Eerie & Cheery Halloween Party Ideas

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to decorate for. I get so excited every Halloween to see all of the little trick-or-treaters knocking on my door and what costumes they've chosen that year.  Because of this, I really prefer to decorate with a cheery, kid-friendly Halloween style. That's why I was so thrilled to collaborate with Party City on an Eery and Cheery Halloween Party for some little friends this year.

Party City has a fabulous selection of kids costumes from the latest cartoon and superheros characters to updated classics, like the adorable Frankenstein, Skeleton, Candy Corn Witch, Black Cat, and Vampire costumes you see in these fantastic shots captured by Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer. If you ever need family photos or a special event photographed in the North Alabama area, Sarah is the best.

Plus, Party City really has everything you need to get a party going from big decorations to little details like this small ornate picture frame featuring one of my mini "Happy Halloween" candy bar wrappers. And, you know me...I love details! Plus, they've got a great selection of candy for any type of celebration, especially if you love to color coordinate your treats like I do. Party City even has lots of elegant, shimmery plastic serving pieces that would be lovely enough to use for Thanksgiving.

I love creating a fun focal point for my parties with a touch of unexpected. I used five black tissue paper fans from Party City to create a dramatic backdrop for my Printable "Trick or Treat" party banner.  In front of that, I used two coordinating 12 ft tissue paper garland to create a unique up-side-down pumpkin chandelier for the party. These tissue paper fans and garland give you a lot of bang for your buck and are super easy to work with!

What's a spooky Halloween party without some sweets? Party City has all of the candy you need for Halloween, too. You've probably seen me use Party City's solid gumballs for parties in the past.  They are such a fabulous way to add a pop of color, and you should see how excited the kids get to reach inside a candy jar of these.  That's why these gumballs are a must-have for any of my kids' parties.  I also got some candy corn, ghost Peeps, and cute black candy sticks there, too. Even though the candy sticks are black, they have a super yummy grape flavor and don't leave your mouth dyed black, which I love for keeping the kids cute and clean in their costumes.

The main attraction of the menu were definitely the fabulous cookies designed by Lindsey Agree of Tickled Pink Cookie Boutique.  They were so stunning in person with a sparkly finish and intricate details. Not only did they perfectly coordinate with the eerie and cheery Halloween Printables, but they also tasted AMAZING with a hint of almond extract that made them absolutely irresistible. Lindsey was fantastic to work with, too.  I sent her some inspiration images, and she came up with these coordinating cookies that couldn't have been more perfect on this shimmery plastic tray from Party City.  Lindsey books up fast, so if you'd like to get some holiday cookies, place your order now.  Sarah Brewer and I have already booked her for our Christmas cookies...yes, they are that good!  Lindsey ships, too.

We had lots of easy Halloween snacks at the party, too, such as Ghost S'Mores, Candy Corn Popcorn Balls, Mini Chocolate Bars, Little Debbie Cupcakes, Witch's Potion Punch, and Cutie Clementines for a healthy treat.

And, what's a Belly Feathers Party without a party favor? I couldn't resist sending the kids home with a little something cute from a party. These adorable chevron bags came from Hey Yo Yo, and I added a little Halloween flair by attaching the mini candy bar wrappers from my Halloween Printables collection to the front.  You can have so much fun with printables by using the items in unexpected ways like this.  Inside the bag, I added a fun little trumpet flute whistle from Party City that was STEAL at only 35 cents, along with a package of Little Debbie Orange Peanut Butter crackers that perfectly coordinated with the party's color scheme.  Plus, the kids got to load up their bags with as many Halloween sweets as they wanted...there were a lot of questions about those gumballs and candy sticks, let me tell you!

This party has too many details to share in just one post, so stay tuned all month long to learn more about the Party City costumes, Halloween treats, decorations, easy craft how-tos, and more. For a larger list of my favorite Halloween party items from Party City, check out this Halloween - Party City Favorites board on Pinterest.

