Halloween Gingerbread House Party

Wilton Pre-Baked Gingerbread House, on Amazon

THEME:

Spooky Retreat Decorative Gingerbread House, on Amazon

Invite five or six adults over to create adorable Halloween gingerbread houses. Everybody gets to take home their decorated house at the end of the night. Serve a nice not-too-elaborate meal, then get everybody into the kitchen to work.

The theme for this party is cheerful, candy studded, whimsical and fun. Nothing too spooky tonight.

ACTIVITY:

Mini Haunted House Recipe, from Betty Crocker

Wilton Pre-Baked Halloween Mansion, on Amazon

Rather than just eating dinner or mingling over cocktails, your guests get to also create something with their own hands tonight. They'll giggle and chat as they work on decorating their spooky gingerbread houses. At the end of the evening, serve dessert and take pictures of your guests holding their creepily cute creations.

Haunted House Cake Pans, on eBay

Make your party easy by either baking gingerbread on the weekend before the party, or buying pre-baked, pre-assembled houses your guests can decorate. Buying pre-baked kits for each guest could get a bit spendy if you have more than a few people over, so do think about baking your own gingerbread if possible.

No-Bake Haunted House Kit, from Williams-Sonoma

PARTY INSPIRATION:

Halloween Dessert Table, at Hostess Blog

Halloween Gingerbread House Inspiration, at Clinton Gingerbread House

Merci Beaucoup Cakes, on Tumblr

DECORATIONS:

Halloween 2-Tiered Stand, from Williams-Sonoma

Witch Glitter Boots, at Cost Plus World Market

Decorate with whimsical, colorful decorations if you can manage. Turn your living room into a witch's candy hut. Decorate your kitchen with inexpensive cotton candy your guests can eat off the walls... etc.

MUSIC:

Gypsy, by Fleetwood Mac, on YouTube

Keep the music light and fun, a little bit spooky but mostly playful and upbeat. Think autumn and Halloween, but not dark and dreary. (There's plenty of time for that in the upcoming weeks!)

Peekaboo MP3, by Siouxsie and the Banshees, on Amazon

The Love Cats MP3, by The Cure, on Amazon

APPETIZERS:

Snack-O-Lantern, at Family Fun

Witch Cauldrons Recipe, from Kitchen Daily

Ghostly Pretzel Sticks, from Kitchen Daily

BEVERAGES:

Kahlua Cryptini, at Drink of the Week

Serve sugary sodas (especially if you can find them in Halloween packaging at Target.) A nice sweet punch would also be appropriate for this party.

Pumpkin Mojito Recipe, from Jeanne Benedict

ENTREES:

Serve comfort food to fill up and nourish your guests before they begin making a big happy mess in your kitchen.

Baked Eyeballs Casserole, at Kitchen Daily

Mashed Boo-Tatoes Recipe, from Martha Stewart

DESSERTS:

Serve sugary sweets, especially some gingerbread so your guests don't nibble up all their houses.

Enchanted Brooms, at Kitchen Daily

Chocolate Spider Webs, from Food Network Canada

Gingerbread Skeleton Cookies, at Epicurious

Halloween Lollipops Recipe, from Martha Stewart

Jack O' Lantern Cookies, from Food Network Canada

Halloween Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies Recipe, from Redbook

BOOKS FOR PARTY PLANNING AND INSPIRATION:

Hansel and Gretel, by Susan Jeffers, on Amazon

RELATED LINKS:

Halloween Haunted Cookie House (Love From the Oven)

Haunted Candy House, by Emeril Lagasse (Food Network)

Haunted Gingberbread House (No. 2 Pencil)

House of Spooky Smores (Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons)

Spooky Halloween Gingerbread Witch's House, by Not Quite Nigella

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Visit tomorrow for a Halloween movie party!