Some ideas for a Halloween party.

We are getting closer and closer to Halloween, I always like to do something to celebrate it. It can be a themed party or just a spooky small reunion with some close friends. For me it's not about how big the party can be, it's about details and having a good time.

Here are a few ideas for Halloween parties or reunions.

* Budget: This is the main thing when it comes to planning a party, make a guest list and a list of everything you'll need for the party. What are you gonna serve (food and drinks), favors, and decoration.

* Find a theme: It's always good to have an idea of the theme you want for the party, it's a good start to work on decoration, music an of course, food and drinks.

* Invitations: It's important to let your guest know everything about the event. Time and place, if they have to arrive with a costume, etc. You can be super creative with invitations and can go from the usual cards with creepy messages to themed candies or boxes with themed stuff inside. It all depends on your budget. A cheap way to do this could be sending online invitations with an original (and very creepy) design.

* Decoration: You don't have to spend a LOT of money to create a Halloween-ish atmosphere. Now that you have a theme picked (haunted house, zombie party, pumpkin carving, etc) it's time to transform the place. You can welcome your guests with a small Graveyard outside your house. My sister and I used to create our own a few years ago and it's fun!

One of the easiest ways to decorate is to go for the Haunted House look. Think of ways to lend a spooky touch to everything. From blood, to fake spiders and old-looking framed photos. Lighting is important! Temporarily replace your normal light bulbs for red, orange, purple or black ones. This will create a darker look to the room. Candles also look great on a dinning table!

Cover your furniture with white fabric to give an old abandoned house look. You can "age" fabric staining it with tea bags, you can also splash some fake blood all over to make it look creepier. If your budget allows you, you can go to Halloween stores, I'm sure you'll find awesome things to decorate your party. I keep buying stuff every year! * Food and desserts: Here's one of my favorite parts of having a party or reunion, themed food. There are tons of cool Halloween recipes online. One of my favorite sites for that is http://razzledazzlerecipes.com/ where you can find food and desserts for every occasion. * Drinks and cocktails: http://drinknation.com has a long list of themed drinks and cocktails. Make sure to check it out to make some yummy and spooky drinks for your guests. * Games and activities: There are tons of fun things to do in a Halloween party. Costume contest is always fun, you can also try Halloween pictionary, Horror movie trivias, telling ghost stories, watching horror movies, Pumpkin haunt (I love this one) or even crafts. (I've tried those and it's a lot of fun.) * Gifts or favors: Halloween to me is as big as Christmas, so I always like to give gifts to the people I invite to the party or reunion. You can be as creative as you want here. It can be a graft, candies, Halloween stuff, masks, something related to the theme of your party, etc. * Music: This is always important, create your Halloween playlist. Don't forget to include some horror movies soundtracks like The Exorcist or A Nightmare on Elm Street and some classics like "Thriller" or "Ghost Busters" Have a fun Halloween celebration y'all! X (thanks to my sister Mayis for the "zombie me" drawing!)