It’s officially Fall, and that means the beginning of a big holiday season, starting with one of our favorites, Halloween! This year I was inspired by sweets and treats for the Halloween table design and decorations, going with something fun by using traditional black, white and orange colors, with added pops of bright pink to make it festive.
Here are a few tips to consider before you begin your next Halloween table design.
Start early! Map out your design or theme, assess what you have and might need, set a budget, and go shopping! Stores like Michael’s, World Market and Home Goods typically start to put out Halloween items by mid-August, and Target sets out Halloween the week after Labor day, and things go quickly. I found these fun spooky glitter trees at Target for $5 each and went back a week later for a few more and they were gone. So if you see something that will make your table design work, and it’s within your budget, I recommend buying it, even if it does seem a little early for Halloween!
Get creative and use what you have. Think about what you already have in a different way than you typically use that item. Unexpected pieces you have may add to the table and give them new life…. A ginger jar can work as a vase if you’re using artificial flowers. An appetizer plate you bought for New Year’s Eve bites may work in this year’s Halloween design – I used these fun striped plates in the Halloween table this year and they matched perfectly with my striped candy cups.
DIY where you can. To create the look for my table this year, I started by making a tulle garland as a foundation for the table decorations, incorporating pink with orange and black tulle, and placing pink and orange glimmer lights underneath to make it glow. I also made a pink jeweled skull using items I found at Michael’s to add a little glam to the table.
I then added a fun orange and black ball string garland, white artificial flowers, black glitter pumpkins, those great spooky Halloween trees I found at Target and hot pink votives to finish off the theme.
Add flowers to tie in the color theme. I carried the color theme through with a faux floral arrangement I put together using flower stems from Michael’s and Afloral, a wonderful artificial flower website.
I used the same tulle garland to make charger holders for the place settings. The dinner plates I found at Home Goods years ago, and they add a slightly spooky touch to the table. This design is hard to find, but you can find similar designs at a great website called repalcements.com that carries discontinued patterns.
To complete the look, I added gold flatware and black and pink crystal drinkware and stemware.
A few more tips for you to think about when designing your next Halloween tablescape
Mix and match for the table setting. I couldn’t find the right cloth napkin, so I went with these colorful paper ones from Caspari that were perfect! The same is true for dinnerware and florals. I’ve used a combination of artificial and real flowers in a design, and added a melamine salad plate to a porcelain dinner plate to get the look I was going for.
Use food as part of your design where it makes sense. Because this table was sweets inspired, candy and treats were a must! I made these wonderful chocolate cupcakes and used gel food coloring to create orange and magenta frosting to keep the color theme going. I make a double batch of these every year for us at home, as well as the early trick or treaters that come by in our neighborhood – they don’t last very long!
Rock candy and pink and orange candy completed the sweets for the table. A great resource for quality bulk candy is a website I found while using a Martha Stewart.com recipe called Oh Nuts.
Carry your theme to other parts of the house, like the mantel here. I also used the same color theme on our back patio table that is adjacent to our dining space and complemented the main table nicely.
Thank you for joining me today! I hope this sweets inspired Halloween table design has given you a few ideas for your next Halloween table. Unitl next time, cheers!
