Decorate in "True Blood" style. Use black and red as your primary colors to give the venue a dark, vampire-like atmosphere. Hang strings of red Christmas lights or replace your ordinary light bulbs with black or red ones. Dim the lights slightly and place candles all around. If you feel like being very creative, you can turn the room into a replica of Fangtasia or Merlotte's. The official ''True Blood'' store on the HBO website has apparel, barware and even bar stools and neon signs dedicated to these fictional establishments. (See Resources.)
Have guests dress as their favorite "True Blood" character, or allow them a little more freedom by requesting that they come as a vampire.
Set up an area for food. Although vampires do not eat, your human guests will appreciate it. Serve your favorite hors d'oeuvres, perhaps with a Bon Temps, La., flare. Place bowls of red candy such as jellybeans and Red Hots around your party space for easy snacking. For a sweet treat, make or buy red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Then add two just-bitten "fang marks" to the top of each cupcake with red decorating gel.
Stock your bar or fridge with a variety of drink options. Create a signature "bloody" drink to serve to your guests. Make the drink red by using red wine, grenadine, food coloring or blood orange liqueur. Go all out by providing bottled Tru Blood beverages to your guests. The carbonated, blood orange-flavored drink looks just like the synthetic bottled blood consumed by vampires on the show and can be purchased at HBO's online store.
Keep the party going by playing episodes of "True Blood" in the background so guests can watch if they want but do not feel as if they need to stop socializing. Host a trivia contest and award a prize to the player who has the most "True Blood" knowledge. The prize could be anything from a Tru Blood bottle opener from the online store to a season of "True Blood" on DVD.
Send guests away with some kind of small party favor to remember the night by. Fun items can include fake vampire fangs, bright red wax lips or even a bottle of Tru Blood to go.