There are no rules for Halloween fancy dress but following a few simple guidelines will ensure your Halloween party is more enjoyable.  One of the big mistakes for Halloween fancy dress is to choose something you wouldn’t normally wear and which is in total opposition to your true character.  It will have a major impact if everyone knows you to be the reliable, shy co-worker and you suddenly turn up dressed in a sexy Morticia Addams outfit!  You’ll feel self conscious and everyone won’t quite understand the new image.  Try to stick to an outfit that reflects your personality. There are so many categories of Halloween fancy dress to choose from that everyone can find something in their unique style.  Ask close friends and family for input on your costume.  They’ll give you a brutally honest opinion and can give you a real evaluation of what you should wear!

Don’t choose a costume that will offend anyone at the party.  Our traditional Halloween fancy dress includes many bloodthirsty and violent characters.  Evaluate the party.  Who will be attending? If it’s an all adult, no parents, children or grandparents your choice widens.  But there still may be some guests that are religious or may be offended by some morally controversial fancy dress outfits.  Fictional characters are usually a safe option.  Protesters are less likely to object to a fictional Scream stalker costume or Freddy Kruger outfit than a costume belonging to a factual person.

Will your fancy dress theme fit in with everyone else? If you’re not sure who will be attending the Halloween party ask your hosts to give you a run down of the guest list and an idea of what others will be wearing.  It can be fun to stand out but if everyone is dressed in a Freddie Kruger costume or Jason outfit and you turn up as Harry Potter you may feel a trifle underdressed!  And if the whole room is dressed in Beetlejuice costumes and you are Hannibal Lector you’ve probably missed the point!

Gruesome, grisly, bloody or scary? Whatever your costume category, taking time out to research your Halloween fancy dress will pay dividends on the night.

You can Yo-ho-ho to your hearts content and curse with the best of them.  Pirates may not be your first idea for a Halloween fancy dress but they are an excellent source of Halloween costumes. 

If you need some inspiration look to the films.  Pirates of the Caribbean itself gives us a huge range of fancy dress costumes to choose from.  Jumping Jack Sparrow is a fabulous pirate and you can buy the official fancy dress online. 

Youâ??ve got saucy wenches, buxom barmaids and official Disney fancy dress to choose from.  Wicked accessories include eye-patches, daggers, swords and stuffed parrots to sit on your shoulder.  Thereâ??s a nifty talking parrot you can buy that repeats everything you say back to you in your own voice.  Take it to your Halloween fancy dress to annoy the other pirates.  Itâ??s likely theyâ??ll make you walk the plank or throw you out but not before youâ??ve had some fun!

Keep the rum and the ale flowing.  Mix a non-alcoholic rum punch for the young whipper-snappers and the drivers.  Dine on fresh bread with chunks of cheese and when your partnerâ??s not looking brave some pickles.  Donâ??t cut the bread, let everyone tear off a chunk in true pirate style.  Add some chocolate coins to the nibbles and some apples and oranges.  Soak the oranges in rum the night before Halloween and serve the apples whole with a small knife to cut them. Pirates were a motley crew and thereâ??s no room for niceties!

Borrow or hire some foliage to dress the room and hang a hammock from the ceiling filled with plastic crabs, ropes and sea relics. If you have some pearls drape these over a chest. 

If youâ??re hosting the fancy dress organise a few games to set the mood. Avoid unsociable small groups forming by playing games that force people to talk to each other. Youâ??ll find an abundance of games online to choose from.  These are only doable before everyone has had a couple of drinks, so get organised to start as soon as the first guests arrive.

A pirates Halloween party is easy to organise and to throw. It makes a terrific Halloween fancy dress theme and your guests can easily find costumes.

An eerie skeleton costume, a Ninja outfit or a bloody Rocky Horror costume make excellent choices for Halloween fancy dress. They’re dark, sinister and will frighten the life out of unsuspecting neighbours. And it’s great to wear a costume that people can recognize easily  It can be really embarrassing if you’ve made a grand entrance at the Halloween party dressed in your costume and everyone wants to know who or what you are.  Costumes are plentiful and you can take your pick of all the nasties and gruesome characters that make pretty unforgettable Halloween costumes.

Skeleton Halloween fancy dressA quick look round at the choice in skeleton outfits and you’ll soon find yourself drawn to the grave groom skeleton zombie.  It’s similar to the James Bond Voodoo skeletons in Live and Let Die and it’s a frighteningly authentic Halloween fancy dress costume. It’s great quality and includes loads of detail.  A long black shirt with bone print and tattered vest and jacket.  The tattered gauzy pants are worn over your own trousers to create the zombie style. The gloves, wide brimmed hat and red tie are all included.  Buy some black and white make-up for your face and treat yourself to the long walking cane and you have a fabulously scary zombie outfit. 

If you fancy a less detailed Halloween fancy dress go for a black jumpsuit with bones imprinted on. You can wear a plain jumpsuit or find one with raised bones so you can light them up! Get the bones to glow by spraying with a glow in the dark spray. Your feet turn into skeleton bones by attaching shoe covers to your shoes and the skeleton suits come with face masks and black hoods that mask your whole head. Invest in a spooky voice changer to disguise your voice. No need for hands.  It comes with ear piece with attached microphone and the box simply fits to your belt.  The funny ghost voice will change your voice so no-one will know it’s you.  If you wear the full skeleton costume with face mask you’ve got a full disguise.

Good old plain skeleton zombies make terrific Halloween costume.  These are dark, tattered costumes with skeleton faces and plenty of decay! Exposed bones, protruding knee bones, full skeletal masks and hoods to cover your face and head. Can you smell the rot?   Hands are covered by gloves with exposed finger bones.

Skeletons and zombies make fabulous group Halloween fancy dress costumes.  Find some friends who are willing to dress up in a similar style and you have a walking graveyard of skeletons and zombies.  Definitely worth winning the prize on the night!