Gardner: It doesn’t matter what the guests choose as a costume or how they wear it. I applaud the effort, from Raggedy Anne to Frozen Quentini.

What should be on a Halloween party food menu?

From Givenchy: Devils on horses, pigs in blankets, caviar on potatoes, smoked salmon with rye bread. Guests come and go throughout the night, so prepare a sumptuous buffet served by silver candles.

Carrier: Halloween is all about treats. I love cookies with edible dried flowers embedded, chocolate-dipped apricots, pineapples and oranges, and a bowl of black M&Ms.

Newman: A fun thing to do is to examine a question of Gourmet magazine from the 70s and recreate the recipes. They’re not what you usually see today and are very visually striking (and delicious).

Gardner: Halloween involves treats and usually kids, so plan an easy and delicious menu that feels good for fall. I serve a buffet cocktail with chicken pot pie, a big green salad, and roasted vegetables. Then I swap with the kids for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and squish them over scoops of vanilla ice cream for the adults.

What should be on the drinks menu at a Halloween party?

From Givenchy: Cosmopolitan, old-fashioned, vodka.

Carrier: Champagne is my favorite to get me in a festive spirit.

Newman: I love punch bowls. A signature drink pre-made and served in a spectacular container is the way to go.

Gardner: Halloween is the perfect time to serve a cocktail in a grand silver punch bowl with dry ice. I make big pitchers of Earl Gray bourbon punch (it’s like a bourbon sour) which I pour over a floating ice ring with orange slices, thyme springs and maybe floating eyeballs. Then I convince a friend to come out from behind the curtains wearing a clown mask.

What decor should you integrate? Can you avoid the pumpkins and ghosts?

From Givenchy: Pumpkins are for starters, ghosts are for children. Think gigantic branches of interesting flowers, willows, autumn leaves and thorns (painted or unpainted), ivy, hellebores, cyclamen, moss and rare small orchids. Low lighting is essential – ideally, candles and lamps only. Fully liveried waiters, gruesome makeup, and a killer soundtrack.