Joy Cole likes to party. If there is a reason to have a party, she is ready and willing to host it. Cole has thrown football parties, New Years Eve parties, baby showers and Halloween parties.

Halloween parties are her specialty. For the past five years she has hosted a Halloween party at her house.

Cole has always been an artistic person and enjoys working with her hands. She has accumulated many tips and ideas about throwing parties, Halloween parties in particular.

"I`m a thrifty party thrower. I like to find a little things that will make a big impact," said Cole.

She said her first step when planning a Halloween party is figuring out what her costume will be. Next she decides how many people to invite.

"Definitely think about your location. We used to live in a house where we had a huge screened in back porch. At one party we counted about 60 people on the porch alone. There is no way we could have 60 to 100 people party in this house," said Cole.

She suggests sending them out invitations at least three weeks in advance, especially in the Fall. This gives guests enough notice to plan ahead.

Cole looks through seasonal magazines for food and decoration ideas. She especially likes the magazines All You, Backyard Living and Pillsbury`s seasonal promo magazine, and looks for things that are easiest and most fun.

Often she will pull old ideas out for food, but if she wants to try something new she will begin looking about a month before the party. This gives her an idea about how much her food budget will be. When budgeting for a party, she will spend a maximum of $150 on food.

"People are going to eat no matter what you put on the table. Depending on what beverages you are serving, most people want sweet and salty. Don`t overspend. Finger foods are great because you don`t have to keep up with the table as much. Keep it simple," she says.

It`s the little things that will make the party fun. Cole will put signs on her food platters like "Ghost poop," "Garbage dip," and "Tomato Guts" for salsa.

"Peope are going to eat no matter what you put on the table. Depending on what beverages you are serving, most people want sweet and salty." -Joy Cole  

"Try to think about all the scary things and incorporate them without being nasty," Cole said.

Stores like Party City are good places to shop for supplies. Cole will also visit thrift stores for platters and bowls, which will help save money. She uses the trick-or-treat pales that kids use as bowls for chips and party mixes.

She starts preparing some of the dishes the night before the party and other dishes like dips and party mixes she will prepare the day of the party.  Cole suggests not putting all the food out at once.

"Don't set out everything you have all at once. At the beginning I would just set out the chips and dip. Once it gets later in the evening and people have gotten a little toasty and need better food I will put out the food with more substance."

At Cole`s Halloween parties a costume is a requirement. If someone shows up without one she has a box of her old costumes and other parts and pieces. Then the guest will have to wear what she picks out.

"You probably want to bring your own costume, otherwise I make you look really silly," Cole said.

Always let neighbors know in advance about a party she advises.

"We normally let our neighbors know at least a week prior to let them know we are having a party. We`ve been really fortunate around here. They usually just tell us to have a good time. We've had other place where there weren't ecstatic about it, but we never had the cops called on us," Cole said.

The day of the party, Cole and her husband Brian will move their cars from the driveway to have more parking space. Depending on the crowd, she will also remove any breakables from the party area. She also takes her dining room chairs out to allow for less obstruction around the table she sets the food on. 

"It`s important to take care of your guests while they are at the party so they are OK when they leave." -Joy Cole

 They have a 200-disk jukebox and they will normally just put it on random. She has all of the house music printed out in a book so guests can look through it and find something they like.

To provide visual stimulation, she will keep the TV on some sort of horror movie and keep it on mute. She also has concerts on DVD she may play.

It`s important to take care of your guests while they are at the party so they are OK when they leave, she says. Cole hands out mints to everyone when they leave. She also suggests setting out a bucket of bottled water for guests to take.

Her husband will help with the clean up and the clean the house afterwards.

"If the food was good, there isn't much food to clean up. I`m a bit OCD and I will pick things up as the party goes. Once a dish is empty I will take it and put it in the dishwasher. That way when everyone is gone the clean up is pretty much done," Cole said.

Cole said it is a good rule for the hostess not to get too toasted. "I am not a big drinker. I feel if I drink too much then I can`t socialize and that defeats the purpose of having a party," she said.

This year the Coles most likely won`t have a party because they recently did a lot of work in their house. If someone she knew wanted to provide the location for a party, Cole would love to host it.

"I would still like to throw parties. We will probably still have parties by invite only because I love to host parties," said Cole.