Halloween is a great reason to throw a party. It’s so much fun to choose a costume, and the opportunity to experiment with fun food and drink is endless. But if you want to avoid the same boring pumpkin and witch-themed decor, try these tips!

Try a terrifying theme.
Selecting a theme can not only help you narrow down your menu and decorating needs, it can help guests more easily come up with a costume to wear. With a vampire theme, for instance, you could encourage guests to dress as their favorite fanged villain from pop culture, serve a deep berry punch, and make blood-spattered decorations.

Offer hands-on activities.
Any great Halloween party needs some frightening games to go along with it. You don’t need to get overly complicated, but some exciting, hands-on activities, like a blindfolded guessing game, for instance, is perfect for both kids and adults.

Take a trip back in time.
Want to go the old-fashioned route? Throw a classic Halloween party, complete with bobbing for apples, traditional treats, such as trifles and cakes, and eighteenth-century costumes. Break out the powdered wigs—you’ll want to party like it’s 1799.

Crank up the competition.
Encourage guests to go all out with their costumes by offering a reward for the best! You can break the contest into categories: best dressed, spookiest, funniest, most creative, etc. It will be a blast to see what kinds of outfits people come up with!