How Much Booze Should I Buy, and Other Halloween Party Questions

You’re getting ready for a ghoulish get-together, but you have a few Halloween head-scratchers to deal with first. How many spooky snacks should you get? How much candy should you buy to keep trick-or-treaters from breaking down your door? And how many times can you actually play Monster Mash without driving your ghoulish guests away? We have answers to the questions you’re haunted by.

How Much Candy Should I Buy?

If you’re handing out candy on All Hallow’s Eve, don’t get stuck turning out the lights early! Here’s a simple formula to follow when buying bags of sweets:

3 x the number of kids in your neighborhood (unless the weather is bad, then cut that number in half) = pieces of candy to buy + one backup bag of candy for emergencies

And of course, by emergencies we mean emergency snacking. Handing out all that candy can work up an appetite!

How Much Booze Will I Need?

The number of devilish drinks you should plan for depends on two factors: how many people will be in attendance, and how long they’ll be partying. Plan on your ghoulish guests having 2.5 alcoholic drinks in the first hour, 2 drinks in the second, and 1.5 drinks every hour after that. Don’t forget to pick up some soda or other carbonated beverages for your designated demons, too!

How Much Food Should I Make?

Outside of any freaky finger food that you plan on fixing, chips and snack mixes are a great way to keep everyone full and happy. Plan on purchasing one bag of chips per 8-9 party people.

How Much Dry Ice Will I Need?

Dry ice is a classic Halloween party staple on the buffet table. If you’re planning on keeping a cauldron of punch billowing all night, you’ll need one pound of dry ice pellets per hour.

How Much Monster Mash Is Too Much?

We highly recommend only playing Monster Mash once a night, unless the party is over 3 hours long, in which case it can be played twice. C’mon—haven’t you heard of the Transylvania Twist?