The number one rule for a great party for your kid is that the party must be a sleepover. If you're short on room have one or two kids spend the night. As a kid and a lover of Halloween I have envisioned the greatest Halloween party/sleepover ever. And since parents get stressed very easily have the party start later around eight or nine. Since this is a Halloween party you don't need to start in the afternoon. After all a night of fright does begin at night.

At least two weeks before the party send out invitations to the people you want to invite. You can make your own cards to save money or just buy a bunch of cute cards. A good idea for homemade invitations is adding creative shapes and creepy creatures. Example: Spiders in the corners and make the font type Chiller. It's a very Halloween type font. Plus don't forget cobwebs, ghosts, and goblins. And of course state the time, place, person, and RSVP.

The party for your kid will start after they go trick or treating so have them eat some dinner and go out for a few hours. Make sure to have the kids request their favorite scary movies before the party. Then while they are trick or treating set up outside the house! Decorate the door with fake cobwebs and spiders. Put lights all over the yard, a smoke machine behind a bush, closed curtains with red lights, a few fake tombstones, and some skeletons hanging from the trees. Your kid may be in quite a shock when they can't find their house so make sure to put a sign or wait for them outside.

Inside the house you can put monster foot prints or drops of blood on the floor (foot cutouts and stickers) leading into different rooms. Have the couch covered in pillows and blankets and sleeping bags laid out on the floor. Also put an individual bowl of popcorn on each of the child's pillow. To make sure they don't eat all their candy have some snacks set up in the kitchen. They need liquids so put up fruity drinks (no pop unless you want to be up all night), popcorn, and ice cream with whatever topping. (Have an organized system for the toppings. Once they eat they can watch a few scary movies or play a monsters game.

The best game to play on Halloween is 'Ghost in the Graveyard.' You usually play it outside. All you need is a lot of space, cell phones (so you know where they are), and flashlights. The basis of this game is actually just hide and seek. But it's a lot better in the dark on Halloween! Make sure to tell them where they can or cannot go depending on the neighborhood.

Then once they come inside they can relax and watch a movie. As a fun parent you are obliged to constantly scare the kids. Make sure that they can handle jokes like that. A few tricks is to tell them a story about an old lady who died in the house and left her dentures in a glass and in your hand have a windup set of teeth. At the best moment of suspense have the teeth jump out at someone. Another scare would be to monitor their scary movie and at the best parts jump out of the dark and yell. Or put rubbery bugs in the bottom of their drinks and popcorn.

With all these tricks, snacks, and games they're sure to fall asleep eventually. But although sleep deprived you will have the fame of conducting the greatest Halloween sleepover ever!