Planning a Halloween Party

If the thought of draping orange and black crepe paper around the house is not quite enough to enliven your inner ghoul, you may find some inspiration from the Halloween Fright site, hosted by Disney. One suggestion: the House-to-Haunted-House Party, where neighbors get together to create a spooky, three-part adventure for community kids. Another option is the Slimy Halloween Party, which involves activities like zombie tag, spider relays and a slime pit. 

For a look at Halloween-themed events for both adults and children, visit the Planning a Halloween Party section of findingDulcinea’s Halloween Web Guide for useful links. A must-see: HGTV’s Halloween features. Halloween-inspired food, decorations, and other tips for entertaining your Halloween guests can all be found on HGTV.

If you’re going to throw a party for Halloween, it’s not enough just to dress up—you have to dress your house up as well. Luckily, you don’t have to spend a fortune or tempt fate by climbing on your roof to put up expensive decals. Better Homes and Gardens magazine’s Halloween feature shows you how to make festive lights and wreaths and decorate pumpkins that will spruce up any home in an affordable, safe way.

No holiday planning would be complete without some inspiration from the doyenne of craftiness. Martha Stewart’s Halloween Ideas are eerily pretty and hauntingly perfect. Plan and execute an enviable event with the step-by-step directions for decorations, cards, games and activities. Be sure to check out Martha’s recipe and costume suggestions, too.

Find a wealth of fresh recipe and menu ideas in the All Recipes Halloween section, where creative users submit their favorite holiday concoctions. A wide range of cakes, cookies, Halloween-themed cocktails and caramel apple recipes are available with pictures and user reviews.

For most people, Halloween night is one sustained sugar high. But there are plenty of tasty, festive foods outside the dessert category. Appropriately themed dishes can be made from wholesome staples like beets, black beans, cheddar cheese, salmon and, of course, pumpkin. The Food Network’s Halloween Web page offers lots of Halloween-themed entrees, appetizers and desserts so that you can throw a well-rounded party for all palates.

Real Simple provides Essentials for Hosting a Pumpkin-Carving Party, with all the facts you should know before you and your guests (or kids) start making jack-o’-lanterns, including how to choose a pumpkin, how to carve it and how to make it last.

Once you’ve gutted your jack-o’-lantern, be sure to make use of its tasty innards. The pumpkin recipes at Epicurious range from sweet to savory, light to hearty and simple to complex. Each recipe comes with insightful user reviews. (Beware! Before you start cooking, make sure that your pumpkin is edible: not all of the decorative varieties are as good for eating as they are for carving.)