Halloweeen Party and Decor Ideas

A couple of months ago, I had to set up a Halloween party and pretend like it was October....in late July! It was all for an article in Southern Holiday Life magazine about kid and family friendly Halloween party tips. You can read that article HERE on page 57.  

Today, however, I wanted to focus on some details of this party that I didn't get to include in my article. All of these photos weren't chosen for the actual issue, so I thought I'd share with you today!

If you notice the Sanderson name, it's from one of my favorite Halloween movies, Hocus Pocus. The film was my inspiration for this party. I imagined the three Sanderson sisters setting up a fabulous buffet of yummy treats to lure the children in. "Come little children..." 

Decor Details

Some inexpensive decorating items I used were:
*Pots with black spray painted branches that I gleaned from my yard. I also stuck a few branched with leaves attached to give it a little texture, then I added some cheesecloth to look like spider webs.
*Old bottles as candle holders. I gathered some old bottles and put taper candles in them. I lit them a couple of days before to make them look old and drippy. I used these on the table and the buffet.
*Cheesecloth as spider webs. I even added the cheesecloth to the doorways for a spooky entry to the room. To make it look like webs, pull and stretch cloth very thin.
*The tablecloth is black cheesecloth. I found this at a local fabric store (Glen's in Sanford) and ripped holes in it and at the edges to make it look old and tattered. It wasn't actual cheesecloth, but it was almost exactly like it. It was very inexpensive.
*Let the food double as decor. I tried to stay with my chosen color scheme when I chose my food. I was using orange, purple, and green and I tried to let the foods showcase those colors.

Food Details

The purple pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate are witch's wands. The zombie brains beside it is actually just mini marshmallows, pretzels, and pecans stirred into almond bark. I spread the mixture onto wax paper and let it set. Then, I just broke into pieces.

These witches hats are just Oreos, Hershey Kisses, and pre-made frosting (the kind that comes in a tube.) Easy peasy. 

I used a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to cut out ham and turkey sandwiches. 

The green punch was so delicious! If you missed the recipe for it, you can view it HERE. 

This was the first time I had ever done a Halloween party, and I have to say, it was one of the most fun to decorate for! I had a great time coming up with all of it! I hope you can maybe incorporate some of these ideas into your next Halloween shindig!