Hi Friends!!  It’s time for my annual Halloween dinner party!!  In thinking about this year’s table, I will share last year’s event. Decorating for and hosting a dinner party for my kids and their dates have been a new tradition for us in the kids later years as we are not competing for time spent with their boyfriend/girlfriend’s families like we are for Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving!! I love thinking about how to make things unexpected and special each year. It’s become an event we all look forward to!

Here was 2017’s tablescape!!!  I thought it was so cute but this year’s decor additions definitely were more dramatic!!

You can see the placemats, salad plates, napkins, napkin rings, orange glasses and most of the scatter in front of the centerpiece are the same.   I am such a bargain shopper for my table-scapes.  I like to be able to mix and match and change things out without feeling guilty.  I also try to buy things that can work on multiple occasions.  For me,  the tablescape hunt is half the fun.

I did some pre-planning with looking online for Halloween table-scapes and ordering certain things from Amazon.  A big tip I found out this year, which transformed my table, was when I went to Michaels looking for a few more things and discovered that their entire Halloween décor was 80% off the week of. This year it is already reduced to 60% off. The spiders, both big and small, moved the pumpkins I made into the creepy zone!!

I also found these cute ghost dishes and clip-on spiders with green sequins which I added to the fall pumpkin napkin rings I already had. I did still see these at Michaels just last week.

What is Halloween without candies!! These ghost dishes, also from Michaels were the perfect fit!

Decorating the chandelier can totally transform the room.  Embellishing it with skulls, spiders made dinner feel even more spooky!

Amazon is such a great resource for tablecloths!! Starting with black, I layered it with a lace spider topper and purchased them both for under 15$! The chargers were 31$ for a set of 12, napkins 12.99$ for a set of 10 and although I bought the black wine glasses from another site I found these on Amazon which are similar.

Party favors are a must! These glasses retailing for 8$ a piece at 80% off, were a steal at 1.60$ at Michael’s of course. I liked them so much I bought one for my Segreto staff and filled them with all sorts of goodies. The dollar store is also a wonderful place to shop. Sometimes you can find holiday socks, bandaids, bracelets and glow sticks-perfect for their goodie bags. Amazon is also a great source.

I can’t have a party without a craft! These gingerbread haunted houses were so much fun to make! Sold at Trader Joe’s, it was perfect for all ages!!

With kids who are 20 and 30 something, a unique bar is a must! Using glow in the dark bracelets as stir sticks made each drink a concoction.

And now for dinner!

I started with homemade split pea soup! It was one of my favorite dishes my grandmother made, so it was only fitting I used her dishes to serve the soup in!!

I found a recipe on A Sweet Pea Chef that was really great! Also cooking in a slow cooker made dinner quick and easy!! The first course received rave reviews!!

My husband, being the fisherman that he is, caught eight trout which became our main course. Cooking the trout in tin foil allowed me to prepare dinner early, let it marinate and then just pop it in the oven30 minutes before dinner. I added lemon, fresh dill, tomatoes, shallots, seasoning, and a little olive oil!

Adding color to the table, these vegetables were left to marinate in a large gallon baggie drenched in olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, fresh rosemary and pumpkin seeds. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put foil or natural parchment paper on your cookie sheet, use olive oil or Pam for easy cleanup and spread vegetable mixture in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, stir gently, then bake another 15-20 minutes until tender. Sometimes I will cook partially in the microwave to soften if I am in a rush. This is always a crowd-pleaser!

These mini pumpkin pies, are so cute, and made with wonton shells so they are low cal and healthy as well. The recipe was from Beach Body on Demand, no less.

I hope you enjoyed last year’s Halloween dinner party! The best part is that it has become such a fun evening for our family and one the kids now look forward to. Getting my family together is one of my greatest joys! To see more Halloween ideas go here, and here!

Everyone say a little prayer the books come in soon so they will be ready to ship to you on October 28th! I am so excited to share with all that have pre-ordered Segreto Impressions, the amazing interiors that we have been apart of. Shop early for the Holidays and take advantage of the package and save option. Please don’t forget to put any signing information in the message box. I want to be sure and make it special for you!! Till next week, xo Leslie