Party Time: Halloween
This past Saturday, October 26th we hosted our Fourth Annual party that always falls around Halloween. We call it the Addams’ Family Dinner Party, as it’s always been a seated, more formal dinner.
Through the years the guest list has grown. From squeezing in way too many chairs at my flea market find formal dining room table to adding extensions last year (total fail), my dear Alan said it was time for a change.
So this year we opted for a more cocktail style feel. Read on to see event images, decoration ideas, recipes with my actual tips and comments (yes, we cooked), a super clever signature cocktail and of course Halloween fun just perfect for today. Oh and Happy Halloween, y’all!
The whole gang in our masks for this year’s party theme: The Purge. I bet you can’t guess who I am…oh wait, Momma may give that away LOL | photo is my own
plan ahead
If you’ve read my previous posts or even some of them, you’ll know that I’m a planner. I’m a true Virgo and love to have a plan of attack. Here’s my cheat sheet for planning an event like this (unless you have the means to hire extravagant party planners and can relinquish control like that LOL).
PICK a theme
build your guest list
Pick a date
send a save the date asap
BOOK YOUR BARTENDER
build your shopping list
arrange rentals (IF APPLICABLE)
or borrow from friends
Have friends that speak your crazy. This was two nights before the party…I was having a tabletop crisis, clearly. | photo is my own
decorate
GROCERY shop/stock the bar
follow up/confirm attendees
prep food & cook
party
TIP: (Alan’s idea not mine) We sent out a text link to a survey to our guests asking them which date worked best for them, their food preferences and, of course, cocktail choices. This was super helpful for us to nail down a date, give those with kiddo’s time to arrange for sitters and also so not to double book other parties and lose attendance.
INVItation idea
If you have the time, opt for a physical printed snail-mail invite. While we’ve done Paperless Post and Hobnob for past events, this year’s was way cooler. Again all Alan’s idea, but damn was it good: he made a scary movie video link with the scrolling emergency broadcast announcement from “The Purge” with rolling custom ticker giving the event details. Sadly, I cannot share it without disclosing our home address so you’ll have to take my word for it.
We texted the link to the video out- it made it super easy to share, add more people or have them share with others. Again, you have to plan ahead and remember that editing takes time and patience - we got super excited about our theme we picked this year (The Purge) and ordered masks super early JUST for the invite video stills shoot.
photo is my own
decor
By far the best part about Halloween…setting the tone, little layers added more and more…I usually start a week or two before and do a little each night after closing down the office. This makes it way less stressful and builds up the excitement for the party (if you’re into that sort of thing).
The more candles the better - the darker, dancing Salon from the night of | photo is my own
I’ve always been a fan of everything Halloween but the problem was I didn’t have any decorations. Bits and pieces of past costumes throughout the years, but nothing real decor. It’s taken me four years to get to where we are today in terms of our Halloween decor. Don’t go crazy just get a little more or couple big things each year, a little at a time and accumulate …also borrow from friends. I found some great tattered muslin eerie overlays at Spirit Halloween in black and grey…
Don’t forget to decorate your kitchen, especially if you’re cooking. We always start with the whole group in the kitchen visiting then have to shoo them out LOL | photo is my own
…some cobweb bowls and cocktail forks at my local Dollar Tree, party lights were on sale after Halloween two years ago at Walmart. I absolutely love them, remote controlled, various color options and indoor/outdoor suitable - we even use them for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
My spooky secretary. The interior is all lined with moire fabric so artificial tealights made it a much safer way to illuminate | photo is my own
To protect furniture and make for a haunted, abandoned house vibe, I layered old white sheet sets (usually used for frost cloth in our garden) to drape over sofas, settees and furniture. Super cheap paper craft masks (sold by the dozen) and clear Command hooks make for creepy wall “art” and also interactive for guests to grab for photo opp’s.
craft masks dining room wall installation | photo is my own
Tabletop, I must admit, I’m very blessed to have a ever-growing collection. Whether gifted, collected or purchased throughout my nesting years. I like to consider all holidays and maximum flexibility, especially using my own over renting, and especially anything but paper or disposable plates for my guests to use. I love my Midnight Willow and Florentine paper patterned plates and mix in other white, gold, silver and black (of course)…half were D/W safe and half hand-wash which made for much easier cleanup.
