Sarah gets crafty

For most major holidays, my friends here in Hoboken and I try to get together for a themed get-together. I soon learned that with such creative folks, one simply can't have a small gathering with some run-of-the-mill food thrown on the table--there is much thought that goes into the planning, preparation, and presenting of everything. This year, I took on Halloween and let my imagination run wild (I also spent a bit too much time on DIY and party blogs getting ideas) and before I knew it, I was up to my eyeballs in orange and black. But because I only had to cater to a small crowd, the projects were totally doable--especially the food and desserts. Plus, Mark took on the main course--his famous chili--so all I had to do was make a few things look pretty (also helped to have my mom's fabulous eye assisting with the set up).

Here are some shots from the evening:

The food set-up and my banner--so easy to do with scrapbooking paper, foam board, and string! And a great "reading" tool for Eamon...I think I'll make one for every holiday!


I channeled Martha Stewart with glittery DIY pumpkins, while Mark went for the tradition Jack-o-Lantern.





At the bar, we served "Chilling Cider Cocktail" (which was the speciality drink at our wedding five years ago, then named "Stand BeCider"; a mix of mulled cider, vodka, brandy, cinnamon and sugar. While tasty, not much of a hit with the beer-drinking crowd.) The non-alcoholic option was "Ghoulish Goblin Punch", a blend of apple, cranberry, and grape juices and seltzer. And yes, that's an icy ghoulish green hand floating in the bowl...spoooooky.


A platter of Devil's food cupcakes with orange buttercream frosting. Botched the frosting job, so they tasted better than they looked!


Borrowed this idea from a blog...white chocolate-dipped pretzel rods made to look like ghosts. So easy, tasty, and cute!


And because every kid party has to have goodie bags, I opted to do homemade honey popcorn balls and caramel apples as our to-go treat. I wrapped them up in cellophane bags and made a tag for each kiddie. Making caramel from scratch is NOT easy, my friends, but it wound up tasting scrumptious. And I mixed whatever I had left over with peanut butter for a delicious dip.


Another shot of the dining room. Soon, the table was filled with many more savory dishes brought by the girls...steak-cut french fries, bean dip, jalopeno poppers, panko-friend chicken tenders, and more...all homemade, of course!


A party shot of the happy hosts...although we couldn't get Eamon to wear a costume for the life of us and my actual costume didn't come together in time (I saved it for Sunday), we still had to be a little festive! The mask is courtesy of Erin's semester abroad in Italy.