Halloween Party
Halloween has always been one of my favorites holidays and this year I celebrated with my girlfriends and their families. We had everyone over to our place where the kids could hit up 10 floors of New York City apartments to fill their trick-or-treat bags.
Here is a recap of my Do-it-Yourself Halloween Party – from what worked out well, to what didn’t even make the cut:
Decor
- The cheesecloth ghosts were so simple to make and the kids loved them. They were an easy addition to the room.
- The chalkboard spray-painted pumpkin with the trick-or-treat message was a hit. Everyone commented on it.
- I personally loved the candy corn vases with white candles. Simple and elegant.
- The Loralee Lewis banner, buffet signs, cupcake toppers and straws were a perfect way to easily add a theme to the look and feel.
- The wine bottle ghosts were also easy. I used chalkboard pens to draw the faces.
Food
I am not a professional chef not do I whip up pastries like a pro…so I had my work cut out for me on some of the planned Halloween menu items.
- The white chocolate covered Nutter Butter cookies that were supposed to look like ghosts were such a bust they didn’t even make it to the table. Here is a tip: white chocolate doesn’t melt! All the great ideas of white chocolate covered items to look like ghosts…I want to know what kind of white chocolate people use. I wasn’t going to spend a fortune on chocolate just to make a ghost cookie so I used white chocolate chips and combined vegetable shortening while I tried to melt over a double burner. It didn’t work!
- The white chocolate covered strawberries worked out a bit better than the Nutter Butters…but still nothing like the photo I was using as a guide.
- Everyone loved the antipasto skewers coming out of the pumpkin - plus it was great to have another pop of decor on the table and not use another platter!
- Using the small pumpkin as a holder for the spinach dip was another great way to add decor to the table setting.
- Spider deviled eggs were yummy and fun.
- Another lesson learned were the mummy hot dogs. I think I can perfect these next year by cooking the hot dogs fully then lowering the heat for the Pillsbury wrapping.
- Pudding graveyard desserts were also a hit.
- The fruit punch was another favorite…especially when we added in the hand ice block. So easy to make. I just filled up a latex glove with water and when ready to serve ran the frozen block under water quickly to separate the glove from the ice. From there it was easy to peel away the latex glove.
Here are some photos from the event:
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- Loralee Lewis Banner and DIY Cheesecloth Ghosts
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- Chalkboard Spray Painted Pumpkin
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- Candy Corn in Vases with White Candles
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- The Full Table Setting
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- Pudding Graveyard Dessert
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- Spinach Dip in a Pumpkin
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- Loralee Lewis Buffet Tent and Straws
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- Loralee Lewis Buffet Tent with Spider Deviled Eggs
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- Pumpkin Antipasto Skewer
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- Loralee Lewis Cupcake Toppers
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- Ghost Wine Vases
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- Hand Ice Block in Punchbowl
My motto for doing it yourself is: easy, clever and cost-effective. This party hit on all those. And I was able to pack much of the decor away for next year. Looks like my “Haunted Bash” will be making a comeback in 12 months!
What did you do this year for your Halloween party? What worked out well for you…and what lessons do you have that we can all learn from?
Related posts:
Welcome to Red Carpet Rollout
Wedding Planning: Creatively Integrating Photography
Inspired Event Find: Chalkboard Tablecloth
2 comments
mary coleman says:
November 3, 2011 at 5:50 am (UTC -4)
u did a great job for halloween pics are great
Cynthia Greenberg says:
November 3, 2011 at 2:10 pm (UTC -4)
Thanks Mary! It was a fun event to plan and all kids (old and young) had a great time!