Hallowe’en, our one chance of the year to ward off evil spirits, is not just for kids. It is the perfect excuse for adults to get together but instead of bobbing apples, why not enjoy a sophisticated evening?
Host a dinner party
It may be a sophisticated evening with your diners enjoying delicious food and surrounded by style, but that doesn’t mean you can’t allude to the season nor to Hallowe’en.
This elegant table decoration is a stylish nod to the season. Squashes and pumpkins are harvested at this time of year, and not just grown for trick or treaters to carry from one front door to another.
From pumpkin pie to butternut squash soup, there are many dishes that use pumpkin but the beautiful colours of squashes make for a pleasant centre table decoration. Bookend it with candles and leaves from evergreen shrubs.
Think 1920s glamour
Prohibition aside, the 1920s was the decade in which everything glimmered, the polar opposite to the drudgery of the Great War that has just ended.
Think navy walls and a brass drinks trolley, cocktails and simple elegance and velvet dining chairs. Perfect for sitting alongside your immaculately laid extending dining table with bench.
Give the small things a twist
When serving drinks, give them a subtle Hallowe’en twist. We love these skull shot glasses, perfect for adding a small extra detail to your industrial dining table and party.
Simple is the key ingredient
When it comes to children’s parties or wild celebrations, the more gregarious and over the top you can be, the better. And we become so accustomed to this way of doing things that toning it down can feel that we are not making an effort.
But simplicity takes more effort than you think;
- Natural elements – included nature in your décor by creating a garland with the beautiful golden leaves that drop from the trees at this time of year. Temper the colours with the dark green foliage of evergreen shrubs and trees, like in the centrepiece we talked of.
- Non-garish – stay away from a klaxon of colours, sticking with the beautiful palette that nature gives us at this time of year. Plenty of golden oranges and deep, earthy green.
- Hallowe’en metallic – opt for brass as the must-have metallic finish in the dining room for your sophisticated party. From brass candle holders on the industrial dining table to counteract the black metal to brass accessories loitering atop the industrial sideboard with wine rack, brass is the golden metallic hue of the season.
Foolproof decoration
Black and orange. It really is that simple.
Stick with the orange pumpkins, opting for various sizes so it doesn’t look too matchy but emphasises symmetry. And frankly, there is nothing wrong with a black spider or two, lurking in the table centrepiece, at the bottom of a drink or two or hidden away in the shadow of a carved pumpkin.
Set the mood at the front door
Hallowe’en wasn’t destined to be fun – it was once, in centuries past, a serious festival – but in modern times, we do enjoy it as a chance of welcoming autumn and looking forward to the festive season. So set the mood at the door with your carved pumpkin, lit with small tea light candles.