Chillin' with Your Ghoul Friends

Ghosts and goblins and witches oh my! Throwing a great halloween party is easy and affordable especially when you start early and make a plan.

The first step is to determine your guest list. Generally 8 to 20 guests make an ideal party. Remember that everyone you invite will not likely be able to attend so if you want to have 12 guests at your party, invite a few extra. Decide on a theme for your party. For example, you could have a ghoul's gone wild party with 8 of your best girlfriends.

A signature cocktail drink is always great, and don't forget the decorations which can include inexpensive cob webs draped around your existing props like candle holders and lamps. AndersRuff makes some adorable printables including a free printable sign. For cocktail glasses and halloween napkins, you can find a variety of styles through Working Girls Inc.

The food can really be the hit of the party. The Blog Super Punch has a lot of great ideas including Spider Cakes, Eerie Eyeballs and my personal favorite bread and Nutella mummies!

Lastly, don't forget to set the music and mood whether that's playing a mix of the monster mash or you decide to fire up your DVD and have a number of Stephen King movies on a loop. Your party is sure to be spooktacular.

Tonja Steel is the co-owner of Working Girls Design and counts Halloween as her absolute favorite holiday.