Costumes Make Everything Better: THK's 3rd Annual Halloween Party

After taking a year off, I was back to hosting my annual Halloween party.  My friends and family called dibs on all the "real" holidays long ago since they're all married grown ups.  Me, the single girl, was left with the kids holiday, Halloween.  No mind, I completely embrace it.  This holiday is all mine, and I love it.

Because the GA/FL game was Saturday afternoon/evening, I knew that night was out and the party would have to be Friday night.  Since I was working on Friday, I had to pick a menu that I could assemble quickly in the short span of time between work and the party, while still leaving enough time to straighten the apartment and get dressed in my Double Dare contestant outfit.  Most of the menu was themed because I can't resist a gimmick:

• DEVILed eggs
• Bloodshot Eyeballs (raspberries stuffed with white chocolate - thank you, Pinterest, for the idea)
• Witches' Fingers (hummus on bell pepper strips)
• Mini Pimento Cheese Sandwiches (orange color theme)
• Crab Dip (this one wasn't really themed - I just wanted to try the recipe)
• Caramel Corn and Halloween Candy
• Polyjuice Potion (sour apple martini)

I'm guessing the food was well received because it was almost entirely gone by the time we headed to the bars.  The raspberries were probably the hit of the evening, which is good to know because they were so easy to make, I'll have no problem preparing them again.

Since the party was on a Friday after work, I didn't have much time to decorate, but there are a few simple touches I would recommend if you're planning a Halloween party in a time/budget crunch.  I bought about 10 mini pumpkins/gourds for $.50 - $2.00 each (mostly at the $.50 end of the spectrum).  I put a cluster of them on the patio table and another row of them on the mantle.  Next, I draped all the food platters/serving bowls with gummy worms and spiders.  Finally, it's all about mood lighting, so turn of the main lights and rely on lamps and candles.  Those three easy tricks are guaranteed to make your party terrorific.