Dark Woods Halloween Party

Do you dare enter the dark woods on Halloween night?  Rumor is, there's a fun party going on, but only if you're brave enough to go face-to-face with the monsters and frightening creatures that live there!  But if you are brave enough, you'll be delighted by the festive decorations and tasty treats that you'll find!  

This was my first time planning my family's Halloween party by myself, and I was determined to do a good job!  

My Mami had thrown the parties in 2021 and 2022, and she did a great job, so I wanted to make sure that I gave her a party that was just as good!  For me, that started with making some DIY decorations well in advance; like this spider-shaped piñata! 

I made my first piñata for my little sister's Jurassic Birthday Bash last year, since all the good dino piñatas were way too expensive and honestly not worth the $30 that they were asking for!  Surprisingly, it actually turned out really well and I enjoyed making it, so I've made a couple more since then!  This black widow one was fun to make and a little challenging too, but I think that it was a success!  


I filled it with some YumEarth candy, which are, in my opnion, delicious!  Especially their "chewy fruit chews"! 


Ultimately, my Mami thought that the piñata was too cute to destroy, so it served solely as a decoration that I carefully pulled the candy out of, and now I have it stored in my closet! 

There were more decorations than just a piñata though!  Like these "wood" signs.  They're actually made from cardboard that I cut out and painted.  I thought that the "Beware of the..." sign was particularly funny!

And on the other sign I had all the spooky destinations that I could think of! 

Of course, if these signs are only used once and then thrown out, that would be really bad for the environment, so I have them stored with my other decorations to use each year.  Please don't make them as a single-use item!  To change the theme, you could also paint over them and add new labels. 

Another simple decoration was just designing these posters/menu and printing them out.  The "missing dog" poster was actually a poster about a missing werewolf, and I added some splattered blood graphics and tore out a few of the "take one" slips to make it scarier!  The menu was meant to resemble a catering menu, and you'll see the treats that they describe a little later on.  The caution sign was meant for another decoration...

...and perhaps the scariest!  It's just a large container wrapped in craft paper, but a few finishing touches make it a little creepy!  The caution sign taped to it, a tear in the paper with yellow eyes looking out, and red blood (paint) splattered on it! 

And lastly, the hardest decoration of all; a DIY crow.  

I wanted to buy a crow decoration from the store, but by the time that I could get one, all the good ones were sold out.  The only ones left were painted pink, and to be honest, that's not spooky at all.  So, I grabbed some cardboard, tape, tissue paper, and paint and got creative! 

It took a while and was pretty tricky, but I ended up making my own crow sculpture...it looks like it's seen some stuff...

And though I'll admit that it's not as realistic as the ones at the store, it got the job done and on a budget!

Mami and my little sister would be celebrating Halloween at my party, but Daddy would have to work that night.  So, I decided to share some of the desserts with him by creating this cute little Jack-O-Lantern box and filling it with some of treats that I'd made!

Speaking of treats, what's a Halloween party without those?! 

The snack table was where I focused most of my party planning efforts! 

Well in advance I came up with a list of treats that I'd want to make and gave them all creative names.  At least, I find them to be creative ;)

And though typically, at my family's parties, we'd have individual labels by each snack, I decided to try something different this time!  Instead, I designed a catering-style menu to display on the table.  The illustrations were all spooky and I even wrote "Dinner Provided by Deadly Delicacies Catering Company" to add an extra little detail!  I personally liked it, and my family did too!

So, what was on the menu?

To start, how about some "spider bites" that are almost too cute to eat?  They're simply some homemade powdered sugar donuts with some icing legs and a cake pop for the spider.  For the eyes, all I did was cut a Dandies mini marshmallow in half and add a mini vegan chocolate chip as a pupil!  

Easy, tasty, cute, and just a little bit spooky! 

The donuts themselves were originally nicer looking powdered sugar donuts, but I left them in the fridge overnight, so the powdered layer disappeared! Spooky, right? 

Next off, "werewolf victims"!  Aka: sugar cookies!

These cookies are also easy to make and fun to decorate!  They're tasty sugar cookies cut using a gingerbread man cookie cutter, with limbs torn off, and icing for the eyes and blood!  You could also shake it up a bit by simply changing the name or decorating a little differently.  This same cookie could also be "monster victims," or you decorate them to look like vampires, zombies, or Frankenstein's monster!   

And while sweet treats are a must, something savory is great too!  For the main part of the meal, I made some "monster sandwiches"!  They were cute and tasty, which is a win-win!  

They were really easy to make too, considering that all that was required was a little assembling.  I made it with a vegan hamburger bun, Gardein chick'n filet, slice of Violife cheddar, marinara sauce, and two olives.  A pair of toothpicks for the eyes and cutting out the teeth were all that I had to do before assembling the sandwich like I'd typically do! 

Next, some "vampire bones"!  Last year I made these and they were a hit, so of course I'd make them again!  The "vampire bones" are made by following Vegan Empire's recipe for garlic knots, but instead of tying the strips of dough into knots, the ends of each strip are cut to make the bone shape. The rest of the recipe is then followed, baking for a little less time than instructed, but other than that, the recipe remains the same!

Aside from being tasty, it's probably best to add these to your Halloween menu to help keep the vampires away! 

As for some very quick and easy storebought snacks, there were white cheddar Hippeas as "witch's fingers" and some Simply Made Red Vines as "poisonous vines".  

So, with the treats and decorations all ready, let the party begin! 

After Mami and my little sister, Ariana, saw everything that I'd prepared, I decided to start the party with a game that I'd set up; a scavenger hunt!  I handed Ariana a ghost-shaped clue and the hunt began!  On one side (pictured) was an illustration of a ghost holding a jack-o-lantern, and on the other side was a riddle that would lead to the next clue.  Ariana was quick to find all of the ghosts...

...and after reading the last clue which ended with the line "...the key to the future is in the past," my little sister quickly realized that she had to rearrange the ghosts.  When she did that, the letters that they were carrying spelled out the word "PANTRY." 

So, of course, she went to the pantry and both her and Mami looked around for their prize! 

I'd gotten some cute bat plushes from Wild Republic and had them each holding a vegan Reese's bar!  They were so cute, I just had to buy one for myself too! 

There was also a book of trick-or-treating themed MadLibs as part of the prize! 

Cute, tasty, and fun? I think I covered it all! 

This Halloween was a blast!  I had fun making everything for the party, from decorations to treats, and though it was a bit of work, it was all worth it!  We had some tasty treats, enjoyed the scavenger hunt, and watched the new Haunted Mansion movie together!  I know that I certainly had a great time! 

The spider webs in the background were used for a previous Halloween party and were reused this year. Please do not use these outside (they're a danger to wildlife) and only use inside if you're willing to reuse it!