Throwing the best Halloween bash ever may sound like a scary feat, but inviting some pals over for a rocking’ Hallow’s Eve party shouldn’t cause your blood to curdle.

From luring invitations to draconian decor and enough devilish drinks to make your party guests scream with delight, this complete guide to putting on a Halloween party is sure to impress even the haughtiest of harlequins.

We’re starting with the essentials — food, booze and music — but stay tuned tomorrow for creative ideas for invitations and decor. (You know, those little extra touches.) After all, a good party is all in the (fun, affordable) details.

The Drinks

First things first … we gotta’ get some drinks. When boos and booze get together, things can get scary, which is why this list of delicious cocktail recipes has a range of options, from non-alcoholic to everyone is staying the night.  Grab your cauldron and start mixing.

The Food

There’s nothing more horrifying than a hangry crowd of guests. Plus, decorative food really takes any party to the next level.  These apps, main dishes and desserts will make sure none of your guests are hitting up trick-or-treaters just to get a late-night nosh.

Apps

Eyeball Deviled Eggs: Take your regular deviled egg recipe and decorate with a spooky eye on it made of black olives. Decorate and scatter the eyes about. Eyes are protein after all … and your guests will need it after indulging in your wicked brews.

Mummy Dogs: We love this adorable take on pigs in a blanket! Wrap your mini franks in pastry by layering the dough for a bandaged mummy look. Make eyes out of mustard dollops. They’re so cute and delicious.

Shrimp Brain: Shrimp cocktail just got real brainy. They say seafood is great for the intellect, so we  what better way to celebrate our clever crustaceans than by molding them into a creepy cocktail-sauced brain? Use a mold or simply layer the shrimp into a brain formation. While everyone’s getting sauced on cocktails, your guests will need some shrimp cocktail (and sauce) to soak up their devilish indulgences!

Guacamole Barf & Blue Chips: Ok, maybe this doesn’t sound so appetizing, but bear with us: Take one of your carved pumpkins and serve the guacamole coming out of its mouth! It will wow audiences. Pair with blue chips and you’ve got a delicious dip that … we hope stays inside your tummy.

Mains

Severed Head Meatloaf: It’s time to get your hands dirty: Mold your traditional meatloaf into a head with nose and ears. Use bacon strips to give a bandaged look to the head. Add olives for eyes, slivered almonds for gangly teeth, and pimento peppers for puffy lips. And of course, loots of ketchup.

Vegetarian Halloween Pizza: DIY pizzas are all the rage these days and now you can make spooky forms out of the food! Ghostly mozzarella forms, hollow olive eyes… you get the point. Plus, you can mold your dough into different shapes: Make jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, mummies, bats… the possibilities are endless! Keep it all veggies for any vegetarians in the crowd who will be properly spooked by the meat-head. If you want to go gluten-free and vegan, we suggest using gluten-free dough and vegan cheese options.

Desserts

Mummy Pops: These sweet mummy pops are just as cute as our savory mummy mini hot dogs! Dip straws or lollipop sticks into chocolate before adding a Nutter Butter as your mummy body  base. Press cookie back together, then dip into melted chocolate until completely coated. Next, place in the fridge or freezer on cookie sheets and allow to mold. Adorn the bodies with  icing or mini m&m’s as eyeballs and white icing for bandaged mummy tape. For a healthier option, we suggest using baby bananas instead of Nutter Butters as the body base.

Bat Cupcakes: We like bitesize grab n go desserts at parties. Enter bat cupcakes. Devilishly decadent, use red velvet or just chocolate as your batter base. Once baked, spread chocolate frosting over cupcakes. For bat wings, cut fudge cookies in half; insert two cookie halves into each cupcake. Then gently press chocolate kisses into frosting for heads. Add eyes with decorating icing. Bite and flap you wings!

The Tunes

No party is complete without a rockin’ playlist to set the tone and the mood of the night. So, we’ve created one for you ripe with thrillers and monster mashes! There’s something here for everyone. Have a few vamp-tinis, grab your dance partner and get down with these hauntingly good tunes.