Halloween Party Idea: Trick-or-Treat After-Party

Halloween isn’t just for kids anymore. It’s become a fun holiday to flex your creativity and entertain people in your home. After trick-or-treating, there’s plenty of time for adults (with or without kids) to enjoy some spirited socializing. Neighborhoods and communities host block parties, costume contests, and house decorating contests.

One of the easiest things to do is to invite friends and family over so that all your little monsters can trick-or-treat together. During an after-party, the children swap candy while their parents indulge in Halloween-inspired appetizers, beverages, and maybe a bowl of hearty fall chili.

Here are some tricks (and treats) to plan a wickedly fun Halloween party for the whole family.

Easy Halloween Party Menu

Make an Easy Weeknight Chili recipe in advance and warm it up on the stove or in a slow cooker. It doesn’t hurt that our Rockcrok^® Dutch Oven doubles as a black caldron and fits right in with the party theme.

You don’t need an extensive or elaborate menu for your after-party. Keep it casual and focus on savory, heartier options to balance the abundant Halloween candy.

More party menu ideas:

• Slow-cooker ribs (Another make-ahead party recipe made with root beer!)
• Vegetable platter with Frankenstein Cheese Spread
• Party appetizers that look like little vampires
• Halloween cookies

Quick Halloween Table Decoration Ideas

Unless you’re competing in the neighborhood haunted house decorating contest, you can keep your Halloween party decor easy and affordable.

These gray serving platters are dark and sophisticated enough to add some creepy elegance to any Halloween tablescape. Here are a few more quick decorating ideas for your Halloween party.

• Start with black and orange streamers hung from the ceiling and doors.
• Pumpkins create a traditional Halloween look that works indoors, as well as outside. These pumpkin carving tips can help get it done faster.
• Black trash bags are a budget-friendly material for making creepy curtains, backdrops, and table covers.
• Draw ghost faces on empty, clean milk jugs with black marker for instant ghost lanterns. (You could also use white paper bags instead of milk jugs.)
• Dyed cheese cloth looks like eerie spider webs in doorways. Or, leave it white and cut holes in it to make an easy table runner.

Serve the Perfect Halloween Punch

Carve apples into shrunken heads and float them in hot apple cider. It’s the best Halloween party drink because you can make a large batch of cider for everyone and then let the grown-ups mix-in spiced rum or cinnamon whiskey.

How to make shrunken head apples. Cut apples in half lengthwise and core each apple to remove the seeds. Then use a coring tool and paring knife to carve each face. Press cloves into the eye sockets or as noses. Dip apples in fresh lemon juice and bake for 90 minutes or until apples are dry and begin to brown around the edges.

Recipes for Halloween Candy

There is always a surplus of candy at Halloween. If you have extra that’s not claimed by the trick-or-treaters, you can turn it into a whimsical dessert for your after-party.

Make a cookie pizza ahead of time and then top it with crushed mini chocolate bars and a chocolate drizzle, and it’s an instant party dessert. Or mix the candy with popcorn and pretzels and create custom popcorn mix.

Got a Halloween party idea to share? Tell us your best Halloween party tips in the comments below.

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