Halloween is the perfect occasion to get together with friends and neighbors to celebrate the fall season. Whether you wish to host an all-out fright fest, a harvest-themed dinner party or a kid-friendly Halloween hoedown, party planning for Halloween isn’t as scary as is may seem. From sharing ghost stories to bobbing for apples to making frightfully delicious confections and cocktails, there are endless activities to choose from to keep guests of all ages entertained.

Before visitors arrive, a memorable Halloween bash starts with the right decorations. Along with vibrant autumn leaves, festive décor, including seasonal flowers, wreaths and pumpkins, provide welcoming bursts of color. Inside, fun Halloween centerpieces will add softening touches to the cobwebs, ghosts, spiders and other spooky stuff lurking around.

Kids Halloween Party Tips

For kids, Halloween is all about candy. To balance out that sugar high and engage young guests, a successful party ought to include plenty of activities.

Games are always a smart way to kick things off, and bobbing for apples is a classic Halloween contest. In fact, unmarried men and women used to bob for apples, and the first person to bite one was supposed to be the next person to get married. Kids might enjoy a nighttime scavenger hunt with flashlights, as well as hide-and-seek games such as ghosts in the graveyard, blind man’s bluff and zombie tag.

If the weather’s too chilly for outdoor games, crafts are another option. Instead of kids arriving in costume, they can make their own personalized masks for a masquerade party. Pick up some plain canvas bags and fabric paint, and children can decorate their own trick-or-treat totes. Or, make Halloween-themed maracas to scare away any ghouls or ghosts kids may encounter while they beg for candy.

Of course, no Halloween kids’ party is complete without treats. But instead of just handing out candy, kids can have fun in the kitchen making their own. Caramel apples, for instance, are simple for even younger guests to manage. For a salty snack, popcorn balls should please tots and teens alike. There are also all sorts of creepy Halloween recipes for terrifyingly tasty eyeballs, witches’ hats, ghosts and vampire fangs that kids will love.

Adult Halloween Party Tips

Adults can also get in on the Halloween merriment with something as simple as a pumpkin carving get-together or themed cocktail party. And if you don’t have the time or budget to transform your home into a haunted house, never fear. You can rely on creative food and presentation to set the appropriate Halloween scene.

A dinner party or potluck offers plenty of room to incorporate seasonal foods without having to incorporate a “scary” element to all of the dishes. Pumpkin soup, apple pie and roasted butternut squash are just a sampling of popular fall comfort foods. Devil’s food cake, red velvet cake or even pecan caramel spiders can provide an extra dash of Halloween spirit.

Speaking of spirits, Halloween cocktails will add some otherworldly ambiance to the affair. Fill hollowed out pumpkin shells with ice to keep beers and beverages chilled for guests. You could also pick up a decorative cauldron and serve apple cider as “witches brew.” Fans of black and tans will enjoy black velvets, which are half-and-half mixtures of Guinness and champagne. For livelier aperitifs, blood orange margaritas, piña ghouladas and bloody marys are also crowd pleasers.

Perhaps more than anything else, a festive Halloween party depends on the host. Whether entertaining a group of children or sharing an evening with friends, put on a costume and embrace the true heart of the holiday. Enjoy the opportunity to have a little spooky fun, and guests will get into the Halloween spirit as well.

Know someone with an October birthday coming up? Why not give them something different this year? If they are a Halloween lover then send an adorable and whimsical Halloween flower arrangement straight to their home or office. It will surely bring a smile to their place and accent their Halloween decorations–plus, it will be a welcome departure from the usual birthday gift cards.

This unique spooky-spider arrangement is too cute!

Orange blossoms spill out of this ceramic pumpkin to make an adorable gift.

A vase full of candy corn displays lovely fall flowers in this festive bouquet.

The leaves are changing and that familiar Autumn chill is in the air. Gone are the sunny, balmy days of summer, as well as the bright sunflowers and daisies, green grass and our summer garden harvest.

But just because the grass in your yard may be turning brown and your garden which was once thriving a few months ago might resemble a wasteland doesn’t mean you cannot get a few more months of color in your yard, add some fun fall touches to your front porch, as well as prepare for next Spring.

Planting Fall Color

Once all the bright summer color has vanished, it may seem as if your porch and yard are gloomy and boring. They don’t have to be! Plenty of flowers can flourish in a pot or bed in the Autumn. Chrysanthemums, Asters and Pansies are a few flowers that can grow heartily throughout Fall. Try big pots of beautiful chrysanthemums on both sides of your door to welcome guests.