Sources:
Party City - candy, costumes, frame, paper fans, streamers, orange serving platter, favor whitsles
Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer - photography
Tickeled Pink Cookie Boutique - cookies
Hey Yo Yo - Straws, monster mix cups, treat bags
Belly Feathers - Halloween Party Printables and event styling

Lovely Ladies' High Tea Party Ideas

I love idea behind this lovely ladies' High Tea Party!  I was so thrilled to help two of the hostesses, Debbie and Lisha, and equally excited to see all of the pictures from the event.  Put on your party hat, and enjoy these wonderful inspiration photos!

Tea Party Theme and Tablescapes
Some of the ladies at Debbie and Lisha's church decided to host a tea party, and each hostess signed up to decorate her own table however she wanted.  This created an eclectic mix of themes, including hot pink Parisian, cool blue China, Easter pastel, and sweet Victorian to highlight a few. I can only image how fun it must have been to walk around and look at all the details on each tablescape.

 

Many of the ladies used tea sets that have been in their families for generations, which adds such a special touch. I know Debbie and Lisha had a great time shopping and collecting vintage pieces for the event at antique parlors, as well.

Having a rack of assorted gloves available for the ladies to wear if they choose is such a perfect detail.  So cute!

Tea Party Menu
I love the way the tea party food was handled for this event, too.  Each hostess brought one or two baked goods or tea party sandwiches to place in the church's kitchen before the event.  Then the hostesses brought their serving pieces into the kitchen to "shop" for any of the goodies they wanted to include on their table.  This is such a great way to have a variety of party food without having to prepare a million items yourself.  Each table had a slightly different assortment of goodies, too, so I'm sure that gave everyone extra incentive to mingle.

Tea Party Decorations
Many of the hostesses used serving pieces, tablecloths, and centerpieces that they already owned.  I think this could be such a great budget party theme for a bridal tea party or baby shower because the only splurges would be food and flowers.  Since each table has it's own theme, you don't have to worry about having the right pieces to coordinate a whole room, just enough for an individual table.

Belly Feathers designed tea party supplies especially for Debbie and Lisha's tables including flower place cards, a "Tea Time" party banner, and some really special tea party favors.

For the tea bag favors, I placed personalized tea bags with a heart tag into little envelopes that said "Until our next Tea Time".  I loved how they turned out!

Thank you so much for sharing, Debbie and Lisha!  I loved seeing all of the unique tea party tables and the fun idea for sharing refreshments.  This was truly an event with lots of attention to detail and has given me so many ideas and inspiration for future events.

Featured Handmade Items
by Belly Feathers
Tea Time Party Banner
Tea Party Favors with Personalized Tea Bags
Flower Place Cards

Sneak Peek: High Tea Party Ideas

This weekend, I'll be sharing pictures from a lovely Ladies' Tea Party. For now, here's a sneak peek of some of the English tea party supplies that Belly Feathers created for the event.

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Tea Time Party Banner
Tea Party Favors with Personalized Tea Bags
Flower Place Cards

Homemade Easter Table Ideas: "Hippity Hop" Chocolate Bunny Tablescape

I love how my "Hippity Hop" Chocolate Bunny Easter tablescape turned out.  It's simple and festive, and I hope it gives you some last minute inspiration for your own Easter table decorations.

My rule of thumb is to have three elements at your party that tie in with the theme, in this case chocolate bunnies.  My personalized party banner has a chocolate bunny in between the words, and the handmade Easter place cards have the exact same bunny with a little embellishment.

Finally, I made super simple a chocolate bunny Easter centerpiece.  Using a knife, I trimmed off the bottom of my bunny a little, so he would fit inside my decorative bowl.  Then I filled the bowl with Reese's Pieces Easter Eggs, which hid the trimmed areas of the bunny.  (I like Reese's Pieces because they don't have logos on them like a lot of candies.) To finish him off, I tied a ribbon around his neck to match the place cards. So cute!

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Personalized Easter Party Banner
Chocolate Bunny Place Cards
Embellished Party Straws
Chocolate Bunny Centerpiece

For quotes on any of the items above or creative party ideas for your next event, contact Belly Feathers at Betsy@BellyFeathers.com . You can find more details about my products at BellyFeathers.com.