With the weather warming up, there are few things better than a dinner party and few things worse than cooking for one. Sweating over a red-hot BBQ as your guests get steadily drunker and hungrier makes for a truly unpleasant hosting experience.

So you've been invited to a mate's Halloweeen party but haven't worked out what to wear. Don't panic! You still have time to create an inspired, no-frills costume from stuff lying around the house. Here are 20 non-sucky ideas that can be whipped together in under an hour.

Like it or loathe it, Halloween has permanently plonked itself on the Aussie calendar and continues to gain mainstream popularity with every passing year. While it's easy to ignore sprogs knocking on your door, dodging Halloween parties is slightly more difficult; especially if you work in a "zany" office that loves an excuse to dress up.

If you've been invited to a Halloween do and have left your costume to the last minute, here are ten impressive looking outfits that don't require much money or effort.

Setting the table for your dinner party may seem like the job you give to eager guests who insist on helping, but it should be done with care and precision. Sure, you could drop a cup full of plastic forks on the table, but is that really living?

The ability to pay attention to the little things is a quality all truly skilled hosts possess. A little bowl for olive pits, a scented candle in the bathroom, and a chilled cocktail glass all show that you care about your guests' comfort and their overall party experience.

These days our inboxes are crawling with spam, far beyond the stuff that makes it past the actual designated "spam" folder.

Every party spread, no matter how fancy the shindig, should contain a dip or two. Dips are easy to make, fun to eat, and much loved by pretty much everyone. French onion dip is never a bad choice — you can learn to make an excellent one here — but there are other options. Below you will find three luscious, creamy, flavour-packed dips and spreads to make, take and serve.

Video: When hosting a dinner party, it can be easy to focus on the food and forget about the party. Fortunately, you don't need to do a whole lot (or buy a bunch of flowers) to make your home feel festive and welcoming. Just a few fancy details — like cloth napkins, and good salt — will elevate the evening in a decidedly elegant fashion.

Whether you’re a university student about to attend their first party, or a grownup with friends who sometimes party a little too hard, it’s good to know what to do when things get out of hand. Here are some of the top tips and skills that can help you help others.

Oh the Popemobile. The holiest, safest and most odd-looking of transports. Since Pope John Paul II toured the world in a glass box mounted on the back of a truck, the Popemobile has become a bit of a meme. But over in Ireland, you can hire out a vintage Popemobile for your stag do, if that's what floats your boat.

Dinner parties are often a mishmash of different people coming together under one roof for refreshing drinks and a tasty, home cooked meal. Because of that, conversations can be nothing but awkward explanations of what everyone does for a living. Lame! Kick things off this way instead.

I always feel a little unsure as a guest in someone else's home. I want to be as polite as possible, and that can lead to some anxiety. Can I go through that door? Are those snacks for everyone? Where's the bathroom? Here's a trick that can help worrying guests such as me.

At the start of each year, many of us begin to re-assess our drinking habits to make up for our New Year's Eve debauchery. But don't go teetotal just yet. By employing moderation and intelligent choices, it's possible to drink alcohol without affecting your health. In fact, it can even be good for you.

There are three ways to have a good birthday.

New research shows that many young children, prior to reaching the age of six or seven, mistakenly believe that birthday parties cause ageing. It's a truly adorable finding, but the study also offers an important glimpse into the developing brain and our early tendency to seek out causal explanations for the unfolding world around us.

Throwing the perfect party requires more than good booze, pleasant music and tasty snacks. It requires the right number of people to develop the atmosphere you're after. This formulaic approach to party invites will help you host the biggest bash or the most charming of dinner parties.

Cheeseballs really live up to their name. Not only are they a literal ball of cheese, but there's something kind of charmingly corny about them. Like a tacky Christmas sweater, they're more class clown than class act - lovable, goofy and charmingly unpretentious. They're also infinitely adaptable, and insanely easy to make.

National Novel Writing Month is all about putting your head down and cranking out as many words as you can, but it can still be fun to make it a social experience, too. A write-in is just what you need to keep you and your fellow scribblers motivated. Here's how to set one up.

The success of most parties hinges on the quality and amount of booze served and, while serving a big bowl of punch is easier on the host or hostess, serving a punch that people will keep coming back to it is a little trickier. A good punch is so balanced that one might not even realise there was any ethanol floating around in there, and we're going to show you how to make a really good one. (You should, of course, always tell people if you're serving them booze.)