All Hallow's Eve

Halloween is near, and with a little planning, you can host a fun and frightening gathering for your trick or treater’s and their parents alike.  With a few thought-ahead props, you will delight your guests and set the stage for a scary but whimsical evening.  Depending on the ages of your ghouls and goblins, simply vary the theme.

Here are some ideas, sure to thrill your guests:

Set The Stage:  First impressions count.  A scary entry way will let guests know they are in for a real treat.  Set up your props where guests will see them as soon as they arrive.  Carved, lit pumpkins, scary music or sound effects playing, or an “Enter if You Dare” sign will set the mood.  Stuff a body (clothes filled with leaves) and mark off the “murder scene” with caution tape. Set up a cauldron with dry ice and light it from behind. (But be careful when handling the dry ice, as it can be harmful to your skin!)

Menu:  Keep it simple.  Since the kids will be inhaling candy most of the evening, there is no need to serve a gourmet feast.  Order a pizza for them while they finish getting in their costumes, and then place out some no fuss placed hors d’oeuvres - cheese, crackers, pates, vegetables and dip – for the adults.   This will suffice in warding off any hunger pains before you set out to walk the neighborhood.  Supper, when you return, can consist of chili and corn bread (you can even use green food coloring to make it look moldy) – and will be a welcoming treat especially if it is a cold night.  Amuse your guests by renaming the foods and making signs, such as, “Monster Mash” for the chili, “Eye of Newt” for the pate, or “Devil’s Dip”.  Bottles of soda, water or wine can be relabeled as well.  “Witch’s Brew” or “Vampire Blood” are an unexpected addition and continue on the frightful theme.

The Kitchen Table:  Resist the temptation to plaster the house with everything Halloween.  Focus instead on one room.  We like the kitchen.  A black linen or black fabric will showcase not only your food, but also your scary sense of fun.  Candelabras with black candles, a dead potted fern, or dead flowers sprayed black, and cobwebs strung and stretched all around will round out the display.  Scatter around the food some fake dead rats or spiders, (or hide them in bowls of roasted pumpkin seeds) and more carved pumpkins to further create the spooky atmosphere.  Keep the lighting dim, or go for more dramatic lighting by exchanging regular light bulbs for colored ones or black lights.

Finish out the night outside.  While the kids are inside separating, counting and trading their loot, the adults can head out to the fire pit and enjoy the last respites of this year’s fright night.  Have plenty of seating available, so the adults can “rest their weary bones”.