Greetings, everyone! I'm Abbie, lifelong Halloween fanatic but relative newbie to the party planning scene. If you will, pardon me for not yet making a proper intro post; I just couldn't wait to start going over my ideas for this year's event, which will only be my second annual (and my first since graduating high school!). I'm drawing on the success of last year's party, a haunted Victorian mansion theme I co-planned with a friend, to come up with ideas and techniques for a bash with a more diverse age range of guests. I can't wait to get started!

I've scheduled it for the Friday before, starting about 6:00 in the evening. The guests will most likely be around 50 or 60 of my family, current friends, and people I'll eventually meet in college (!), and I already have a budget of $400 (give or take $50 or so) set aside.

So far, I've loved coming up with my tentative theme: "It Came from the Late 70s and/or Early 80s!" Since I'm a bit of a diehard Halloween subculture buff (not to mention a huge kid at heart), I thought I might go with a theme reflective of the campy, small-town Halloweens my friends and I (and even a few of our parents!) remembered growing up. In my family at least, our yearly Halloween traditions seemed to play out like something from 1978 (or so) on repeat - and we loved it! Almost our entire extended family used the neon cardboard Beistle decorations while the kids were still of TOT'ing age - and even into the 90s, the "golden age" of trick-or-treat safety, we actually received some fruit and walnuts on our yearly rounds. In short, Halloween was big here, but in a very campy and nostalgic way.

All family history aside, I think I could incorporate these fun bits of regional nostalgia into an enjoyable party theme, provided it doesn't become too kiddy or dated for the guests. Most of the ones I already know to invite are people I've actually grown up with, so that shouldn't be much of a concern yet.

So, in brainstorming for theme elements, associations, and decorating/food ideas, here's what I've got:

Decor
- Color scheme: day-glo orange, yellow, purple, and green
- Reproduction 70s/80s-era neon cardboard decorations (Beistle honeycomb witch, big jointed hanging skeleton, heavy graphic style die cuts, etc.)
- Blow molds (the campier-looking, the better)

Activities/Entertainment
- Tempt Your Fate
- Some sort of trivia game with cheap but cute prizes
- Hal O'Ween "autopsy table" (got this idea from another member who threw a similar party last year - kiddy, but an okay icebreaker)
- Costume contest with all the traditional categories, plus a couple of wacky ones
- Pumpkin painting station outside (bring your own pumpkin!)
- DVD loop of old Halloween commercials
- Centron trick-or-treat safety reels
- "The Night Dracula Saved the World" (a cult classic!)
- "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special" (yes, I will admit I've watched this and found it funny!)
- Cartoon specials so corny they're actually clever: "Witch's Night Out" and "The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile"
- Creepy "sound effects and story" records
- Disco music, baby! (Did I just say that?!)
- A big area cleared off for the dance floor, with plenty of effects to set the mood (albeit easy on the strobe lights for my sake)

Menu
- BYOB (will make this clear in the invitations)
- Apple cider punch
- Mini meatloaves served in small hollowed-out pumpkins
- Toasted pumpkin seeds
- Candy buffet with classic treats from then and now
- Carrot cake with cream cheese done up in some Halloween way
- Fondue (of course)
- Lots and lots of Jiffy Pop popcorn (and a table popper, if possible)
- A "roll-your-own" candy/caramel apple station, with caramel, syrup, nuts, sprinkles, and anything else I can think of (!)

The only area in which I have no idea where to start: my own costume. Any suggestions?

Other than that, I could definitely use some help polishing and finalizing my ideas for everything else, especially how I could coordinate the entertainment with the rest of the party atmosphere. For example, while I intend for the TV specials to be playing in the background, I'd still like people to take time to notice them and bring them up in conversation, even if they aren't familiar to everyone (at last year's party, I'd have given anything to have that happen with the movies I showed). How do I get people together for games, and how do I keep them engaged enough not to end up walking away?

I have become a bit long-winded, so I suppose I should stop now. Thanks in advance to anyone who can share some ideas, tips, and concrit. Only 87 planning days left! *pant, pant*