It’s that time of year again, when the spirits are closest to our world, but the only real danger is a rowdy group of Trick-or-Treaters. What are they thinking? Take candy first, ask questions later.

Good or bad, every one can agree that Halloween is one of a teen’s favorite holidays.

The best way to get the most out of your Halloween is taking it seriously. A few ways to heighten your Halloween experience is to put effort into your decorations, costumes, and the plan for your candy run.

Taking time out of your busy schedule to actively think of create ideas for Halloween is a great way to squeeze out some extra fun from this beloved holiday.

Everyone loves getting dressed up for Halloween, including your house. Decorations are undoubtedly key to a great Halloween; you want your house to look the part.

Pumpkins are a must have, a Halloween staple. You want to make sure your pumpkins are not boring. Carve out a celebrity’s face or paint a spooky monster, add a candle, and voila! You have an exciting jack-o-lantern. Avoid pumpkin stencils, challenge yourself to come up with wacky-cool faces that will surprise trick-or-treaters or scare away monsters.

Other ideas for homemade decorations include drawing faces on empty milk jugs and placing lights inside of them to make a gaggle of ghosts. You can also use white cups and toilet paper streamers to make floating ghosts. Create scarecrows from old clothes and tissue paper. Whatever you do, be original.

Again, the best costumes are the ones you think of for yourself. You want to either embrace or avoid cliché costumes like zombies, astronauts, and football players. My favorite cliché is a cop, because you can trick other people into giving you their candy.

But you get points for originality; people appreciate the unexpected. Maybe take a household object and turn it into a costume. Put a funny twist on a celebrity. You want to inspire curiosity with your look.

Halloween is what you put into it. Make this one awesome.