For a fun weekend project, try container gardening with Fall perennials. Use seasonal perennials that will survive well in your area and plant lovely combination arrangements in large pots. You can get really creative but usually the large pot is filled with a taller perennial or decorative grass in the center, some ‘filler’ plants or flowers in the middle, and some ’spiller’ plants as the final, last layer; these will spill over the pot in a nice fashion. Here is a great step-by-step video on the process. Cheerful pots and beds of pansies will add color to your yard as well.

Cleaning up the Garden

Once you’ve enjoyed your summer harvest, it’s time to start preparing your garden for Fall and Winter, as well as start your planting and/or sowing for fall vegetables. Check out these guidelines:

• Replace all spent annuals
• Prepare soil for autumn planting
• Plant spring bulbs
• Rake and remove all fallen leaves
• Cut back the spent perennials / biennials
• Remove annuals damaged by frost
• Harvest all herb stems and roots
• Fertilize remaining plants as needed
• Sow seeds for succession planting
• Plant peonies, poppies and irises
• Add winter mulch, if needed
• Prepare bulbs for forcing and chill
• Divide and transplant perennials and ground covers
• Apply dormant fertilizer to trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines
• Plant and mulch hardy annuals for winter
• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines
• Transplant roses
• Plant bare-root roses
• In southern zones, stop watering to induce dormancy

You can also start planting your bulbs for Spring, such as bright yellow daffodils, gorgeous and vibrant tulips and many more types of bulbs to make a beautiful show once Spring arrives.

Decorate for Fall

In addition to adding mums and container gardens throughout your yard, there are several other things you can do to decorate and beautify for Fall.

• Make an easy Autumn wreath for your front door
• Decorate your front porch and stairs with gourds and pumpkins
• Make a scarecrow
• Pick beautiful fall leaves and flowers, preserve them in glycerin for three days (two parts hot water to one part glycerin), then display in a beautiful cast iron pot or wicker basket on your front porch
• Fill an old children’s wagon with hay, pumpkins, gourds and leaves to display
• Tie dried cornhusks from your front or back door
• Fill window boxes with mums and pumpkins

As you can see, there are so many ways to brighten up your yard and porch this Autumn. Do you have a great Autumn decorating idea we’ve missed? Please share it in our comments section!

One of the most fun ways to collect items to use in your Fall decorations is to take a long drive in the country to enjoy the beautiful Fall foliage, collecting items and produce from local farm stands and markets along the way.

Stop back by later this week for ideas about how to bring the beauty of Fall indoors!

Did you know that people have been dressing up for Halloween for around 2,000 years? Historians think that the ancient Celts, who founded many of the Halloween traditions we still practice today, would dress in costume on the night of Oct. 31 to disguise themselves from spirits of the dead roaming around. These days, most of us probably aren’t worried about encountering unfriendly ghosts on Halloween night, but picking the perfect costume is still of utmost importance.

Kids’ Costumes

For kids, Halloween costumes go hand-in-hand with trick-or-treating. Since boys and girls will probably be walking around in their costumes all night, parents should keep safety in mind when helping them pick one out. Adorable superheroes and fairy princess should make sure that their capes and dresses aren’t dragging along the ground. Any fancy footwear should also fit well and not pose any tripping hazards. In addition, masks can block visibility, so makeup might be a safer alternative.

This year, the National Retail Federation predicts that the five most popular kids’ Halloween costumes will be princess, witch, Spider Man, pirate and pumpkin. Other classic characters such as cowboys, rock stars, athletes and animals are also cute choices.

Adult Costumes

Dressing up isn’t just for kids, however. More than 50 million American adults donned Halloween costumes in 2008. When selecting a costume, older partygoers should first consider where they’ll be wearing it. Halloween shindigs in a family or work atmosphere call for more all-ages outfits like famers and friendly witches. But if you’re heading to an adults-only fiesta, the sky’s the limit.

If you’re interested in a unique Halloween getup, you might want to stay away from the most popular adult costumes. For 2009, those are witches, vampires, clowns, pirates and wenches. Can’t think of anything interesting to be? Maybe a personality from a favorite movie, television show or band could be fun to dress up as. Or, perhaps political figures, famous couples or supernatural creatures (zombies, ghosts, etc.) are more up your alley.

Once you’ve come up with the right Halloween costume idea, think of ways to personalize it. Wigs, makeup, fake teeth and prosthetics can all transform a generic dress up outfit into a one-of-a-kind costume. Just don’t get spooked about being creative and get into the true spirit of Halloween!

Set aside as a day for employees to show gratitude and appreciation to their boss, Boss’s day is celebrated on Friday, October 16th this year. Employees can take this opportunity to present their boss with a token of appreciation, but there are a few gift giving ideas to keep in mind when choosing a gift for this occasion.

