Janet Butler
Halloween entertaining can be among the easiest you’ll do all year: people bring their own spirit of fun and whimsy with their costume ideas, you don’t have to worry about “icebreaker” games, and the refreshments are simplicity itself — from bowls of candy and popcorn balls to fun punches set in spooky dry-ice beds, simple cupcakes or sandwiches, even candy apples…and, of course, anything connected with a pumpkin! Once you’ve got all that taken care of, it’s time to set the table; here’s a collection of fun ideas for centerpieces and décor to choose from. Try stacks of spooky books (think Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, or Stephen King) with a “raven” place card for each guest. Hollowed-out pumpkins make great vases for fall wildflowers or cuttings from your garden — or, alternatively, use them as luminaries by punching holes and cute designs in them, then setting candles inside to glow all evening.
Use Halloween-decorated buckets at a buffet to hold ice or snacks, fake “spiders” as napkin holders, and put a picture of an “ancestor’s” skull on the wall. Weave straw into pumpkin shapes, or take a glass canister, trim it with black and white fabric or black ribbon, and stack baby pumpkins inside. How about a homemade paper “vase” hanging on the wall, filled with autumn leaves — or black-painted “hand” candleholders on a black tray? Float small yellow squashes, gourds, or pumpkins across the table — either in actual water, complementing yellow flowers in vases, or all by themselves in an informal grouping. The only limit to Halloween centerpieces is your own imagination; take some of these ideas, and be inspired to do your own.
