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It’s spooky season! KATU Afternoon Live had me back again to share my entertaining tips for my favorite holiday, Halloween! Watch my segment to see simple tips on making a Halloween charcuterie board and spooky Halloween cocktail that is sure to catch your guests eye!

Tips for a Spooky Halloween Cocktail Party:

Whether you are hosting a quick get together for the adults while the kids are out trick or treating, or you are putting together a teen Halloween party with mocktails, these tips are sure to win over even the most frighteningly picky of party guests to have a howling good time. (I know… terrible, but Halloween is just made for puns!)

  1. Grazing Boards: Charcuterie boards (for those who eat meat, cheese boards for cheese only crew, or snack boards for those who like to mix it up) are ALL the rage for a reason… people can make snacks to their tastes and liking!

They can also be catered to different dietary restrictions. Note: Do not put meat and cheese on a board with fruit and nuts and say that it is vegan friendly because it has vegan-friendly foods… that does not cut it. You CAN make a vegan snack board that is completely filled with items that your Vegan friends and family can graze on. I’d recommend putting it on the other end of the table than the meat items or on its own, just to be a bit more accomodating and avoid contamination if possible. Same goes for any allergens! 

Links marked with an asterisk

How to make your Halloween grazing board more spooky: 

      • Use dark fruit and vegetables on the tray to pair with your meat and cheeses. Add in some dark chocolate for a fun sweet pairing to a tasty soft cheese like brie.
      • My favorite cheeses for a halloween cheese board or spooky charcuterie are Blue Cheese, a bright yellow Gouda, and white cheddar.  A good way to add to the creepy appeal, and tastiness!, is by adding goat cheese balls rolled in black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or fresh herbs. Oh, and don’t forget the famous cream cheese, cheese stick, and prosciutto meat hand with a clever trick!  (I bought my cleaver cheese board knife on Amazon*!)
      • Add a meathead! I did this YEARS ago for a halloween party and have been perfecting my meathead game for years. (haha!) The trick to making it look super creepy (and keeping things food safe) is first adding a layer of saran wrap over a plastic halloween skull and covering it with a bit of cream cheese. Add in some roasted bell peppers for an extra creepy layer! Finally, pull off strips of prosciutto and lay onto the skull, dipping into the crevices and making sure the eyes and teeth stay clear of the meat. After covered put the meathead in the middle of a dish with tasty charcuterie and olives. My son likes to say, “this guy has a bit of meat on his bones!”
      • Add olives and peppers. Seriously, do it.

2. Decorate with things that creep you out! I am not a big fan of gore or scares. But, things that give me the heebie jeebies… spiders, rats, bugs, snakes, skulls, ghosts, vampires, witches, that is my jam. I like to decorate with layers of textures and lights.

3. Make a cocktail extra eerie with eyeballs! Use a 1 inch sphere ice tray* and blueberries to make the coolest little eyeballs to FILL your glass with to pair with nearly any cocktail. I paired it with a Booberry Eyeball (blueberry highball) cocktail.

What are your Halloween go-tos!?

 

Halloween this year falls on a Monday. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time on a Monday to do an elaborate meal and then go trick-or-treating. I love the idea of trick-or-treating with a group of friends (safety in numbers and more fun) but couldn’t pull off my normal Halloween shindig and work all day. It got me thinking that I needed some cute, fun, and EASY solutions for making Halloween special and still provide some real food to my kiddos before the candy hunt begins.

These printables make for a fun store-bought (or homemade) party or for a really cool Halloween Day lunch!

Check out the printable’s TV Debut!

Free Halloween Printables from A Well Crafted Party

 

Included in the Free Halloween Printables Package:

This post contains affiliate links marked with *.

  • Monster Tongue Printables—Designed to be cut and taped onto the top of individual snack-sized Pringles* (I got mine at Target)
  • Monster Tongue Party Circles— Designed to be cut and used as a label for a can of Pringles or label a chip bowl.
  • Sandwitch Party Circles— Designed to be printed on label paper and used on a sandwich package or to be attached to food picks and stuck in a sandwich
  • Ghost Juice Water Bottle Labels—Designed to be printed on label paper and used on water bottles
  • Food Table Tents —Designed to be printed on cardstock, folded, and put where you are displaying food items
  • Brush Your Fangs Favor Tags—Designed to be printed on cardstock and attached to a toothbrush

 

 

Download Your FREE Halloween Printables

 

Free Halloween Printables from A Well Crafted Party

 

Directions:

