Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s the one time of year where “creepy” becomes cool. I got a late start with decorating and because of this, I mainly focused on using items I already owned. I knew I was hosting a small dinner party and I wanted to deck out the table and place settings, but I really wanted to stick to my “spend nothing to very little” budget. I hit up the Dollar Tree and spent a whopping $6.00 plus tax. I then went to World Market and spent just under $20, but that was on party favors, not decor… although I did incorporate the favors into my place settings.
My table ended up sporting 100 legs. 8 spiders (64 legs)… 2 crows (4 legs)… 4 skeletons (8 legs)… 4 chairs (16 legs)… 1 bench (4 legs) and the 4 table legs themselves… so yes, “She’s Got Legs!”
This was my table decor trial run – the upcoming small dinner party will happen later this month. I wanted the trial run so I didn’t have to worry about it the night of the get together and I wanted to photograph things in the early evening light. This will also enable me to enjoy dinner without going into full “blogger” mode. I will be more focused on the food and I will not be annoyed with the non picture perfect candle light ambiance. 🙂
I now see that it doesn’t even matter if I don’t get around to pulling weeds before the dinner… it sort of works with my creepy Halloween table theme. BTW, it should be noted that spiders scare me in all forms – real and fake. I decided to go with my fear, sort of like I did when I decided to become a snake owner (with my late husband) many years ago. Face the fear… never really got comfortable with snake ownership, but I did appreciate the beauty of the Brazilian Rainbow Boas that I once owned. Now it’s all about dogs, much fluffier and more huggable.
I used basic white plates that I already owned. I gathered rocks from my entryway display, a mixed bag of green and brown Spanish moss from one of my craft drawers, some black raffia from my wrapping bins, chalkboard name tags from my parent’s birthday party, my grandmother’s silverware, basic textured tobacco colored napkins and a candelabra I had purchased probably 10 years ago… it was in the bathroom cabinet, because who doesn’t store candelabras near their toilet paper?
I had so much fun gathering things from my house and combining them with some of the new Dollar Tree purchases. That store is fun to hunt for cheap holiday items, I usually find a few things each season.
The bell glitter spiders were a purchase last year from HomeGoods. I purposely didn’t go there to look at Halloween stuff this year, I’m also going to try and avoid picking up more Christmas decor. I already have way too much. The black and white checkered bowls that housed the white mini pumpkins are my favorite soup bowls purchased a few years back for .99 on clearance at TJMaxx – wish I had more than two. The pumpkins were purchased from my local grocery store a week ago and were 2 for a $1.
I had picked up the crows last year and they really fit my color scheme for the table.
The skeletons hung by their jute cords from the chandelier with some added Spanish moss.
So let’s go behind the scenes…
I got the Oujia Board Mystifying Mints from World Market. I bought enough for each guest/place setting. I looked at all kinds of candy, but I just loved these and I knew that one of our guests doesn’t like chocolate, so this was a safe bet. The mints were $2.99 each. Not too bad for a party favor and a reminder of some of my childhood slumber parties.
The spiders and creepy black cloth (more like netting) came from Dollar Tree. I used the cloth down the center of the table for some added texture.
The skeleton garland that I hung from the chandelier was also a Dollar Tree find. I had some gravestones in my hand, but I decided against them… glad I put those back.
I cut the table runner from a roll I already had. Dan got me the black roll for my birthday. I’ve mentioned my love of craft paper – table runners and placemats on this blog before… These were a little pricey, even on sale. They are Cake brand and on sale were $26.95.
I’ve used the paper for many dinner parties which eliminates the need for placemats or a tablecloth. Love that! I did realize that I could get the same effect by using wrapping paper.
At $2.99 a roll, it’s much more affordable when trying not to go overboard with your budget. I’ve taken to breaking out the craft paper for birthdays and just about every occasion. I’ve not ventured into bright colors or metallics, I just like the natural look of recycled paper… plus, it works well with my black dining table.
I realize that I have more “basics” than most because I like to entertain, decorate and photograph props with my food… but I wanted to show you that you can certainly incorporate Dollar Tree finds into a tablescape that ends up looking pretty cool.
Do you have any Halloween party plans? My plan is to stay home and pass out candy to the cute kiddos in the neighborhood – this will only be accomplished if Dan hangs on to Finn’s leash for dear life or he and Finn stay in another room. Ding dong… bark, bark, bark… ding dong… bark, bark, bark… last year I could barely even deal.
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I am not affiliated with Dollar Tree, HomeGoods or World Market and I didn’t receive any money, goods or services for writing this post. I’m just a passionate decorator that loves to share ideas with family, friends and other bloggers.
Other Foodiddy Halloween Posts from previous years:
