When most folks think of Halloween parties, they envision a bunch a screaming sugar-rushed children running around a suburban home in cheap looking polyester costumes. However, adult versions of Halloween parties are quite numerous in the city with liquored-up attendees having the time of lives while wearing costumes that are often times elaborate and well made. How can you throw a perfect Halloween party this year? Here are 5 tips that should ensure ultimate success.

1. The Right Invite
In this modern day and age, the popular thing to do is to send out party invitations via email or online services such as Evite.com. While this use of technology certainly makes the invite process easier, for a truly great Halloween party the host really should take the time and effort to deliver invitations via snail mail or in person. Invitations should be fun and unique, creating a buzz about the party and sparking enthusiasm with your invitees. If you don't have the Martha Stewart gene that allows you to design and produce snappy invitations all on your won, plenty of help and assistance can be found online as well as at stationery or party supply stores.

2. Create a Haunting Ambience
This is a Halloween party so you should be aiming to make your apartment, house, or party room spooky, not cute. Definitely forget about standard white bulb lighting and use candles if possible. Tealights Bag of 100 candles is a cheap investment that will pay huge dividends. As for electrical lighting, use flickering orange bulbs for an eerie effect and maybe even use blacklight in a room with glow-in-the-dark decorations. Haunting silhouettes on mantels and windows and plastic spiders dangling from the ceiling may seem hokey, but their use is tried and true and effective.

Also important on the ambience front is the appropriate musical soundtrack for your party. You could buy a commercially available CD, but better yet, develop your own CD/playlist with a mixture of sound effects - sinister laughter, a dog howling and a door creaking - and the obligatory tracks: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr., and "Monster Mash" by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett.

3. Bone Appétit
Move beyond chips and dip and a keg of beer - that's so college - and be just as creative with your party food and drink as you are with decorations. Food ideas include 'devilled eggs' with spider web patterns, eyeball donut holes and skewered antipasto pumpkin. As for cocktails, in addition to a standard party bar set-up, mix up a unique Halloween inspired punch. And of course don't forget to use dry ice for maximum spooky effect.

4. Fun & Games
On your invitations be sure to make it clear that costumes are required. Then to reward your guests for their creativity, have a costume contest. Near the punch bowl provide a simple form for everyone to vote for their favorite costumes at the party. Categories can include Funniest, Scariest, Most Original, Best Couple, and Best Overall, and of course Best Drag. Bottles of Vampire Wine (available in most liquor stores) are a perfect prize, and you can get gold headless "Skelly" award trophies online as well.

5. Party Favors
A fantastic party favor idea is to have a Polaroid camera or digital camera with a printer nearby to take pictures of guests as they arrive. Then using simple arts supplies such as craft foam, you can make black or candy-corn style 'frames' to attach the photos with magnet tape on the back, and guests will have a souvenir remembrance of your party for years to come!

Finally, don't forget to include a big bowl of trick-or-treat candy near the door as well as throughout your party. You'll be sure to bring out the little kid in everyone!