  • Monster Tongue Printables—Print in full-color on white cardstock, cut around design, adhere to top of individual snack-sized Pringles* with double -sided tape or glue.
  • Monster Tongue Party Circles— Print in full-color on white cardstock or label paper*. Cut around design. Adhere to full size cans of Pringles, individual Cans of Pringles, individual bags of chips, or sprinkle on table in front of chip bowl!
  • Sandwitch Party Circles— Print in full-color on white cardstock or label paper. Cut around design. Adhere to sandwich packaging, sandwich bag, or to food picks that you stick inside the sandwich.
  • Ghost Juice Water Bottle Labels—Print in full-color on label paper. Cut as per markings on document. Wrap around a water bottle making sure the “100% Guaranteed to Disappear!” side of the label is attached last. It will overlap the first side of the label.
  • Food Table Tents —Print in full-color on cardstock, cut per markings on the document, fold along white line, and display with food or beverages.
  • Brush Your Fangs Favor Tags—Print in full-color on cardstock, cut per markings on the document. You can punch holes in the two “fang” marks or use them to guide where you’ll tape the toothbrush. Attach an individually wrapped tooth brush* by placing through the holes or taping to the paper. Because I was using these with just my family I didn’t not get individually wrapped toothbrushes. Because of that I chose to bag my favors in cellophane, but if the toothbrushes are individually wrapped you can really go without the extra bag.

 

Download Your FREE Halloween Printables

This Halloween drink post is sponsored by RedVines.  #RedVines candy is always fat-free and made without preservatives. It is “made in small batches, using artisanal techniques passed down through five generations, RedVines candy has a rich heritage built on our dedication to consistent quality, flavor and freshness.” All opinions are my own. To learn more about my posting policies regarding sponsored posts please visit my policies page. As always, thank you for reading more about the companies that help support this blog. 

 

Red Vines Cocktail and NA Beverage for Halloween from A Well Crafted Party

 

(This post contains affiliate links marked with *)

If you haven’t been able to tell from previous Halloween posts… I like vampires. I was the kid dressed in black reading Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles* throughout most of my formative years. It certainly lead right into my love of Halloween. (Check out these fun Halloween Vampire Portrait free printables!) When creating a recipe out of my favorite red licorice it was an easy jump to vampires. I love how the little bite-sized RedVines Twistettes* made perfect little “vampire bites” on the rim of the glasses.

Halloween is an all-ages holiday in my book, so I wanted to make sure that I had a fun non-alcoholic version of the Vampire Bite drink so that the kids could get into the fun.

Halloween Cocktail – Vampire Bite Cocktail with Red Vines

As with all of my cocktail recipes this is intended for people of legal drinking age. Keep scrolling if you’d like to find a fun non-alcoholic version of this drink. As always, practice safe drinking.

Creating a Halloween Cocktail with Red Vines on A Well Crafted Party

Ingredients:

  • -3/4 oz of Cranberry Juice (or Cranberry Grape Juice)
  • – 1 and 1/4 ounces of your favorite vodka
  • – 1 oz of your favorite orange liquor
  • – 1.5 oz of dry cherry soda (must be a clear soda)
  • – 1.5 oz of dry blood orange soda (clear soda again)
  • – RedVine Twistettes to garnish rim
  • – Shaker with Ice
  • – Chilled Martini glass that can hold approximately 6-8 oz of liquid (don’t want it too full!)

 

 

 

Halloween Cocktail with Red Vines from A Well Crafted Party

 

Directions:

  1. Garnish the chilled martini glass with the RedVines Twistettes about 1.5 inches apart (should be approximately where the canine teeth would go in the mouth).
  2. Pour 3/4 oz of cranberry juice into a chilled martini glass.
  3. In a shaker full of ice pour the orange liquor and vodka. Shake well to chill. Strain into glass.
  4. Top drink with equal parts of blood orange and cherry dry soda.
  5. Enjoy!

 

 

Halloween Drink – Vampire Bite Non-Alcoholic Beverage with Red Vines

Sometimes you just don’t want to drink alcohol or you want to give the kiddos a special treat as well. This non-alcoholic versions of the Vampire Bite cocktail is DELICIOUS and pairs perfectly with the little Twistette bites on the rim of the glass.

 

Halloween Drinks - Non Alcoholic Beverage with Red Vines from A Well Crafted Party

 

Ingredients:

  • – RedVines Twistettes for the rim of the glass
  • – 2 oz Cranberry Juice or Cranberry Grape Juice
  • – 3 oz Dry Cherry Soda (must be clear)
  • – 3 oz Dry Blood Orange Soda (must be clear)
  • – Glass with ice and a straw

 

Directions:

  1. Build the drink on ice by first garnishing the glass with RedVines Twistettes to resemble a vampire bite.
  2. Pour in the cranberry juice so that it sinks to the bottom of the glass.
  3. Top with equal parts of Cherry and Blood Orange Dry Soda.
  4. Pop in a straw and Enjoy!

 

Halloween Drinks - Non Alcoholic Beverage with Red Vines from A Well Crafted Party