Top 16 Best Halloween Party Ideas: Food, Costumes, & More

​​Graveyard Parfaits

Here is a sweet treat that you can serve your guests. You will need

• 1 can of evaporated milk
•  pumpkin puree (1 can)
• 1 box of instant vanilla pudding
• cinnamon (1 teaspoon) 
• ½ of an 8 ounce container of cool whip
• 1 package of Oreos, crushed
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter
• 8 Milano cookies
• Handful chocolate chips

To make the pudding, you will need to combine the evaporated milk, pumpkin puree, and put it in a bowl to mix it. Once it’s smooth, refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Add the cinnamon and cool whip. Then put it back in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.

Set aside the crushed Oreos until you are ready to serve.

​To make the gravestone cookies, you will need to put the Milano cookies on a baking sheet. Melt chocolate in the microwave and put it in a plastic bag. Cut a small hole in the corner and write out RIP on the cookie.

​Halloween Popcorn Treats

Here’s some finger ​​food that both kids and adults will like. It’s easy to make too. You will need

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1/3 of a cup popcorn kernels
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• mini marshmallows (6 cups)
• 6 fun size caramel peanut chocolate bars cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 3 3 inch chocolate chip cookies crumbled
• 1/3 cup of chopped salted almonds
• ½ cup of orange and black chocolate candy

​To start, spray a large mixing bowl and baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray. In a 3 quart or larger pan, heat the oil and popcorn over medium-high heat. Cover the pan and shake gently. Cook until all the kernels are popped.

In a medium sized pan, heat the butter over a low heat and add the vanilla extract and marshmallows. Stir until they have melted and everything is smooth.

Pour the mixture over the popcorn and using a spatula, stir until the popcorn is coated. Then put the whole thing on the baking pan and add the chocolate, cookies, almonds, and candy in.

​Let it dry for an hour and you’re done.

​Mummy Hot Dogs

Here’s something more savory among all the sweets. You will need

• 1 16 ounce package of bun size hot dogs, each cut in half
• 2 ounces of cheddar cut into 16 thin slices
• kosher salt (½ teaspoon)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• freshly ground black pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
• 8 sheets of phyllo dough
• 4 ounces of unsalted butter melted
• Any dipping sauce of choice

​Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut slits into the hot dogs and add a slice of cheese, then set it aside.

Next, combine the salt, garlic powder, and pepper in a small bowl.

Work with one sheet of phyllo at a time, lay it down on a cutting board and lightly brush it with melted butter. Then lightly sprinkled the spice mix and fold it in half lengthwise. Brush the top with more butter and cut it into ½ inch thick strips.

With 2 pieces of stuffed hot dogs for every phyllo sheet, wrap the strips around each hot dog to create the mummy look.

​Repeat until everything is done. Then set it in the oven for around 25 minutes.

​Spider Web Guacamole

Can’t have a party without chips and dip. Get spooky with this recipe. You’ll need

• 4 cups of guacamole
• ¼ cup of Mexican cream or sour cream
• Lime juice, if needed
• 2 pitted black olives
• Blue corn tortilla chips
• 1 firm avocado, skin on

To create the spider web, you will need to put a round bowl on a platter. Fill the bowl with the guacamole and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula. Fill a squeeze bag or pastry bag with Mexican cream or sour cream.

​Pipe 2 circles onto the guacamole. Using a knife or skewer, pull lines from the center circle out, creating the web pattern.

To create the spider, slice 1 olive in half lengthwise and use one of the halves for the body. Cut 8 spider legs from the remaining olives. Put the spider on the web and spread out the chips.

​To create the skull, you will need to carve a face out of the avocado.

​Blood Orange Blackberry Rum

This is a great drink for a punch bowl and the color scheme will set the mood. You will need

• 1 cup of chilled blood orange juice
• 4 chilled natural blackberry sodas
• 1 cup of rum
• ¼ cup of fresh lime juice
• 1 cup of fresh blackberries
• 1 blood orange thinly sliced

​It’s super easy to make. You just mix all the ingredients together and stir. Then you add the blackberries and blood orange slice to each glass and you’re done.

​Candy Corn Jell-O Shots

Here is a fun and festive drink. You will need

• 1 small box of orange flavored Jell-O
• 3 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin
• 7 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of vanilla or cake vodka
• yellow food coloring
• Tall shot glasses

To start, you are going to make the first and last layer. Pour 1 cup of water in a small saucepan and add 2 packets of unflavored gelatin. Warm the water and gelatin over low heat and stir it occasionally. Do this until the gelatin is dissolved.

Remove the pan and add half the can of condensed milk. Stir it until everything combines. Then add 2/3 cup of vanilla vodka. Cover that and set it aside.

​Evenly spread the first half of your mixture throughout the shot glasses to a third of the way. Then refrigerate them until it’s firm.

Once the layer is firm, pour another cup of water into the saucepan and add a packet of gelatin to make your middle layer. Repeat the process, and this time add the box of orange Jell-O, and wait until it’s dissolved as well. Add a third cup of vanilla vodka.

Then pour that mixture over the first layer and refrigerate again.

Now you grab your milk mixture that you put aside and add some yellow food coloring. Then add that as the final layer and touch

​Poison Apple Punch

A poison apple is a classic symbol with Halloween. You can have fun with your friends by serving them this drink. This is a drink that can also be made sober. You need

• 4 thick slices peeled fresh ginger
• 6 cups of apple cider
• Zest of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 red apple sliced into 8 wedges
• Gummy worms
• 1 750 ml bottle of sparkling cranberry apple juice
• 1 cup of cinnamon whiskey

To start, you need to smash the ginger slices and put them in a medium saucepan. Add the apple cider, orange zest, lemon zest, cinnamon sticks, and cloves.

Bring it to a simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Then strain it through a sieve into a pitcher. Let it cool to room temperature, then put it in the fridge for 1 hour.

Poke holes in the apple wedges with a chopstick or skewer and insert a gummy worm in it. Add the cranberry apple juice and whisky to the punch. If you prefer sober, skip the whisky.

 Serve it over ice and garnish it with the apples.

​Brew-Ha-Ha Punch

This is a drink that has no alcohol in it. This will be great if kids are in the mix at the party. You will need

• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 quarts of water
• 2 envelopes of lime drink mix
• 1 can of pineapple juice
• 1 quart of ginger ale

Stir together the sugar and 2 quarts of water until the sugar is gone. Then stir the rest of the ingredients in and keep it cool.

​If you want an extra spooky presentation, put the punch bowl into a bigger one and add dry ice to the bigger bowl.

​TV and Movie Characters

​Iconic Figures

​Animals

​Creatures

​Costume Contest

image via P​​exels

Sometimes the magic of Halloween gets lost as people age. Encourage your friends to dress up in costumes by having a costume contest.

You can have categories like Most Scary, Cutest Costume, Best Couple Costume, and the like. If you want to go even further, you can create your own trophies. There’s a great tutorial on Make It Love It for some Halloween trophies.

​Play Games

​Playing games can bring some magic to the party. Find Halloween themed games that everyone can enjoy. Games don’t have to be just for kids.

​Party Favors

​Remember when you were a kid and you would get a bag of goodies at the end of a party? Why not bring that back? Give your guest a bag of candy or small toys as they make their way out the door.

image via Pexels

​Have a Theme

​Instead of having a general Halloween party, create a themed one. You can go with a scary movie theme, haunted house, or a monster party. Do a Google search and see what others have done and if you can come up with one of your own.