This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small compensation if you make a purchase using the link, at no extra charge to you. Ghosts, and Goblins, and Ghouls, Oh my! I gotta say I love Halloween. On what other holiday can perfectly reasonable adults put on ridiculous costumes and give out obscene amounts of candy to children, without anyone thinking twice? Plus, the decorations are just some downright festive fun. So in anticipation of the upcoming 31st day of October, today we will be presenting a very easy, yet very ghoulish Halloween Happy Hour. The best part of this happy hour spread is that it is inexpensive and requires very little prep work, perfect for a last minute Halloween gathering with friends. Here we will cover how to stage the presentation of our spread, with links to the featured Halloween recipes that can also be found under the ‘recipes’ tab. I had the privilege of putting on this Halloween get together with the help of my mom at my parent’s new house. God blessed me with a mother who is also my best friend, and I credit her with instilling in me a spirit for party throwing and decorating from a very young age. I lovingly refer her as the ‘Queen of Fung Shui’ for her eye for decorating and design. Pictured below is their kitchen island, set with just the décor, prior to adding the appetizers and treats. Up front is our haunted table top Halloween tree. Although the particular one pictured was a gift from a family member several years ago, a very similar one can be found here, for a reasonable price. We do most of our party shopping at dollar-style general stores, where we purchased a variety of Halloween themed trays, paper plates, napkins, and cups. These type of decorations can be found at most any superstore or general store during the season. Typically we can keep this under $20 top if shopping at a store that keeps prices around a dollar. To set up the presentation, we set our beverages of choice on a Halloween tray, next to pumpkin cups, wine glasses and stir sticks, all of which were purchased at our local Dollar Store. We then placed various themed trays around the island top with our Crock Pot at one end of the table, and fun Halloween confetti cutouts sprinkled between the various dishes. Just before the party, we added the food to the presentation. When planning food for a party or happy hour, planning is everything. A small amount of even last minute planning, can take the food serving from a nightmare to a breeze. For happy hours and parties that are not sit-down dinners, I find the best strategy to be a variety of appetizers, drinks and at least one small sweet treat to finish. The important part of this strategy is that everything be easily made in single, self-serve-able, buffet style. In other words, this isn’t the type of occasion to showcase your famous lasagna. You want foods that can easily be picked up and placed on a small plate, allowing your guests to mingle between the kitchen and the party. They should be able to try out a little bit of every dish, and go back for more as they desire. The lack of discrete beginning or end to the dining keeps the flow of the party going and allows guests to stay as long or as shortly as they wish. The formula I like to use for these occasions is as follows:
For this Halloween Happy Hour, our central appetizer is Monster Meatballs. These are served along with a Witchy Face Fruit Tray, our Deviled Spider’s Eggs, and Ghoul’s Guts spread with crackers. To finish off with a sweet treat, we also served Miniature Swirled and Spooky Cheesecakes. See the pictures for how we arranged our dishes and drink station on our decorated island. You can find the link to the recipe and instructions for dish in the text above and under the ‘recipes’ tab in the navigation menu. Please feel free to post your experience giving these ideas a try and any other creative additions you have come up with along the way. Keep an eye out for future posts on more holiday gatherings, as well as ideas for other entertaining in other settings, such as more formal occasions and office parties. Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoy!
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AuthorDoctor by day, baker by night! When I'm not at my doctoring day job, I love to be in the kitchen with my family baking, cooking, decorating and, most importantly, eating ice cream. ArchivesCategories |