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I’ve been majorly shirking my party planning committee duties this year, but the one gathering I’ll never miss organizing is my annual Halloween Party. Not only is Halloween my second (and sometimes first, depending on the year) favorite holiday of the year, but everyone’s always in town, since it’s not traditionally a time of year one feels obligated to spend with distant family.
Although I can somehow manage to spend thousands on party materials, this year I opted for fabulous Halloween decorations for Walmart, homemade desserts (recipe below), and a whole bunch of oh-so-delicious Tombstone pizza. I literally spent a twentieth of what I normally spend, and my friends and I still had a blast. Here are some of my humble Southern Debutante tips for throwing a fabulous, inexpensive, and fun Halloween party.
I typically craft some kind of spooky open house, but since this year’s festivities were a bit early, I opted for classic fall decor. Not only does this add ambiance to the party, but they’re great touches to your home decor that can stay up until Christmas! Versatility for the win!
First and foremost, fall is the time for mums! I was blown away in rural Virginia (post to come) by all of their gorgeous festive flowers, so I located the most beautiful burgundy mums I could find and scattered them throughout my home.
A little bit of real hay goes a long way. Yes, it’s messy, but it creates the perfect seasonal embellishment to any front door, porch, and/or fireplace. My friend, R, found these adorable glitter pumpkins at Walmart, so we scattered them throughout the fireplace decorum, as well.
I will never outgrow the allure of a cute bow. Whenever and wherever possible, add pretty ribbon for a preppy festive touch. I also have a similar bow in my car, along with my Autumn Leaves air freshener and my silver “S” ornament.
Again, I love investing in scarecrows and other farm-like odds and ends for their versatility. They add a cute touch of class for any Halloween gathering, but they can comfortably last through Thanksgiving, which is ideal when you’re time-stricken (and lazy) like me. My outdoor orange jack-o-lantern lights unfortunately don’t have the same crossover properties.
My friends are such troopers. They’ll never resist an opportunity to reassemble our gang, knowing full well that I’ll make them all wear costumes, which for whatever reason is miserable for men. Yes, I entice them with food, but still– I’m notorious for pulling out my Halloween costume box and throwing extremely feminine accessories on boys.
If they don’t bring a costume, one will be provided for them.
The girls usually have it way easier than the boys. Sorry, boys.
And then there’s my brother, who is held to a completely different {and elevated} standard.
Everybody’s gotta eat! My girlfriends and I love to concoct deliciously festive recipes and crafts for the guests to enjoy. Luckily, there’s no shortage of candy in the aisles this year, so I took the sugar superfluity to my advantage. Using some gummy worms (with bears thrown in there, too) and a whole bunch of Nestle Crunch Bars, every guest got their own colorful goblet of wormy deliciousness.
And of course, I kept the seasonal essentials (candy corn, apple cider, caramel apples) present, as well.
R helped me design an adorable Halloween table spread with about six Tombstone Original pepperoni and cheese pizzas, which I also picked up at Walmart, as the heavy traffic generator. I managed to sneak a piece before the guests started to arrive, but I swear I blinked, and it was time to pull the final batch out of the oven. Guys (and girls, obviously) love their pizza.
Rianna and I also created the most epic “Dirt Pie” ever in existence using chocolate pudding, Nestle chocolate chips, Nestle Butterfingers, cookies, gummy worms, and chocolate cookie sandwich crumbs. After we made three boxes of chocolate pudding, we couldn’t deny our excitement to decorate the graveyard “tombstones.”
It actually looks kind of gross, which in retrospect should’ve been our goal, but I swear… this thing was a delicious throwback to the amazing dirt cups I enjoyed as a child– but on steroids.
For my featured dessert of the evening, I decided to go with Chocolate Butterfinger Rice Krispie Treats, a new variation of my traditional Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats, and they were absolutely amazing, if I do say so myself.
To start, you’ll need to run down to Walmart and pick up the materials.
THE INGREDIENTS:
-1 tablespoon salted butter
-1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
-1 bag large marshmallows
-4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
-8 fun-sized Butterfinger candy bars, chopped into chunks
-1 cup Nestle chocolate chips
Before you start doing any cooking, I recommend pre-chopping your Butterfingers and measuring your portions beforehand. The marshmallow mix cooks quickly, so it’s best to have the mix-ins ready and on-hand.
Next, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine the butter and peanut butter together over medium heat. Once melted, slowly add the marshmallows. Continue stirring until completely melted. Your pretty and aromatic mess should look something like this:
Slowly add in the chocolate chips, which will turn the marshmallows brown. Once completed melted, add the Rice Krispies and Butterfinger chunks. I also add in some additional chocolate chips at this point. You’ll need to do a sufficient amount of manual kneading in order to cover all the Rice Krispies with marshmallow mix.
Scrape the mixture into an 8×8 greased pan and let it cool for an hour. Once cooled, cut into squares of rectangles of your choice and top with orange and black icing for a festive Halloween touch!
FINAL STEP:
Serve away and let your guests enjoy!
For quick and easy shopping, look for these aisles to find my favorite Halloween party foods at your neighborhood Walmart:
Oh, and browse through other delicious Halloween recipes here. My seasonal “must cook” list just got a heck of a lot more ambitious. Will you be hosting a Halloween gathering this year? What are your party tips?
Looks like you guys had so much fun! Very cool 🙂 I wish I could host a party this halloween. I will probably go party it up 🙂
http://neatly-packaged.com/
It's on my bucket list to one day throw both a big Halloween party and a 'Friendsgiving' around the holidays. You're decorations and spooky treats are so fun!
-Alex
http://www.monstermisa.blogspot.com
First I want to attend your parties, they always look amazing from the food to the decor, and I feel like it would be an AWESOME time. Second, I'm in love with your dessert recipes and will totally be trying them out. Third, who doesn't love an opportunity to dress up?
xoxo,
Meghan
Southern Belle Secrets
What a fun party!
Great ideas and tips!! I want an invite next time! I seriously love mums and the purple ones are perfect for Halloween!
Party foods and decorations are a must! Looks like you always have a fantastic crowd!
How cute was your party!! I want to go next time. I would never have though to decorate with mums – but they looked great!!
Looks like everyone had a great time! Happy faces means party success! And thanks for the recipe! I'm going to give those a go this weekend while we decorate the house!
These are great idea, it looked so fun. I can't wait for my children to get a little older so I can partake in so adult halloween fun lol
Love those dark red flowers. Great idea! I love the guy who is wearing your crown even more! Haha. The food looks delicious!
~Ashley @ A Cute Angle
acutelifestyle.blogspot.com
You're adorable!! Looks like a great time! Can't wait to break out some of my decorations too 🙂
xoxo, Jennifer
http://www.southernanchors.blogspot.com
Your party looks amazing! Love how your friends all get into the festive 'spirit' of Halloween. Those chocolate Butterfinger treats look delicious! #client
I love how the boys played dress up too. I'm not host a Halloween party. I will be going to a pot luck style Halloween party.
HOW FUN IS THIS !
m♥
Simply Sutter
So cute! Great decorations!
pinkandnavystripes.com