Out of all the seasons associated with lots of fun and festivities, Halloween might be the best as far as finding a concept, putting it out there to your guests, and then letting them be responsible for running with it and making the party pop in the process. One could argue for those ugly sweater–themed get-togethers coming up in a couple of months. But Halloween parties still probably have them beat. After all, this is the time of year when irreverence and illusion are embraced, and precision and creativity rewarded with lots of smiles.

So to help you go from thinking about it to being about it, here are seven theme ideas your guests can really sink their fangs into.

1. Mad Science Gone Wrong

Envision your space as the laboratory of an unhinged scientist. Serve up cocktail and mocktail libations in plastic beakers and pass around tasty test tube shots throughout the night. There are a ton of props available at the party stores. Guests can go full Dr. Frankenstein or Bruce Banner with their own mad scientist costumes or transform themselves into ghastly lab experiments gone wrong. This is a theme that leaves so much room for interpretation, and you get to enjoy what they come up with.

2. Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!

The 80s camp gem is back to living in our collective psyche, and that also means that Beetlejuice-themed merch and decor are easier to find now than say, just last Halloween. Between the two films, there are so many great characters to inspire costumes. From the strange and unusual main characters to deeper cuts like chain-smoking gate-keeping Juno, this is another idea that offers a lot of leeway for hosts and partygoers. The official cocktail of the night can literally be called “Beetlejuice.”

3. Zombie Apocalypse Remix

For this theme, guests can dress up as whatever they want, then make it zombie-fied! That guest who is a cat every year? Zombie cat. Batman? Zombie Batman. The apocalypse has happened, and whatever you were now has the grimy patina of zombiedom on it. So get the post-apocalyptic bunker decor ready as well as plenty of “gray-matter” to sip on.

4. Dynamic Duos (or Maybe “Boo-os” hehe)

Next is one for the couples, the besties, or any of the dynamic duos in your life. This is a fun theme that might seem a bit narrow, but it doesn’t have to be all about the standard pairs like Batman and Robin. The duos can be friends, enemies, or frenemies. Think of how many great duos one can imagine drawing from legendary rap beefs alone?

5. Y2K

No theme list would be complete without at least one throwback, so for this one, we’re looking for Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the fur, et cetera you get the point. Have your guests dress up as their favorite celebrity from anytime circa the turn of this century. Or have folks break out the Baby Phat, FUBU, and Ed Hardy, then challenge yourself to keep a straight face the entire time. Cosmos, Smirnoff Ice, and anything plus Malibu are all on the drink menu.

6. Party Like You Meme It

This one is as endless as the internet itself. Invite your party guests to dress up as their favorite meme personalities and find out who among your friend group is the most extreme of the extremely online.

7. Glow Up

The glow-in-the-dark party theme is especially great if you are hoping to keep your party more on the family friendly side. Little ones won’t mind that you’re swapping the monsters and scary stuff for glow-in-the-dark face paint, glow clothes, and glow jewelry. Blacklights are a must, as are paper decorations in bright neon colors.

Some Tips

Be flexible: Getting everybody on your list to dress up per your theme might be difficult. Your one friend who has been the Pumpkin King for the past 6 years is showing no signs of reinventing himself. And that’s okay! This is supposed to be fun.

Send out a look book in advance of the party: Help your guests get a creative leg up by sending out a look book along with the invite, and make sure there are plenty of examples so that even your busiest friends understand the assignment.

Be ready to help out: Have some small yet impactful accessories for the last-minute attendees or those guests who just couldn’t think of anything that fit the bill.