Nightdrinks on Elm Street - A Halloween Cocktail Party

If you'd like to do some informal Halloween entertaining, a Halloween cocktail get together is a great solution. And here are the precise steps you can take to make it frightfully fun!

Step #1: Your Attitude

Forego all feelings associated with socially acceptable conduct.

Step #2: Cocktails

This is not the occasion to offer modest small portions of white wine - unless of course you've slipped a plastic worm or spider in the glass first. There are a few fun and yummy Halloween vintages out there. To name a few:

* Zelda the Zin Witch Zinfandel

* Vampire Vineyards Syrah and Zinfandel

* Vampire Wines Pinot Grigio, Cabernet, Pinot Noir and Merlot

* and perhaps the most unique -- Poizin from Armida Winery, a Zinfandel with a label etched with a blood red skull and crossbones and a bottle top dipped in a haunting blood-red candle wax, presented in a wood coffin-shaped box.

In the cocktail drink department, maintain the creepiness aspect with a green witch's brew served in martini glasses - and don't skimp on the fake eyeballs and skeleton swizzle stirs. Melon liqueur and vodka or Appletinis work well for this. Or there's also a Vampyre Red Vodka produced for just such an occasion as this. For designated drivers as well as other guests who would prefer nonalcoholic refreshment, virgin Bloody Marys and perhaps blood- red fruit punch offered in a bowl packed in dry ice make excellent alternatives. Just don't allow dry ice to have contact with any skin, and make certain none of it gets into anybody's drink. You may also want to put some dry ice in metal tubs of water in the driveway or entryway to produce a foggy, underworld welcome for your visitors as they arrive. Get lots of tips for using dry ice online by typing in "dry ice Halloween party ideas" into your favorite search engine.

Step #3: Food

It's not necessary to go over the top on the Halloween party theme with regards to snacks, but make sure you keep it fun. Some ideas are:

* Mummy Dogs: Crescent rolls wrapped around hot dogs and baked in the oven

* Bones & Blood: Bread dough cut in strips and formed into a bone shape and baked, served with a marinara sauce dip

* Cheesy Fingers: String cheese, cut in half with an almond sliver embedded in one end to simulate fingernails

* Dirt & Worms: Chocolate pudding with gummy worms hidden inside and crumbled Oreos on top

* Nutty Ghosts: Nutter Butter cookies dipped in white chocolate with mini chocolate chips for eyes

There's tons of ideas for party food on the Internet. Just search for something like "Halloween party food'

Step #4: Décor

Cocktail parties are usually for mingling, so don't believe you need to provide a 1:1 guest-to- seat ratio. Bar or bistro tables with tall chairs or barstools work nicely along with a couch and a few scattered chairs. With all the lights turned down low, candles are must-haves - including candlesticks and sconces with battery-operated flickering flames which lend to the haunted-house atmosphere. Spread fancy face masks, skulls along with other Halloween staples like spiders, skulls and ghosts on walls and tables through the entire party area.

Step #5: Entertainment

Set a spooky mood with scary music as well as horror movies playing continually through the entire evening (possibly the scariest movies of all time: The Exorcist, Psycho, and Bram Stoker's Dracula). Encourage your guests to wear their best Halloween costumes. For those who come unprepared, put out a big basket or trunk full of Halloween masks costumes for them to check out and try on behind a folding screen. Up the spooky quotient by having a gypsy fortuneteller sitting behind a curtain and you'll have yourself one hair-raising frightening night to remember.

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