1.   Use your slow cooker. Fall is the perfect time for making chili, taco soup, or those yummy little sausages in barbecue sauce, and these meals really stand out when they’re prepared in a slow cooker. Best of all, the food will be hot and ready and you’ll have plenty of time to mingle with guests. Experiment with serving beverages like hot apple cider in your slow cooker, too.

2.   Bring out your festive dishes. Nature shows off her best colors during the fall, from leaves to pumpkins to blooming chrysanthemums. Make your party a colorful affair with bright dishes and  serving ware like these cheese trays.

3.   Decorate your home with items from nature. There’s no need to spend a fortune on fall decorations. Arrange large pumpkins on your front porch. Put some miniature pumpkins and miniature gourds in attractive glass bowls to create easy centerpieces on the dining room table or coffee table. Try arranging small branches with colorful leaves in vases instead of using traditional cut flowers.

4.   Set up an area for the kids.If young guests will be in attendance at your party, let them decorate miniature pumpkins with pompoms, glitter, paint, feathers, and other craft items. Kids will also enjoy painting plain canvas bags to use for collecting treats. For the smallest guests, make a sensory box by filling a large, shallow plastic bin with dry beans, orange-dyed rice, or orange- and black-colored uncooked pasta. Then head to the craft store to find small plastic pumpkins, skeletons, bats, spiders, and other things to put in your box. Include a few spoons and measuring cups in your box, too.

5.   Designate a table where guests can decorate their own Halloween cookies. Partygoers both young and old can spread orange frosting on sugar cookies and top them with sprinkles, M&Ms, and more. Provide small paper bags so  guests will have a way to carry their goodies home.

6.   Don’t forget party favors. For the grown-ups, give out small Halloween-themed glass figurines. Kids will enjoy small Halloween trinkets from the dollar store or trail mix with a handful of candy corn thrown in.

Have a fun halloween party and safe Halloween!

This post was brought to you by the friendly staff of Seaside Glass Gallery in Longwood, Florida.

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