# need ideas for elegant party



## MHooch (Jun 15, 2007)

You need to get with Martha Stewart, either by website or old Halloween magazines. She has the best grownup Halloween ideas that are very classy. I've used lots of her stuff in the past. One of my favorites is decorating with simple black silhouettes of Halloween icons, you know...cats, bats, pumpkins, witches. One year we turned our living room into a bat cave with silhouettes of many many bats (didn't count, but there were A LOT!). I like the theme of having the guests dress all in black, perhaps you could stage a funeral?? Coffin, candlelight, black roses, black fabric swags on all the windows, and even "black" food choices (dark chocolate looks black), some caviar is black, black punch. Or how about a Masquerade Ball? All the guests could dress in black and white and wear fancy masks, you know with feathers, sequins, etc.

I'm rambling...definitely get onto Martha Stewart.com...she has much better ideas than me!!


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## MHooch (Jun 15, 2007)

I hope this link works, it's from Better Homes and Gardens...a spooky wedding themed party...this decor was the first thing that popped into my head when you said something elegant....

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/sl...a/bhg/slideshow/data/1186680000859.xml&page=1


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

THanks Mhooch, great ideas. I actually have that better homes and gardens magazine from last year, I forgot about it. Last night I was talking to Pandora and I remembered I also had the Martha Stewart Mag that came out last year that was about Dark Halloween on one side and Light Halloween on the other. She also had some good ideas in there. I forgot about that one too until I started talking about it. 
You are right thought Martha is the way to go for elegant. I can;t wait to see what she has this year. Thanks again


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## HallowSkeen (Jul 25, 2006)

Here is a website that I found that has some good ideas. 

http://www.hostesswiththemostess.com/themes/

Scroll about 3/4 of the way down and you will get to the Halloween theme ideas. She has some very clever and inexpensive ideas for everything from decorations and invitations to food and drink.


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Thanks HalloSkeen, great site. I've been to hostess with the mostess before but i hadn't seen this stuff before. Thanks lots of great ideas. I can really take these ideas and expand on them. If you have anymore please keep sharing.


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## TheGothicPrincess (Sep 7, 2007)

I like the black and white elegant theme also... So keep the ideas coming...


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## BooBerrie (Jan 1, 2008)

I agree... the black and white theme sounds really nice... maybe with a touch of red?


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

HallowSkeen said:


> Here is a website that I found that has some good ideas.
> 
> http://www.hostesswiththemostess.com/themes/
> 
> Scroll about 3/4 of the way down and you will get to the Halloween theme ideas. She has some very clever and inexpensive ideas for everything from decorations and invitations to food and drink.


Thanks HallowSkeen-I'd never seen that website before. 

SM-I'm glad you liked the ideas. I agree with everyone here about Martha Stewart. She has some fantastic Halloween party ideas that are very elegant and a lot of them are very simple and easy to accomplish. I also wanted to know if you're planning a dinner or just appetizers, etc. My party is an afternoon (ends up until evening) and I just do desserts and appetizers. It worked out very well. A dinner would also be fun too, and I know alot of people on the forum have dinners and would have wonderful ideas. So which way are you leaning?


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## MHooch (Jun 15, 2007)

Hallowskeen; great site, thanks!


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

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.


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

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.


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## childofthenight (Aug 24, 2007)

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


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

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


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## digbugsgirl (Aug 15, 2007)

The masquerade sounds so classy! Love that idea! Also love Marth Stewart's ideas. She is the best when it comes to being classy.


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

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".


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

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.


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

Spookilicious mama said:


> 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.


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## MHooch (Jun 15, 2007)

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.


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## theworstwitch (Aug 14, 2006)

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!


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## HallowSkeen (Jul 25, 2006)

Spookilicious mama said:


> Thanks HalloSkeen, great site. I've been to hostess with the mostess before but i hadn't seen this stuff before. Thanks lots of great ideas. I can really take these ideas and expand on them. If you have anymore please keep sharing.


I don't know if you saw the Hostess With the Mostess blog on this website or not. It is also a great resource for all kinds of halloween party ideas. I love this website. She has very creative ideas.

http://www.hostessblog.com/labels/halloween.html


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Mhooch, I love going to thrift stores that is one of my favorite things to do. 
Worstwitch - love the ideas, thanks for the tips I will definately make good use of them.


