Parties

Tips for Throwing a Chic Yet Spooky Soiree This Halloween

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Halloween may be adored by kids of all ages, but adults can also have fun during this holiday. Why not take the opportunity to throw a shindig for your nearest and dearest and use the day as the chance to get together with those you haven’t seen enough of since the pandemic hit? There are many ways to create an elegant yet spooky soiree this October. 

Decide on a Theme

The first step is to work out what theme you want for your event. While it’s going to revolve around Halloween, get more specific than that to help you focus in on how to plan every aspect of the party. For example, a common choice is to decorate with the key colors associated with Halloween, black and gold. 

If you want to mix things up a bit, though, consider deep, blood red, or black and silver, or even white and gold with lots of skeletons and white pumpkins in the mix. Other popular theme ideas include basing your event around vampires, ghost stories, or creepy crawlies. Alternatively, pick one of the classic Halloween-style movies such as The Addams Family, Hocus Pocus, Scream, Beetlejuice, The Haunted Mansion, or Friday the 13th

Choose Appropriate Decorations

Next, choose the all-important props and décor for your dinner party to dress your home up and set the scene. For the ultimate look, invest in quality, unique Halloween decorations you don’t see everywhere and that you can store and use again. Visit lifestyle stores that bring in Halloween-specific ranges or shops that focus on props for special events year-round for out-of-the-box yet elegant choices. 

You can also find good options on sites like Etsy if you want handmade pieces made specifically for you. Consider decorations such as ornate pumpkins, suitably scary skeletons, cages filled with snakes and bugs, cobwebs, cauldrons, and more.

Add Fun Place Settings

Elegant dinner parties generally feature place settings to show everyone where to sit without any awkwardness. Plus, they dress up the table and consolidate a theme. Nothing has to change for your Halloween event. Create or buy spooky place cards that give guests a giggle while adding extra flair and providing practicality. Some of your visitors might like to take their place setting home as a reminder of a fun night, too. 

Create a Signature Cocktail

Another lovely touch at any memorable dinner party is a signature cocktail for the evening. Why not go all about and devise (or borrow from ideas already out there) a cocktail that ties in with your theme and gets guests talking? Look for or create a cocktail with orange or dark purple tones, or even opt for one that looks like blood! 

You can also add decorations to cocktail glasses to boost the impression your drinks make and, for extra wow-factor, use dry ice or other techniques to have some mist steaming around cocktail glasses. 

Select Your Menu Items

Any dinner party needs the right food selections so you can impress guests with taste and visual appeal. The same is true of a Halloween event. Keep in mind that many people have set dietary needs these days, so speak with visitors before you plan your menu. Check if anyone is vegan, vegetarian, eats gluten-free, has peanut allergies, or other food intolerances or preferences you should know. 

It’s wise to limit your menu to three or four courses maximum, so you don’t have to stress out too much on the day. Similarly, consider menu items that you can do a lot of preparation for in advance, so you’re not running in and out of the kitchen when your guests are there. 

It’s nice to tie in your menu to the theme you’ve chosen. You could do this through colorful options, such as pumpkin-based dishes if you’ve chosen an orange-colored look for the night. For instance, there’s pumpkin soup, pumpkin deviled eggs, pumpkin ravioli, risotto with butternut squash, pumpkin pie, and other recipes. 

Alternatively, you could select more standard fare and add a Halloween touch with decorative choices. For instance, make an eyeball pasta bake by topping your dish with eyeballs made from cheese balls topped with sliced olives, or place a skeleton’s hand on a cheeseboard or add gummy worms to chocolate cupcakes. The sky is the limit, so be creative and turn your food from edible to spooktacular. 

Some other ways to throw a chic Halloween soiree are to plan some spooky games for you and your guests to play and give visitors a sweet take-home gift. You could prepare candy bags for them in advance or set up a self-serve table where they can create their own preferred mix before they leave. All of these ideas will help you create a memorable event that gets talked about for the right reasons for years to come. 

 

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