This year we decided to host our 1st annual costume dinner party. Halloween is our favorite holiday of the year and we wanted to do something special for, and with, our friends. We told our guests to arrive in costume and we’d take care of everything else. It couldn’t have been more incredible!!! So let’s talk details, shall we?!
DECOR
While I was in the planning process, I knew I wanted to host our dinner party in the backyard. We have a pretty perfect space to set up a long table + games and it’s a lot less stuffy outside than it is indoors. I borrowed a few tables from one of our friends and used the chairs we had sitting around the house. Nothing matched, but since this wasn’t a formal affair, that particular detail didn’t matter.
We also bought a few new sets of party lights to string through the trees so that we’d have more lighting. It’s usually pretty dark in that part of the yard and these lights worked great! We just hooked them into the sets we already had strewn around the patio.
We invested in an inflatable movie screen that we set-up and streamed Halloween while we were eating. 10 out of 10 recommend. The movie added to the overall ambiance and was such a great conversation starter, too! (We had the projector and speaker already on hand).
I went pretty simple with the table decor…just enough to be moody, but not too overboard. I used these black plastic tablecloths from the Dollar Tree and used that as the base for the party motif. I ran a few sheets of black cheesecloth down the center of the table and then topped that with spanish moss. I love using spanish moss in my centerpieces because it makes such a great (and inexpensive) filler. I arranged the plastic skulls in varying sizes through the spanish moss and then placed these votive lights at different places down the center to add to the moodiness of the decor. I had all my wine drinking girlfriends save me their empty bottles for a few weeks beforehand. I spray painted them all black and then added tapered candles to them on the night of the party. It was PERFECT!
I went simple and inexpensive for the tableware as well. I didn’t want clean-up to be a massive chore, so I served our guests on black paper plates and used these plastic goblets from Dollar Tree for our signature Spooky Sangria. I bought black plastic utensils & themed napkins that could just be tossed when dinner was over. It was perfect! Since we were cooking/serving the meal by ourselves, I created a little menu to place on top of each place setting with these retractable knives for fun.
We also set out a drink/snack table where we placed our signature Spooky Sangria and other light bites and mixers. I used more black plastic tablecloths to cover the table and then added cheesecloth to the top. I bought this DIY balloon arch (as well as this electric balloon pump…HIGHLY recommend!!!) to decorate the table and then added a few candles here and there as well as some extra decor I had in our Halloween decor stash.
MENU
We wanted to cook for our friends so that all they’d have to do is just show up and enjoy themselves, so I was really intentional about creating a menu with easy to cook, easy to serve dishes. I made quite a few things beforehand so that I wasn’t cooking while our guests were hanging out and that made things go so smoothly! Here’s what we served…
For our appetizers (aka: Mounting Suspense), we served a couscous salad, tomato basil soup, and breadsticks. I made the salad the night before the party and pre-portioned out each serving in these awesome little beakers. Such a fun touch!
The tomato basil soup was so easy. I put that on an hour or so before the party and let it simmer until ready to serve. I used refrigerated breadsticks for the “serpent sticks“. I flattened out one side for the serpent’s head, twisted the remainder, and then placed two black peppercorns close to the flattened tip for the eyes. Really easy, but a little time consuming. Soup was served in these black bowls that are a staple in our daily food servings.
For the main course (aka: Killer Showdown), we served pork tenderloin with a raspberry maple glaze. My husband smoked the pork on his Grilla and I made the glaze on the stovetop. Easy and delicious. We placed little ramekins of extra glaze on the table so that our friends could have as much as they wanted.
For the sides (aka: Jump Scares), we served mashed potatoes and smashed brussel sprouts…a perfect compliment to the main course! I phoned it in and made things SUPER easy with the mashed potatoes by using the Bob Evans pre-made batches. I bought a few trays, added them to a baking dish, and then heated in the oven until ready to serve. The brussels were a little more time consuming, but dear Lord, SO GOOD.
