I can’t wait for Halloween, but am scrambling to get everything ready. If my life had a slogan it would be “Where has the time gone?” I find myself thinking or saying this almost daily. So, here it is October 25th and I can’t believe Halloween is just 6 days away! Scary stuff indeed.
Our construction zone at home has me a bit less organized this year than usual. But it won’t stop us from celebrating one of our favorite holidays. I love Halloween because it’s another excuse to decorate the house with the kids and be young at heart. I know my kids won’t want to celebrate with me forever so I try to make it as fun and festive as possible. We live in an area of Santa Monica, CA that’s notorious for going all out on Halloween. We generally open up our house to family and friends who live farther away and are looking for a home base during their trick-or-treating. It’s super casual and we’ve been doing it for years, so we have it down to a science. There’s a pot of chili on the stove, corn bread and caesar salad on the buffet and a serve-yourself drink area. No one wants to worry about doing dishes on Halloween so we use paper plates and napkins.
Since I’m running behind this year I need to be extra efficient about my purchases and I’m turning to my best friend, Amazon Prime, for most of my decorating and even my costume needs. Done and Done!
« EASY LAST MINUTE HALLOWEEN STUFF »
- GLASSES – the skull glasses (pictured above) are unbeatable from Target! But, if you want to go straight disposable these and these are cute too.
- COSTUME – I’m going for easy this year with a straight up witch hat (shown above). I also like the idea of throwing on a wacky wig like this or this.
- PAPER GOODS – Target has great paper goods for Halloween. The spider web paper plates (shown above) are a good choice but you could also order a whole party set like this one. I like mixing different napkins and plates, the polka dot napkins (shown above) say Halloween in a subtle way. These are also funny for a grown-up Halloween party.
- FOOD – Pamela Salzman is my go-to these days for delicious, easy and good-for-you recipes. These Magic Pumpkin Bars will probably be more appealing to grown ups but the kids don’t need an additional dessert given all the candy at Halloween. We always make Emeril’s Chili recipe and we substitute turkey for the red meat. We make it a few days ahead and let the flavors come together. We also make Corn Bread from Trader Jo’s and a Ceasar Salad.
- DECORATE – Use inexpensive mesh Halloween material like this Creepy Cloth (shown above) as a runner for your buffet table. I like getting creative and making my own centerpiece, I put Manzanita branches like these or these (pictured above) in a vase with some pebbles to secure them. Then I hang rubber bats and little skeletons (both pictured above) from the branches. This Zombie Napkin Holder (pictured above) is also a fun touch for the table. A wreath like this one (pictured above) is always a good way to give your front door some Halloween spirit. Decorate with candy too – I love these eyeballs (pictured above) or these because they’re creepy, funny and delicious.
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