There’s a lot more to Halloween than the tricks, treats and decorations. Make the most of this annual event with some of the following family Halloween party ideas, certain to get your creepy evening off to an eerie start.

When it comes to supplying drinks and food for your family and friendly guests, the Halloween theme need not be lost. In fact, a blood-colored punch with a dismembered hand reaching from it, or a finger-filled hot dog horror d’oeuvre, can add the finishing touch to any haunting event.

Give ghoulish and ghostie guests a Halloween party filled with fun, with a variety of family-friendly activities. Providing the perfect way to loosen everyone up before the trick-or-treating begins, a bat pinata gives family and friends a chance to get Halloween off to a good start, as sweeties and spiders rain down after the final bash.

Family Halloween party activities can provide a fun-filled distraction for kids, as their parents sip upon a bubbling broth and relax. Pin the face on the pumpkin offers a Halloween themed spin on an old favorite, as the kids try to add the missing elements to a cardboard pumpkin.

Another fun family Halloween activity for the kids is for them to each decorate their own trick-or-treat bag in preparation for the on-coming candy. Not only will it keep them busy, but the kids will also have something special to keep once the candy has been eaten.

Whatever your idea of a family and friend-filled Halloween party, there is arguably no better way to end it off than as a group. Having conquered the streets and staked a claim on all the candy in the neighborhood, friends and family can gather at your house once more. With the sun long set, and the cries and calls of the creatures of the night having faded into the darkness, you can stand with all of your nearest and dearest around you and watch the pumpkin head wish lantern rise steadily into the night-sky signalling the end of a hauntingly happy Halloween.