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

I forgot I meant to post this link before. I came up with it searching around one night:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/pac_ctnt_988/text/0,,HGTV_22056_51609,00.html

HGTV's website has quite a few cool ideas for Halloween. Even if they're not exactly what you're looking for, they can be a starting point.


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Hostess thanks for the blog info. I will try that
Pandora great site, very cool ideas. Jeeze Louise I don't know how I am ever going to decide on what to do for which party. Good thing I'm starting now. 

Keep those ideas coming!


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## Dr. Z (Nov 22, 2007)

Spookilicious Mama, I will suggest a _Masquerade party_ based on the Venetian Carnival theme. You know with all the guest dressed up in black with masks, kind of like in the Kubrick's _Eyes Wide Shut_ movie ? 
(see that link if you don't know what I'm referring to : 




It looks very classy, such as a upper class like party, and very creepy too! All those expressionless mask gathered... Maybe you could add some Italian opera, or baroque music playing while the guest are chatting and having some fun. Feel free to improve !


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Thanks Dr. Z. Great ideas. I will check out the movie to see what you were talking about. 
Keep those ideas coming guys.


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## Jackielantern (Oct 31, 2005)

Warpaint has some awesome labels he made for his witch jars. I used them for that and also for labels for my appetizers. Hopefully they are still available from his webpage.

Check out this thread:

http://www.halloweenforum.com/showthread.php?t=63750&highlight=labels


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## Jackielantern (Oct 31, 2005)

Oh I forgot. Do you have an IKEA by you? I picked up a glass picture for $2. It 's kinda small, but maybe they have larger ones? I can't remember since it was awhile ago.


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

SM - Ok so everyone's thrown alot at you. Have you gone in any direction in particular? Or shown any preference? Just to give us an idea of what you're leaning too, so we can go that way... Does that make sense?


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Pandora - I love the web site that you sent me on elegant parties. So I'm thinking of going with the black or red velvet table cloths the elaborate centerpieces, lots of candles. Very dark and sophisticated. I really want to try to make it as elegant and dark as possible.


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Dr. Z I also like that masquerade idea. Playing with that idea as well. I did like your music suggestion. so maybe between the two I can come up with something nice


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Jackielatern, thanks for the tips on the glass pitchers we just got an IKEA here and I will check it out. Gonna check out those labels too. I really like the way Pandora used labels for her party so i definately want to do that.


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

One thing I really like in most of these elegant party ideas is the use of candles and candelabras. I would start hunting now (maybe yard sales, antique stores or thrift stores) for candelabras that you can paint black or maybe that are already silver. They add so much elegance to a table IMHO. I love the red and black theme - almost Phantom of the Opera. Maybe watch that movie again for some inspiration. P.S. The cemetery scene at the end is to die for!!!!

Also, did you decide whether you going dinner or appetizers?


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Yes I am definately doing candelabras. I have several I bought in H.G. they are black glass with black glass large beads hanging from them. I am on the lookout for bigger ones though. You know the kind that look really old and even better when the candle wax is dripping on them, I'm not sure yet whether to do dinner or appet. Still not sure.


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## GDfreak (Jul 11, 2006)

I did a vampire masquerade befor. It was a blast. very phantom of the opera style.


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## TheGothicPrincess (Sep 7, 2007)

You can do a lot with scrapbook paper, very inexpensive, 5 cents to 1.00 a sheet. Here is a few decorating tips to get started. Some ideas may not incorporate SB paper. 


black table cloth

white inexpensive candles with black paper wrapped middle ways around candles

white paper with decorative edge use as place mats

fill inside of clear votive glasses then drop a 2nd smaller votive inside with red candle. place several around table

large clear bowl, center of table, red floating candles OR hands put a larger vase right in the middle of bowl filled with water, create a flower arrangement inside the vase

Sprinkle rose petals in black, white or red all over table

masquerade masks on the table or in the flower centerpiece. Use cardboard as masks, and cover with SB paper

use a short black or white table cloth, then cover the table cloth with toile, drape toile to floor. under the table string white lights for dramatic effect. 

drape toile from one edge of ceiling to the other side of ceiling. wrap or hang xmas lights in toile. 

Cranberry juice can be substituted for red wine. Create small wine charms (bats, coffin, etc) out of SB paper

Spray paint xmas lights black for creepy effect, string through out house. Creepy in potted plants. 

Coordinating Invitations printed on SB paper, go online and find tutorials how to make your own envelopes out of SB paper.


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

Thegothicprincess - Thanks for all of the great ideas. I really like the lights idea. I am going to work that in somehow. Oh boy I am feeling a little overwhelmed so many ideas. I think I have what I want to do, but if you come up with anymore please feel free to suggest. I thought I had everything and here you go with the lights idea and I'm like "hey i really like that". Under the table cloth you say. HMMMM very cool! Thanks again


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## Skullie (Apr 22, 2008)

Buffet table with black black table cloth to ground. Two cheap silver candelabra one at each end, (Get on E-Bay) put some black candels in them. They have those plastic Trays and Flat ware that look like real silver they also have plastic plates that look like real china, white with silver edging. (I can look up if you want.) black napkins with party logo stamped in silver ink. halloween cake setting on a silver elevated plate ( decorated with Black rolled fondant and the party crest inbedded on the side with gold gilded edging and tiny skull and cross bones along the edges where the white ruffles fondant meets the bottom borders) deep red gum paste flowers with witchy stick gather in a cascade to lye on top of the cake. black magic roses arranged in candelabra with ivy hanging down. on a wall near the table a large picture of bella Lagosi with a heavy gothic frame. Red velvet drapped around the portrate with silver cords mingeled in. plastic glass goblits with red water and flotting candels in them. small foam skulls with silver glitter on them here and there. A touch of spider webbing under the Cake stand and in flowers. Your food placed on the silver trays with silver service ware. around the room different size pillars with skull impailed urns with Black and red roses aranged accented with spider and webbing, in a corner here and there a small plastic pot with spray foam in it. paint containers silver wrap with black tull and put old tree branches sprayed black in them with white minnie light. Your best halloween props here and there. Some motion ativated ghostly books, perhaps some spell books placed out for all to see. An old chair next to a small table with a gold candelabra on it with a cotton white dollie. a crow sitting on back of chair. maybe a standing candelabra in the back ground. this is where your guests can sit and have a picture taken. Invitations on white paper edged in silver. Gracously asking the guest to arrive at your home in their best horror attire. Enclose the invitation in a pure black folding envelope wrap a satin red ribbon around it and seal it with a silver seal sticker. then stamp the seal with black inked party logo stamp. enclose in a earthly envelope and mail. I think I am getting carried away. I had better stop now while I can. Good Luck with your party

Skullie
PS please forgive my spelling


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## Spookilicious mama (Feb 27, 2008)

WOW!!!!!!!!! thanks skullie for all the great ideas. I will definately be using some of these. Would love to see what you come up with when you actually put a little thought into it Thanks again. I will let you guys know what I did when the time comes.

Spooky


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## maleficent (May 20, 2007)

How about "An Evening at the Theatre" or "An Evening at the Opera"? I don't know if you have a Wishing Well store in your area, but here ours still has some Oscar night scene setters. Star lit ballroom, red velvet drapes, small kid size binoculars to use as opera glasses, candelabras. Perhaps something along the lines of Amadeus, hoop skirts and powdered wigs. 1920's or 1940's, elegant dresses, elbow length gloves, big jewelry.


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## maleficent (May 20, 2007)

The only other party I would like to do is a Rocky Horror Picture Show party. "You came on a rather special night, it's one of the Master's affairs."


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## MHooch (Jun 15, 2007)

WOW Skullie! What a great description, I feel like I was there. I *WANT* to be there!!!


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## Dr. Z (Nov 22, 2007)

maleficent said:


> The only other party I would like to do is a Rocky Horror Picture Show party. "You came on a rather special night, it's one of the Master's affairs."


That would be a very cool idea! But it has to be raining outside


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## bethene (Feb 12, 2007)

What alot of fabulous ideas. Spooky, it will be hard to decide which ones to use. I only have one thing to add, I saw a picture once, not sure where ( I look at so many halloween related sites, unless I write things down, I tend to forget- old age?) of a party that had black tulling draped around with red christmas lights in it, it was a elegantly creepy look. You might want to experiment, that could be done as a table cloth too, red cloth, black tuling draped with the lights.


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## MHooch (Jun 15, 2007)

maleficent said:


> The only other party I would like to do is a Rocky Horror Picture Show party. "You came on a rather special night, it's one of the Master's affairs."


LOL!! I have been trying to get my hubby dressed up as Frank-N-Furter for *YEARS.* He is a good sport about most costumes, but draws the line at fishnet pantyhose!!!


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