys, bags of candies, packs of soda cans, a stationary set, the latest CD of a cool band, some book you liked, funny t-shirts, etc. Overall, prizes could cost you some $50-70.

Once all this is typed in, just print on a nice letterhead (you can shop for a Halloween special at Wal-Mart), and stuff this in envelopes, stamp them, and there you go!

One piece of advice though: don't just send the invitation and forget them. Call your guests, and ask them if they will come. And during the two weeks that precede Halloween, make sure they contribute to your party by asking them suggestions, and having them bring you little things to decorate, eat, drink, etc. Involving you friends in the making of the party will ensure they come on D-day.

4- Prepare to decorate your house: enroll your best friend to shop with you for suitable decorations. There are also many articles on the web on how to decorate your home for little or no money. If you've got the time, you can create most decorations yourself.

Black, dark red, dark blue, dirty green are the most obvious Halloween colors. Purple works well too. You obvisouly have to have Jack o' lanterns (10 bucks at your local church), some candles, a few gold stars to shine in the night, some fluo stuff, and lots of cotton to create the cobwebs.

If you have a little bit of money, a skeleton or two will do no harm to your stage. And ask your friends to contribute too by bringing some of their own decorations!

Lastly, you can buy a couple of blacklight bulbs to replace your regular bulbs. They run at about $22 a piece.

Then start decorating bit by bit, day after day, so that when Halloween Party day comes you are not in a rush.

5- A week before your Halloween monster party, stock up on crackers, soft drinks, apple cider, pumpkin bread, chocolate puddings, cookies, and lots of candy.

6- Prepare a CD selection, and get some of your friends to bring you theirs too. Mark CD cases and the CDs themselves with little stickers just to remember what belongs to whom. Make a list of the CDs which were lent to you, so that you can give them back to their owners after the party.

7- A couple of days before your Halloween party, stow away those things you want to make sure won't get broken. Even if you don't serve alcohol during your party (this is definitely NOT recommended), things can get broken when people dance, play, and just move around.

8- Don't forget to buy paper cups and plates, and have boxes of tissues and napkins handy.

9- Get your friends to suggest party games all along the weeks before the party. Parties are more fun with games. So create a list of games you will offer your guests to play as the night unfolds.

10- Have the best Halloween party ever!

Below this article, you will find interesting costume ideas for Halloween.

All these costumes can be purchased at discounted prices here.