How To: Spooky Vegan Halloween Cocktail Party

Halloween.  Sometimes it seems that it’s all for the kids, doesn’t it?  There is so much fun to be had when you’re little.  Parties, costumes- trick-or-treating.    But Halloween fun shouldn’t be limited to just the kids, us adults should have some mischief as well.  I mean, who doesn’t love a little mischief?

One of the things I hear most from people about hostessing parties is that it’s hard to know what to make if the party is a mix of vegan and non-vegan guests.  No worries!  I’ve tried these recipes out on vegans and omnivores alike with complete success!  In fact, I rarely have left overs.  You can feel confident that your guests won’t even realize your serving up vegan fare, unless you tell them.  They’ll just think it’s delicious food.

First up, the menu.  Choose a simple style buffet of finger foods that you can make in advance.  This will leave you more time to enjoy your guests.

Sample Menu (pictured above): Nate’s Meatless Meatballs, Asparagus Phyllo Wraps, Pirate’s Booty Veggie, Baby Vegan Cheese Balls, and Organic Crackers.

A side note about the cheese balls, I made small mini single-serving cheeseballs- which, in hindsight, was a pain in my butt.  It sounds like a good idea until your on your second batch of rolling sticky nut cheese into itty bitty balls.  That said, it was perfect as far as not having to have silverware out for the party- everything could be picked up with a toothpick.

Get This Look:

• Add a Gothic look by piling layers of old lace tablecloths (curtains work well too) over each other.  You can find these at a local thrift store for pennies.
• Top the table with a few size cauldrons, which can easily be found at any dollar store.  Find a bowl that you own that will fit over top the cauldron without falling in.  If you need to, use an inverted bowl inside the cauldron to add height to set your bowl on.
• Fill old drinking glasses and/or glassware with tea light candles to create a spooky atmosphere.  The more the better.  You can also find these at the local thrift stores for pennies.
• Add skulls, hands, and other unexpected items as decorations.  I used paper mache skulls that I made using tissue paper and watered down glue- it was cheap, easy, and fun.

Desserts:

Choose a monochromatic palette as a theme for your desserts.  In this case, I chose white.  First, because it would be spooky.  Second, because artificial food colors are tested on animals.  Gross.

Dessert Menu (pictured above): Russian Tea Cakes, Sugar Cookies w/royal icing, Simple Agave Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Frosting, and Boo Cakes.

The Russian Tea Cakes are butter cookies rolled in powdered sugar and is a family recipe.  The Simple Agave Cupcakes can be found in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  The Boo Cakes are Sweetly Spiced Cake with Maple Icing made into mini ghost shapes.  Which, I fully admit doesn’t follow the white theme of the party.  In defense, these are some super awesome tasting treats that you’ll wish you made more so you’d have left overs.  That’s right, I’m talking hoarding good.

Get This Look:

• Add height using a cardboard box covered in lace.
• Make mini spooky pumpkins.  Take old black stockings and cover each pumpkin.  It’s a super quick way to decorate pumpkins, plus you get to cook the pumpkins after your party is over.  Simply remove the stockings and bake!
• Unique candle holders.  Find an apple, mini pumpkin or other gourd that sits somewhat level on a surface.  Carve out the top in the shape of a tea light holder (don’t make it deep, just enough to have the top of the candle match the top of the object.  (I used white mini pumpkins in the table setting above)

Who can have a cocktail party without cocktails?!  Here are a few suggestions:

• “Boo Shots” – Coconut milk, pineapple juice, rum
• “Blood Shots” – Beet juice, lime, vodka
• “Sludge Shots” – Green vegetable juice, apple juice, white rum
• Rum Punch – Apple cider, golden rum, brown sugar, spice mix (cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, orange peel- similar to mulling spices)

Get This Look:

• Cover liquor bottles with spooktacular labels easily found at almost any craft stores these days.  Or, make your own buy using mailing labels and markers.

After the jump I show you some more spooky decorating ideas that are super easy and inexpensive but look super creepy!

Decorating without breaking the bank.  Thrift store glasses as candle holders and dollar store statues make for a creepy tabletop scene.

This scary portrait (the top black and white portrait) cost me exactly $2.00 at my local Kinko’s. I found an image that I liked online. I measured an existing picture in my house (one that I was going to use as my “frame”) so I would know how big my picture needed to be. I took this information to Kinko’s and had them print it out for me. Upon returning home, I carefully cut out the picture and used removable sticky tape to adhere it over the original picture. Obviously, it should go without saying, to be careful when doing this. Make sure you can’t ruin your original picture and use a tape that won’t leave a reside (like sticky tack) once removed. The whole process was super easy and super quick, and super creepy.

Next, I made an alter out of old TV tray tables pushed together. I found tea light candle holders on sale, 2 for $.99 at a local craft store so I stocked up on a few. On the tray tables I added a row of books in the back to give the alter some height, covered the whole thing in old lace curtains from the thrift store, some homemade skulls, and a picture of granny that turns into a monster at the right angle.

And then, some decorations are just splurges. The zombie baby was a splurge but looks creeptastic on the stairs with a lit pumpkin under it.

Adding spook to your outdoor set up is easy with a few household tools like a rake. Create a path using leaves, lit by torches.

Make Your Own Jolly Roger Pirate flag! Simple draw a skull and crossbones on an old pillowcase (preferably a dark one) and hang outside. I’ve left mine up since last year and it’s totally weathered and even more ghostly looking.

There you have it.  Quick, easy, and fun things to do/make this Halloween.  Have a spooky good time!

This post is our second post as part of the Halloween Tricks Tips and Treats Series.