Our Halloween Party: Part 1

I haven't hosted a party since my girls' Strawberry Shortcake birthday party in June, so I'm excited to share these photos of our Halloween party with you!

There is so much anticipation leading up to the big night of trick-or-treating, I thought it would be fun to start the night with a party, inviting a bunch of the neighborhood kids and their parents. Plus, it gives the adults a chance to talk, instead of running by one another as we catch up with our goblins running from house to house. There are quite a few photos, so I will be sharing the details in two separate posts. 

Here's the main table. I wanted to keep it light, since this was mainly for the kiddos. I stuck to the traditional orange and black and thought the polka dots provided a fun background. A few people asked me how I did the backdrop, so I will let you all know how I did it in a future post. There was a banner, but it looked kind of wimpy against the tall backdrop, so I took it down.

We took this photo before the food was put out. The menu for the kids included Anytizer popcorn chicken and homemade mac n' cheese (yummy recipe from "The Joy of Cooking."). The cones held sweet potato fries. The cones were made using this template here, found via hostessblog. I increased the size to about 125%. The base for the cones was made from cutting holes into foam core board (purchased at $1 store). I then covered it with black posterboard (cut holes to match foam core board), added the trim and placed it on top of a buffet tray holder. (Those frames that hold a disposable aluminum tray you can buy at any party supply store.)

For the adults, there was Butternut Squash soup and grilled veggie panini sandwiches--I think there were two left! The recipe is from here. Recognize those black cat circle toppers? Those were from the Sandra Lee Black Cat Bash post (here). And behind that, on the "picket fence," I used Love-the-Day's free Halloween printables she did for "Catch My Party" that I posted on Home Confetti's Facebook page. (All coming together now, right?!)

Of course, no Halloween party is complete without some treats! I made the pumpkin cupcakes and orange chocolate pops. Friends brought the "googly eye" deviled eggs and monster cookies.

The centerpiece was my big purchase for the table. I really loved the way it looked; knew if I had it, I wouldn't have to do too much else in terms of dressing up the table. Plus, I know I'll use it every year. With shipping, I purchased it from CostumeExpress.com for about $25. The little light-up pumpkin is from Target ($3).

The chandelier provided a great focal point for the room. I basically wrapped two large boas around the chandelier and hung mini pumpkins. Each little pumpkin had a battery-operated tealight to give it a little extra glow.

Finally I want to thank my friend and neighbor, Julie Kruse, of JulieArt Photography for taking these photos! She took all the photos, with the exception of the sandwiches and close-up of the tree centerpiece. (That's why those don't look as good as the others!)

Tomorrow I'll show you the games and "Hot Chocolate Lab"!