I’m excited to share some new Halloween party ideas with you today! This VINTAGE TRICK OR TREAT theme is the first of 3 Halloween looks I’m going to share over the next week that were inspired by a recent shopping trip to HomeGoods. (Check out the overview on all 3 looks over at the HomeGoods blog.) All of the treats from this dessert table were inspired by the look of the {very affordable!} decorations and are “semi-homemade” using grocery store treats & ingredients, so they’re very easy to recreate… which is always a treat in itself, right? ;)

THE INSPIRATION

I instantly fell in love with the costumed jack-o-lanterns statue pictured above and thought it would be really fun to decorate drink bottles, dessert trays, and candy jars with the same crepe paper and pom trim used on their outfits, so that piece is what inspired this entire look!

You could really go all out with this concept for an actual party and add crepe paper fringe trim to so many things, but since this was an “idea shoot”, I only did the drink bottles (which are actually recycled Starbucks frappuccino bottles!) for the sake of time. Here’s how they turned out:

These would make a cute addition to any kids halloween party, right? ;)  Just pinch crepe paper “accordion style” and hot glue it around the neck of the bottle, then add a thin strip of felt. Add a thicker band of felt + craft poms to the body of the bottle, and done!

HOMEMADE OWL CUPCAKES

Since I was in a pinch for time, these sweet wide-eyed cupcakes were actually made from store bought Hostess cupcakes – no baking required! Of course you could use this concept with any of your favorite regular cupcake recipes too. You’ll need chocolate frosting, Oreos for the eyes and Reese’s Pieces or Halloween colored M&Ms for the eyes and beak. I found the tutorial for these cute little guys here.

And next up is the Halloween decoration that inspired the cupcakes… $12.99 at HomeGoods! {Check out the cute “bat on a stick” the owl is holding too – that’s a great DIY treat topper idea in itself!}

SPOOKY MEETS SPARKLY

In addition to the various vintage-style costumed character statues, the other key element to this look is SPARKLE! Here are a few fun ways to add some to the table…

Above: a sparkly orange berry wreath hangs above a treat table embellished with glittered purple spiders & pumpkins, sparkly bats, and cute vintage costumed characters!
Below: Here’s another super easy cupcake idea: storebought mini cupcakes + black licorice + edible Halloween confetti.

I also ended up taking a long black and white paper rosette Halloween garland {$6.99 at HomeGoods} apart to make it work a little better with this table set up. I hung a few rosettes from the wreath and attached others to wooden dowels to make accent decor. The sparkly bats strewn around are from the garland as well!

Other tricks pictured in the overall shot:

• candlesticks and upside down bowls used as “pedestals” for the plates
• placemats and ribbons used to create a “table runner”
• tattered materials used as vase filler and backdrop embellishments

*****

Hope you’ve found some inspiration here… HAPPY HALLOWEEN!