Halloween Color Scheme

For whatever reason, I struggle with transitioning my home decorations to Halloween before October. September just doesn't feel right to me - not quite summer but not ready to be fall. It's kind of a month of limbo in our house. But this weekend I'll make the switch. Fortunately there are a lot of great Halloween party and home decor ideas out there already! Enough that the main challenge may be just to pick a color scheme.

You can go with the traditional black and orange:

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Throw in some silver to glam it up a bit:

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Or you could go the way of Wicked and use the purple and green inspiration from The TomKat Studio for your festivities:

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And now, Pizzazzerie and Anders Ruff created a whole new option with their recent Pink-O-Ween collaboration:

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So what's your plan for Halloween party decorations?

      

Event Extras: Pimp Your Powder Room

Pop quiz: What's the one space that many but not all of your event guests will use; but usually gets left out of the event decor plan? Think about it. The bathroom is probably one of the few other areas in your home or venue that a large portion of your guests will visit. Why not tie it in with the rest of the festivities?

The Bride Scouts show us how to do just that with a photoshoot they did for Style Me Pretty. Check out their post here for a few more tips on how they customized the display. It's a great take on the dessert buffet craze, don't you think?

I am a huge believer in providing bathroom baskets for any gathering. But if you have a venue that will accomodate it; a display like this is a lovely way to let your guests know how much you appreciate them. Mints, handtowels, soaps and cotton swabs are wonderful to have in the bathroom. Since you won't be worried about minimizing things for photo purposes; you'll want to include a few more basics. I recommend including:

Bobby pins
Ponytail holders
Safety pins
Shout wipes
Lint Roller
Feminine products
Spray deodorant (choose whatever brand is best suited to your color palette, naturally)
Band-aids
Hairspray
Tylenol/Ibuprofen
Antacid
Contact Solution
Floss
Nail Clippers

The list can go on but these items will help people survive most situations that they may not be prepared for (blisters from new shoes, sauce spilled on their shirt, etc.). And if you don't have a whole vanity to dedicated to the amenities; use a smaller basket and one stand for a more limited display. I'm willing to bet that at least one of your guests will find something that saves the day for them!

Oktoberfest - Des Moines Style

One last Oktoberfest post before I get ready for the tapping of the golden keg this afternoon. Check out this story on the Des Moines Oktoberfest celebration. It covers an example of when a major change did NOT work in making the event more successful but was definitely worth a try. Now the Des Moines Oktoberfest is making what I think will be a triumphant return to it's original location.

Added bonus: great tips on what a Burgermeister does. Another great addition to your Oktoberfest party!

An Oktoberfest of Your Own

Considering some of the stats from Germany's Oktoberfest, it may not be something you can replicate exactly in your own backyard. But here are a few ideas on how you could do it on a *slightly* smaller scale.

• If you don't want to rent and set-up a tent; take a cue from some of the building/tent roofs at Oktoberfest. This look can be replicated fairly easily with a little rope or wire and streamers a la the blogosphere darling Max & Margaux wedding.

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• Finding some authentic Oktoberfest tables like these might be a little tough unless you have someone who wants to build them (or drop some cash on one here). But to get that bier hall feeling, a wooden picnic table will do the trick. For centerpieces, fill a few beer steins with flowers or wheat/hops and line them down the center of the table. 

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And although I couldn't find a photo from Oktoberfest that actually shows this runner on a table; it does add to the Bavarian theme and can be ordered from quite a few websites including partycheap.com.

• Even if you don't have an Oom Pah Band, you'll still need Polka music. My personal favorites are The Beer Barrel Polka and In Heaven There is No Beer. 

• For the food, how about some Bratwurst with Apple Sauerkraut, German Potato Salad and pretzels (you can always cheat and find these in the freezer section of the grocery store too!) Although some 58,000 pork knuckles are consumed at the Munich festival; we won't get that authentic.

• To add just a little more fun, give everyone a Tyrolean hat and set up a photo booth. Beer steins, aprons, talk bubbles with German phrases (Wilkommen! Prost! Danke Schon) and lederhosen could make for some great props. You could also go the route of the Hessen Haus in Des Moines which hosts the local Oktoberfest that I'll be joining:

• It should go without saying that you'll also want to have some German beer on hand. Add custom labels with names like Smithsteiner. And to drink it, you'll need

DAS BOOT!!!!

Or at the very least, some large steins for all.

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Prost!