DIY Day of the Dead Halloween Party

How to DAY OF THE DEAD HALLOWEEN PARTY DIY

B Y K E L H A R M E R

When I first put together a Chic Halloween Tablescape as a taster for our full-blown Halloween party, I never expected to end up with the scale of what we created, but it turns out that you can create a Halloween theme that really is chic yet fun and on a budget using items you already have around the house as the foundation, so it was easy to run with it. Isn’t that the wonderful thing about party styling? Anything is possible. I personally think that what we ended up with would be a truly awesome and unique idea for a wedding couple who love Halloween too. Someone do it please and let me see the outcome!

Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a three day holiday celebrated in Mexico which prays forand remembers family and friends who have died, and helps support their spiritual journey.

I like this concept, because it doesn’t focus on ghosts and ghouls that come back to haunt you, which feelsmore comfortable when there are young children involved. By introducing lots of bright colours and flowers,this definitely feels like a celebration.

TABLE FOUNDATION

The backdrop for the table was created with that garden membrane stuff you put underneath chippings to stop the weeds growing through; we had a big roll of it in our garage and it’s come in sooooo handy for this party, plus we can fold it back up again and use for another party or for its real purpose in the garden. We layered the table with the same black fabric, then added a black and white striped fabricwhich is so versatile for many styles of entertaining, an orange lace runner, a mustard colour scarf of mine, and a black lace tablecloth. For me, these layers were the key ingredient in capturing the playfulness of ‘Dia de los Muertos’ and added depth to the scheme. It also offered the perfect opportunity to add height by sliding acrylic display stands underneath ready to place our skulls on and create that sweeping effect with the garland.

PRINTABLES

I completely adore Sprinkled Designs who provided all the printables including the stunning ‘Dia de los Muertos’ sign used on the table, which was finished off using a gothic-style frame.

FLOWERS

Seriously, how gorgeous are those flowers provided by Magnolia Hill Flowers based in Bristol, UK? The orange and purple colours complemented everything perfectly and added that chic, sumptuous look I was after to really capture a Day of the Dead festival. The antique gold pot and ‘Crime Scene’ alcohol bottle transcend the displays from ‘normal’ to ‘Halloween’ (a stroke of genius) and the garland sweeping across the table adds a sumptuous feel.

SKULL DETAILS

The sparkly skulls are from Country Baskets and add a touch of glam to the affair; they look expensive but they’re seriously not which is a winner. The black and white ceramic tealight holders are from Poundland and look fantastic with a few blooms added. You can find similar here.

FAVOURS

We had some Cohiba cigars left from our wedding so left those out for the grown ups in their super-cool original wooden box which was dressed up with a skull tea light holder and flowers.

I don’t know about you, but by the time my kids have been to a few Halloween themed events and done a stint of trick or treating the amount of sweets they have is more scary than the event itself and should see them through to next year. That’s why I love these badges, magnets and keyring from Missy Cardsas an alternative treat, with a printable from Sprinkled Designs.

FOOD

Keeping with the Mexican theme Chilli Con Carne, rustic bread, nachos and dip was on offer for the adults, along with baked Camembert.

My clever friend made Sloe Gin Cupcakes, complete with skull pipets, which looked and tasted fabulous.

The kids were treated to a buffet of wrapped fingers (sausage rolls), ghosty marshmallows,ghost cups (Sharpie pens were used to decorate them and my daughter loved this job!) filled with carrot batons, grapes and strawberries and other classic buffet food.

My friend also made spooky spider Oreo cupcakes which the kids absolutely loved.