For dessert (aka Possibility for a Sequel), my oldest made red velvet cakes in the shape of skulls. Boxed cake mix in these skeleton head baking pan molds and topped off with store bought frosting and these candy knife cupcake toppers. Easy peasy.
I went a little overboard with the food and also added a charBOOterie table to the mix. I bought these faux roaches, tongues, and bloody fingers as tray decor (gross) and these little cauldrons for nuts and spreads. We served a variety of cheeses/crackers/nuts/etc. I used a toothpick to carve “to die for” into the brie and filled the carving with strawberry jam.
We served two signature cocktails and our guests brought their own beverages. The Spooky Sangria was a hit! Not a drop left when it was all said and done. I served the sangria in this pot that I already had on hand because I thought it looked like a cauldron and was big enough to fit a triple batch. We added a few blocks of dry ice (from the grocery store) before serving to add to the vibe…so much fun!
We also served these Vampire Kiss cocktails that were a fun little touch – lemonade + Tito’s OR Deep Eddy’s Lemonade and a plastic syringe full of strawberry daquiri mixer. I served these in the clear disposable cups with the faux vampire teeth for fun.
While dinner and drinks were the main event, we sat around the fire talking and watching movies on the big screen for hours after we were finished eating. We ended the night with a costume contest. Everyone placed three votes – best female costume, best male costume, & best couples costume. We didn’t ask anyone to dress as couples, but everyone did and that was such a fun surprise.
My husband and I went as Stu and Alan (The Hangover).
Lydia Deetz and Beetlejuice made an appearance.
So did Doc + Marty McFly
I found these great little trophies on Amazon and awarded them to the winners!
I HIGHLY recommend throwing a Halloween party for your friends if you’re able. Best night, best memories. I can’t wait to do it again next year!
INSTAGRAM FAQ’S
I posted all about our little dinner party on Instagram and had lots of questions about the logistics. Here’s a rapid fire wrap-up of the most frequently asked questions.
Q: Did you have a budget?
A: Yes! If you know me well, you know I like to get creative with my spending so that I can maximize every dollar. I want to save where I can and splurge only when it’s necessary. Since I planned the party a month beforehand, I was able to spread out the spending. I got a lot of decor/servingware from the Dollar Tree which was incredibly cost effective & the “big” things we purchased (party lights, inflatable movie screen) are things we’ll reuse over and over again. The biggest bulk of our budget was spent on food.
Q: Did you hire a caterer?
A: No! We cooked everything ourselves. Our friends would’ve been just as happy with pizza or potluck, but we really wanted to treat them to something special.
Q: How did you keep the food warm before serving?
A: We have a double oven that we used to keep things warm, but the only things we really had to worry about were the main course + sides and the soup.
Q: What would you suggest doing if I wanted to do something similar but don’t want to cook?
A: Make it a potluck! Assign each person/couple a different type of dish to bring OR just make it really easy and grab a few pizzas…honestly, I think the fellowship is what makes it truly special. Don’t overthink the food part!
Q: What did your friends like the best about the meal? I can’t do it all, but would like to do a couple of the most favorites.
A: The Spooky Sangria was a hit. Everyone loved it…even me! I don’t like wine at all, but this sangria is incredible. As for the food, I feel like most of our people raved about the tomato basil soup!!! It really was delish and so, so, SO easy!
Q: How far in advance did you start prepping?
A: I started planning a month before the party and starting prepping about 4 days beforehand. Just a little something each day. One day I spray painted the wine bottles. One day I organized all the table decor into a couple of plastic tubs so I could just carry it out on the day of the party and set it all out. The day before the party, I made the couscous salad, printed & cut the menus, hung the party lights, and just made sure everything was ready for the party day. The morning of the party, I made the balloon arch, decorated the tables, made the charbooterie boards, and prepped the food. My husband and his friends took care of the movie screen and the speaker and we both tidied everything up. I don’t like running around like crazy, so I just tried to do a little bit every day to make party day most enjoyable 
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