My gorgeous Maitland Smith tulipiere that Alan gave me for my birthday this year. I used some of those submersible LED pool lights and popped one in there to show off the beautiful pierced top lid details | photo is my own
food & drink
We opted for a help yourself, buffet style heavy hors d'oeuvres all atop the dining room table. Pulled the chairs away and had a big open top to serve upon, however this makes for the dilemma: what do we make, how & what do we serve all of this food in? So I made it easy on myself - went to Pinterest, searched “crowd pleaser appetizers” and then read through how easy they were to make, ingredients, etc.
Don’t kill yourself or make something that you know will be nearly impossible. (Tip: I made one item that the dough didn’t proof and rise correctly, so I planned that as a “bonus” and attempted to bake then trashed.)
Fails are okay - think like Julia...
“No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize.”
Don’t forget to cook dishes that don’t have to be piping hot to be yummy…think cold pizza and other items that will last through the night | photo is my own
Once I had pulled my final list (or digital pins) of dishes and apps together (menu below in BONUS LINKS)…I then printed them off to figure out how to make it all easier on myself, typed up my shopping list (so you can cut/past and sort by how your grocery store is stocked and how you navigate/shop it)…then I got to prepping. Seriously, if you can make something ahead and it’ll taste better - do it!
Homemade pepper jelly poured over cream cheese skull. I used three blocks of cream cheese (think moulding clay from art class in middle school), formed the brick to get the general shape, then used a melon baller to scoop out the eyes, nose and mouth - sculpt with clean finger tips and cover with plastic wrap the night before. Pour over jelly of choice and serve with assorted crackers. Huge hit in taste and looks | Photo is my own
Prep veggies, sauces or buy ready-made and serve in pretty crystal. I bought some frozen cheaters, opted for pre-made pizza crusts instead of making from scratch and of course, planned out my table. I like to have the recipes in hand and write out post-its then place into bowls or onto trays that will be best suited to each dish. Don’t forget a place for your sauces, plates to catch sticky serving utensils and empty vases for toothpicks & empty skewers. I love to plan my table out the night before the event sometimes even days, with a dirty martini, while also testing out the music and lights <wink>.
My post-it plan ahead night. TIP: Use serving tissue liners, doilies and cake platter liners to make clean up easier | photo is my own
Eyece Balls
Another fun pre-party planning item that I make nights before (a few a day) are my martini and cocktail “eyece” balls. Originally created for the party two years ago, I use the Tovolo ice forms, freeze overnight with eyeball ping pong balls (hand washed before) and they make for super fun and less messy way to chill your guests’ drinks.
Party pic with eyece ball dirty martinis from our Addams party two years ago | photo is my own
Signature cocktails are usually so lame, or at least to me they are. However, Alan has made me a believer! After nailing our Labor Day pool party with his Dia de Los Muertos Margaritas (complete with chilled Catrina mug and Coronita holder), I truly think he outdid himself this year with the Addams’ drink that was a total hit.
Allow myself to introduce you to…
The Blood Donor
1 part Everclear or Vodka + 1/2 part Cherry Kool-Aid + 1/2 part Raspberry Crystal Light
Serve in food-safe blood bags with built-in sipping straws (found online by Alan). Pre-mix in pitchers and funnel into each bag, store in chiller or cooler until imbibing.
We iced down a small medical cooler and arranged the bags like a hospital for added presentation and ease of guests helping themselves.
The Blood Donor - signature cocktail of 2019 The Purge edition of Addams’ Family Dinner | Photo is my own
We even did non-alcoholic versions of them which were labeled O Negative for our pregnant guests. Since this cocktail was such a huge hit this year, we came up with a remix of this cocktail for next year’s party, however it’ll have to stay a secret till then. So…
via Giphy
I hope to have enticed you to plan a future party of your very own - these are not JUST ideas and plan-ahead concepts to be use for Halloween alone, but for all holidays, birthdays and special events. Have fun and don’t make it too hard on yourself. Believe me, it takes year’s of mistakes and “I’ll never do that again”s to get the knack for it.
While there will always be those of us who host and those who always choose to instead help setup, cleanup or attend, it’s always thoughtful to be a good guest and never show up to any occasion empty-handed. Your host and/or hostess will be most appreciative of it. Plus you’ll solidify another future invite when you do.
Cheers,
KN
*** BONUS LINKS***
MUSHROOM PIZZA WITH HAVARTI CHEESE, FRESH HERBS, AND WHITE TRUFFLE OIL
MARINATED STEAK SKEWERS WITH KOREAN BBQ SAUCE
THREE INGREDIENT SPINACH DIP PINWHEELS
CHEESY PULL-APART GARLIC BREAD