If you choose to give a gift to your boss for Boss’s day, it is important to remember that you should stay away from anything overly personal or anything that could be perceived to have romantic overtones. For example, you don’t want to present your boss with an arrangement of roses or a piece of jewelry, unless you really want to spark some water-cooler gossip! Instead, try to choose more practical or sensible gifts, such as an orchid plant or a dish garden for their desk.

You may also want to ask around the office to check if your co-workers are planning on giving a gift to the boss – if you turn out to be the only person thinking of giving a gift, you may want to re-think the idea of giving a gift. If you are the only employee in the office giving a gift on Boss’s day, your intentions may come across as a bit self-serving; perhaps choose to write a quick thank you note to your boss instead – the gesture is sure to still be appreciated!

Should you find that your co-workers were planning on giving a gift but hadn’t yet decided what to give, suggest that everyone contributes to buy a gift together as a group. With the money collected, you can choose a gift basket such as one filled with their favorite fruits, or a gourmet basket that has a little bit of everything, and your boss is sure to enjoy!

Choosing a gift that has a bit more personal flair is also sure to be a hit, so if you know your boss loves chocolates, sports, or just loves the aromatic scent of stargazer lilies, sending a gift that incorporates their favorite things is a sure way to show your gratitude for all your boss does for you throughout the year!

It’s 9:00 in the morning. You walk into the office, headed for your cube. As you walk down the rows, nobody stops to say Good Morning. Flashforward to lunch. Nobody asks you to go to lunch with them, so you end up eating in the break room all by yourself while other co-workers chat at tables around you. As 5:00 closes in, you hear the buzz about Happy Hour. As your colleagues head out, nobody invites you.

Sound familiar? Do you feel a little like the odd one out at your office? Are you having flashbacks to the middle school cafeteria? No worries–turn that frown upside down! Here are some tips to win more friends at work. And be sure to smile–after all, nobody likes a case of the Mondays!

1. Bring Donuts!
Don’t forget to bring enough for everyone in your area. Put them in a central location, then be sure to let people around you know.

2. Smile and say “Good Morning!”
Seriously, this works. Oh, and attaching that with their name and a little conversation like “How’s it going?” Or, “Any weekend plans?” is always a good thing.

3. Learn the art of the segue!
A segue is defined as “smooth transition from one topic or section to the next”. So, when you have to discuss a work topic or upcoming project with a co-worker, take advantage of this opportunity! If you’re at their desk and you see a picture of their dog, then let them know how cute the dog is and ask questions–about the breed, how old he is, if he’s playful, etc. etc. Take any opportunity you can to make conversation.

4. Make the most of meetings
Ok, so let’s face it–most of us hate meetings. Especially 8:00 Monday morning meetings, or 4:00 Friday meetings! But take advantage of having a group of your co-workers together by starting up a conversation before or after the meeting. With the exception of 8:00 meetings, of course…

5. Cook something and bring it in
Bring out your inner Betty Crocker–or Pllsbury dougboy–and cook something to bring into the group. Whether it’s your Grandma’s homemade oatmeal cookies or brownies out of a box, it’s the thought the counts. Let your co-workers know to help themselves.

6. Compliment!
Who doesn’t like a compliment? Find opportunities to–sincerely–compliment your co-workers. For example, if you’re in the elevator with a co-worker and you like her handbag, let her know. Or, if you are in the parking lot and a co-worker pulls up in a shiny new car he just bought, make conversation and let him know how much you like it. This will lend itself to an entire conversation. This works best for co-workers of the same gender…after all, you’ll sound creepy if you’re a guy complimenting a woman’s handbag!

7. Participate!
If your office does community outreach, then participate. If someone is selling Girl Scout cookies, then buy them. If there is a collection in for a wedding gift, then pitch in. You get the point–don’t be a Debbie Downer!

8. Lure them with candy
Are you noticing a theme here? Put a huge, overflowing candy bowl on your desk just wait. This will definitely make your desk more popular!

8. Offer to get coffee
Headed to Starbucks? Then ask a few co-workers immediately around you or on your team if you can get them anything. Stopping by the supply closet? Ask if anyone needs a new legal pad or pen. You get the point!

10. Be outgoing!
Don’t be a wallflower! If you’re in the break room, don’t just sit there eating your ham sandwich all alone and looking all forlorn. Ask a table next to you “Mind if I join you guys?” And, join in their conversation instead of being silent. Say you’ve noticed someone you think you would have a lot in common with–for example, you’ve heard him/her talk about a band you also like. Well, don’t be shy, ask him or her to lunch! It’s as easy as “Hey, wanna grab some lunch?” It never hurts to try!

Now, get out there and make use of these awesome tips! Oh, and I’ll take a grande Vanilla Latte.