Boo!!!!

Our favorite dinner party that we give each year is the one we do for Halloween.  It's always no more than 6-8 people and we never have repeats guests.

I start with this black linen tablecloth and top each place setting with an orange straw placemat.  The the chargers are black French wire.  Don't they look like a spider web?

The next layer is our everyday white dinner plates.  Nothing precious here!

The glassware is a Waterford wine stem in the Lismore pattern and the water stem is etched and painted with a black harelequin pattern.  Here's another example of how my tables are usually a mix of high and low, meaning that some items are high quality, but they will be mixed with low cost, often mass produced items.  Some occassions call for pulling out the best of everything, but not for this dinner.  Fun is the goal here!  You can see a Waterford wine coaster here, too.  I used this for the water, which you will see later in the post.

These napkins are vintage linens that I found years ago.  Some have black cats, some are pumpkins, and some say "boo".  Many years later, I found tea towels that match.

What's better than plastic fangs for a napkin ring?  Every single year that I've done this, someone has put these in their mouth.  Last year, it was a judge!

I bought these tiny little zinc signs to use as placecards.  I used chalk on these to make them look like a tombstone.

These mis-matched pieces of silverplate get used more than any other set of flatware I own.  I've collected it for years and the only thing the pieces have in common is the keystone shape of the handle.

The mother-of-pearl handled knives are pretty special, though, don't you think?

I'm not too sure what these little pumpkin-like things are, but I got them at Whole Foods.  I put them in a white footed urn which shows up well on the black tablecloth.

Then in these white chippendale squares, I put these wonderful roses in the most vibrant orange I could find.

There is no doubt what holiday we are celebrating here!

These kitchy salt and pepper shakers were the girls' favorite from the time they were little tykes.  Here's part of the high/low combination.  They're pretty low, but fun.

Check out the wine we found.

This is a French Syrah by Montperoux Estates.  The lable is done by designer and visionnaire Christian Audigier.  It might be just be too perfect to open!  One thing's for sure.....I won't be throwing this away when it is empty.  It's begging for a drippy candle, don't you think?  The wine coaster is sort of gothic, too.

I replaced labels from water bottles with some from the Martha Stewart line at Michael's.  Then I put these plastic bottles in that Waterford wine coaster!

This setting is nothing but fun.

I about broke my neck to get this shot! 

I wish I could be sure to get these every year.  Are they persimmons?  Anybody know?

Here are the bar glasses set out for drinks.

And these cocktail napkins are so cute.  They are actually orange cotton appliqued with this cute black cat.  I've had them a long, long time.

The coffee tray is set up early.  The pumpkin cream and sugar set is old, as well.  There's that tea towel I was talking about.

Mugs, not cups for this party.  We are so casual and this allows us to linger at the table until late.

My friends give me the best gifts.  Knowing how I love Halloween, Ann knew how much I would love this handmade apron.  You can just barely see the petticoat like ruffle on the bottom.  Isn't it the cutest?

Bows, appliques, and sparkly fabric!  All I'll need is a pair of black pants and a t-shirt.  And killer heels, right?

We'll be dining at the witching hour!

This is getting pretty long, so I'll be posting on the decor and the menu in another post. 

See lots and lots of fall ideas at: