It's never too early to plan for a Halloween party or to welcome the changing of the seasons.
This year we are hosting our first annual Halloween party on the farm. If we had thought of it sooner I would've started planing back in July, but as it goes we're starting now. Since this is our first Halloween party on the farm we're starting off kind of small..... Meaning lots of people and a small amount of decorations.
Since Halloween is about fun and mischief and things that go bump in the night...for most people ,We've decided the creepier the better:) but we have not forgotten the more traditional reasons for Halloween. It's a time to honor our loved ones that have past and to include them in our gatherings on Halloween. It's also a time to welcome the fall and ask for blessings over our crops and livestock to be fruitful in the coming year.
With all of that in mind we're incorporating a little bit of everything into out Halloween festivities this year.
A quick and very easy DIY decoration
Idea that can be used year round and can incorporate any season, mine are in honor of the coming fall,are homemade broomsticks;)
I happened to see this cool little set of very long dried grass and wood chip flowers and decided it would make a perfect broom and started looking around for a "broom stick" and found these twisted bamboo looking sticks which went perfectly.
Basically to make the broom all you need is:
Twine
Something stick like that is sterdy
Long grass or very fine wooden sticks
And flowers
To make the broom place the bouquet on top of the sticks and bind the very top of the bouquet onto the sticks with the twine tying the twine into a knot to secure it. Next take a small length of twine and tie it to the top of the stick making a loop for a hanger. Super simple and takes all of 10 minute to make.
Most craft stores should have similar bouquets like the one pictured above and those fun long twisty sticks used in floral arrangements.
Another cool decoration idea, if you have a fireplace, is candles. I found some black candle holders at hobby lobby that have that antique rustic look to them and some deep red pillar candles. These give an elegant touch to any fireplace, but on Halloween with a little cobwebing it'll have a creepy yet elegant feel.
When decorating for a Halloween party it never hurts to use your own furniture in the creepy decor. For example if you have an old grandfather clock like we do
( kind of odd to have a grandfather clock in a mobile home, but then again I've always called this place my doublewide mansion.) feel free to put cobwebs all over that bad boy, and don't forget to add some to the inside ( provided it's not so old that your fiancé who is sometimes like a bull in a china store hasn't broken the key in two and you can still open the clock). Also winged back chairs and even lazy boys can be made to look creepy so use them.
I've also ordered a couple of animated props from spirithalloween.com
This website has everything for a perfect Halloween party. Personally we had to have the animated antique doll that roams around and because my daughter loves to "sew" her mouth shut (just a fun little creepy makeup thing she's come up with using string and glue) we also had to have the evil rag doll that consequently sews her mouth.
I also found a three tiered planter that I will be using as a food tray and as a centerpiece for the table.
It was one of those things that you're not looking for and happen to find that just happens to be perfect for Halloween, but can be used even for a southern springtime tea party when dressed up with some bright flowers.
The next thing is food... What to serve your guests.
This year I will be making pumpkin bread as one of my finger foods. Pumpkin bread just screams fall and Halloween and oddly enough thanksgiving.
The recipe I use makes two loaves and is super simple. I'll put this recipe, and other recipes I mention up in another post.
The next thing I will be serving is a bat ball. Basically it's a cheese ball with blue tortilla chips for wings and olives for eyes. I don't currently have a picture of this but I will post one closer to Halloween.
We will have finger sandwiches,a veggie tray, and some devilish deviled eggs.
Since we have a pile of logs that need to be gotten rid of we're also planning to have a bonfire complete with hot dogs and toasted marshmellows. Along with whatever other creepy goodies I can come up with:)
Hope this gives all of my wonderful readers some good ideas for any fall and Halloween preparations this year :)
