Hey Pandora, actually I was thinking along the lines of a dinner, maybe formal setting with a touch of goth However your idea of the afternoon sounds good to, I could do some really cool appetizers and drinks not to mention desserts. I'm not sure now. Between my sons big bash and haunted house October is a very expensive month for me so I see how it goes. appetizers might save me some money. I hope I'm able to do them both.
I agree a dinner is much more fun, but the appetizers/desserts could turn out cheaper. I guess it all depends on what you come up with for a menu. I made a couple of mistakes with my party last year that I'll change this year. One was I had too many choices. I know that sounds funny- but I had about 6 choices of both appetizers and desserts. I think I'll knock it down to 3-4 of each this year. It was a little bit too spread out. Also, I had a whole cake and cut slices-ready to serve, but it was a large cake and I think it was too big. Some women took pieces home (which was great), but this year I'll make everything bite-size or close to it.
For drinks I had Wicked Rum Punch, Vampire wine, soft drinks and Bloody Marys. The Bloody Marys didn't really get drunk, so this year I'm making Poisoned Apple Martinis instead (a more popular drink). I made everything by the pitcher-so no one had to "man the bar". I served them in beautiful glass pitchers and printed signs in my invitation font for all the food and drinks. We also used glass wine glasses and cloth napkins/tablecloths also. I think spending the extra money on the "real" thing definitely makes a party more elegant. Plus now I'm set up for this year instead of rebuying paper/plastic tableware every year.
I hope I'm not repeating something....ever think of a victorian ball? you know .with every one with their masks on sticks.. it's classy.. and you still can have halloween stuff around... ever see the movie hocus pocus theres a party like what I meen there.. just a thought .. and for appitizers you need to talk to my wife fallencorpse .. we put on a party every year and we dont have much money..but she comes through with some cool apitizers and finger food... I agree with pandora bite size is the best..people at our partys just grab and go LOL
Childofthenight a victorian ball sounds like that could be fun, I think i will rent the movie to see the party you were talking about, thanks for the tip
Pandora, Ilove the idea of making poisoned apple martinis. I like even better the idea of not having to man a bar. Glass pitchers you say. I may have to start looking around now so I have them when the time comes. Do you have any pictures of the way you labeled them. I think that magazine we were talking about (Martha Stewart Halloween) had some thing similar where you could copy her lables. What kind of font did you use. I was thinking of making signs on parchment paper and maybe double backing them with some type of color paper (not sure yet what colors) then posting them on sticks to let people know what the drinks are and to give the food cool names.
I think you are both right about the appetizers I think I am leaning that way and definately cloth napkins and table cloth. I am all about cloth everything espicially for the holidays. Thanks again
SM-the pitchers I bought at Target. They weren't very pricey - but looked very nice. I took orange card stock and printed my "names" on white paper. Then folded the orange and tacked on the white paper name with scrapbooking tabs. If you look in my Photobucket link and go to Halloween 2007 and then click on Bewitched Bash on the left - picture number 569 kind of shows the little folded cards I did for everything. The font I used is called Girls are Weird. I wanted something quirky and not completely spooky, so it may not be what you're looking for. Try halloweenfonts.com or just a search for free fonts, they don't have to be "Halloween" to suit what you're looking for. For your party I agree the black and white is a good choice. Maybe pick one more accent color to add in (orange, red, purple, green, etc.) to make it "pop".
Pandora-Thanks for the tip with Target. I will start looking now. I don;t know if you have this store where you live, but Homegoods is a great store for things like that as well. I will start checking both now so I can start collecting my pitchers. I have a Country Living Magazine that has an article in it about just collecting glass pitchers and I always thought that would be a good thing to have so not better time than the present to start collecting them. The article showed all different types displayed and it looked really nice. I think your idea of folding the cards will work out better. I will do that instead. They easy to display that way. Thanks also for the site Halloweenfonts.com I will definately check that out tonight when I get home.
Pandora-Thanks for the tip with Target. I will start looking now. I don;t know if you have this store where you live, but Homegoods is a great store for things like that as well. I will start checking both now so I can start collecting my pitchers. I have a Country Living Magazine that has an article in it about just collecting glass pitchers and I always thought that would be a good thing to have so not better time than the present to start collecting them. The article showed all different types displayed and it looked really nice. I think your idea of folding the cards will work out better. I will do that instead. They easy to display that way. Thanks also for the site Halloweenfonts.com I will definately check that out tonight when I get home.
LOL!!! I love, love, love Home Goods. I told my kids we were going to go there on Sunday and they scream. I use it as punishment for them, because they know I'll be there for at least an hour every time. Home Goods may have the pitchers, but you know they can be hit or miss. I know Target carries the ones I bought year round. You can always use a glass pitcher.
I also liked the clear glass pitchers opposed to color, because it shows off the color of your mixed drinks. I made rum punch last year (equal parts cranberry juice, pineapple juice and Malibu rum) and then tinted it with food coloring (made it green) and it looks wonderful in the pitchers. I think I'll make it purple this year because of the Poisoned Apple Martinis.
And Country Living is great - particularly the Halloween edition. I'm still trying to find the black hobnail cake plate they featured on the cover last year. I don't think I'll ever find it at a reasonable price, but I'll keep looking. They have some great simple, elegant ideas. Some are very country-but you can change them up for your purposes.
I always find a lot of glass goods at our local thrift shops. I cruise through every so often, and always with an eye towards things I can use for Halloween. The glass goods are usually really inexpensive, too.
In the 1920's Halloween parties were all the rage. The hostess was to decorate to the nines and the party often included games for couples. The decor and imagery was adult oriented and creepy to elegant. I've seen some beautiful examples in vintage halloween books and websites.
Guests names were written on (Halloween image, of course) place cards set on the table.
Halloween center pieces were on all tables.
Games: quizes, fortunes and stunt games were popular and the games had Halloween imagery on them.
I bet you could make some of these things with a cool graphic and a printer.
Sounds like a cool idea, good luck!
However your idea of the afternoon sounds good to, I could do some really cool appetizers and drinks not to mention desserts. I'm not sure now. Between my sons big bash and haunted house October is a very expensive month for me so I see how it goes. appetizers might save me some money. I hope I'm able to do them both.
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