Family Fun

Festive antique cards bring vintage fun to a party. Color photocopy vintage cards to create invitations to your dinner party or serve as place cards.
Postcards with recipes from your menu written on the back make thoughtful mementos. An Old Fashion Halloween carries genuine antique cards (oldfashionhalloween.com).
For children, attach cards to goody bags with black and [...]

Tuck candles and small pumpkins inside glass cylinders or canning jars. Chocolate- and caramel-covered apples from Stonewall Kitchen make toothsome favors.
Trick: Create different “destinations” or stations at a party — for appetizers, mulled cider, and dessert.
Treat: Guests move comfortably from one spot to another, enjoying more opportunities for mingling.

Trick: “Use no more lighting than you need,” advises Ed McCann. “Rely on candlelight as much as possible.”
Treat: “Let an outdoor fireplace and torches provide a warming glow.”
Anchor pillar candles in a bed of candy corn or black and orange jelly beans for seasonal touches.
BOTTLE CADDY: HIGH FALLS MERCANTILE. CANDLES: ILLUMINATIONS

Spell out your greeting in mini pumpkins gathered at a prominent — and stationary — location. First, pencil letters on hollowed pumpkins (carve out the opening from the bottom). Then, using a drill with a half-inch bit, bore holes to form each letter. Here, strings of Christmas-tree lights, gathered in small bunches, illuminate each pumpkin [...]

DELICIOUS FILLINGS: The cones spill over with treats such as all-day suckers, rock-candy swizzle sticks, and chocolate eyeballs. You can find similar candies online at candyfavorites.com and bulkcandystore.com. For adults, consider more sophisticated fare — chocolate truffles and espresso beans and candy coffee stirrers.

1. To create a cone about 10 inches long, first wrap an 8 1/2″ by 11″ sheet of heavyweight white paper on the diagonal. Trim excess paper. Use this as a template to cut as many cones as desired.
2. Shaping each cone according to the template, use pinking shears to cut a band of glossy [...]

SETTING THE SCENE: Come October, often you can still host a party outdoors. Just let fall’s exuberant palette lend a hand with the decorating, suggest Richard Kollath and Ed McCann, who like to layer in atmospheric Halloween accents when entertaining.

The designers, authors, and event planners (their most recent book is Faux Flowers; Chronicle Books) advise: [...]

Make your front door season-appropriate, framing it with dried corn husks and a garland of oak leaves. Ghostly bottle-gourd scarecrows were painted white, with features added in black felt tip, and then speared on sticks and “planted” in Styrofoam blocks inside urns.

1. Good carving starts with the right pumpkin. Choose one that is fresh (with a sturdy stem and no bruises) and that has a flat bottom (so it won’t roll).

2. Cut out the lid — a boning knife works best. Cut on an angle (not straight up and down), so the lid won’t drop inside [...]

Black and White Plates
Start with a simple Halloween-inspired palette, add a dash of mischievous fun, then host a memorable dinner party. Graphic black-and-white plates and trays are the highlight of an autumn vignette. Affix them to the wall with Fun-Tak adhesive. A few fun and playful elements will spark conversation.

Autumn Centerpiece
Use silk flowers to create [...]