If you are the type of person who looks forward to the spooky season every year, whose closet is filled with black clothing, then it is time to start planning your frightening feast for Halloween.
That said, if you want to add a little spookiness to your celebration on the scariest night of the year, here’s how you can go about it.
Location and invites
The first aspect of any party planning is deciding on your location and inviting your guests. Dinner parties are perfect for hosting at home.
Choose between a sit-down dinner and buffet style, and if the weather behaves and your guests are brave enough, a spooky garden party could also be an option.
Plan your menu
If you are handling all of the food in-house, this is where the fun begins. Try dishes like apple tarts, pumpkin spiced desserts, roast chicken with root vegetables and roasted sweet potatoes.
Beverage selection
Drinks are important, too! Offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options on a Halloween-themed drinks menu. You can create a signature cocktail, like a spiced hot toddy or spiced sangria.
Provide straws and mixers for those who may want to customise their drinks. You can even set up a mini bar area with a bartender ready to serve drinks.
Keep it short
I believe it is important to keep your dinner menu short and sweet. If you are entertaining a large group, keeping the menu tight at five or six courses is key to keeping everything organised; too many courses can crowd a menu and inevitably one of the dishes may fall short.
A smaller menu allows you to make sure each dish is prepared to perfection.
Variety is key
Everyone has different preferences and tastes, so it is important to have at least one vegetarian and vegan option so that guests do not need to ask for alternatives.
This will not be necessary if it is a small group, but for larger groups, it avoids putting guests in an awkward position of having to make a special request, or worse, go hungry.
Do not forget monstrous music
Halloween music is definitely needed to get everyone in the mood. There are plenty of sound effects online, but you generally want tracks that are going to last a few minutes.
Throw in horror movie theme songs like “Thriller” and “Ghostbusters” and you are good to go.
Now you know what is needed to host a Halloween-inspired dinner party, it is time to get planning.
If you do not fancy a full-blown dinner party you could always add some Halloween touches to cakes, desserts and pastries and take on a home bake-off challenge.