Haunted High Tea Party
We’ve been hosting Halloween parties since 2006. Choosing a specific theme each year allows us to reinvent ourselves and avoid being too “Halloween soup” with the decoration. While carrying on an annual tradition is lovely, adding new twists builds anticipation for guests and stretches our creativity. Experimenting and playing with new ideas, however strange, is largely why we love Halloween. For this party, we shifted gears to a more formal atmosphere that centered around “whimsigoth” food and drinks for a chance to play in the kitchen and serve up some surprises.
The Invitation
For the 2024 invitation, the goal was to share a preview of the party theme with a sneak peek at the creepy treats, macabre but upscale atmosphere, and touch of magic. Heather had an idea to make the party invitation appear in a cup of tea like a mystical parlor trick. Rather than use technology to accomplish the idea, I wrote the party date and theme on a piece of rice paper and floated it in the tea cup. We filmed and edited the video on a time crunch so the production quality is lacking (hello, shaky camera work), but it served the purpose of information sharing with a link sent to guests that included additional party details in the video caption.
The Decor
Magical Cocktail Portal
One of the most fun additions to the party was a magical cocktail portal at the porch entry; it also made for some laughs as guests imbibed and made innuendos. Simply using cardboard, we covered one of the front doors (our strange, old house has three doors on the front porch which meant this setup did not obstruct the entry). Inside, an attendant would send through a drink based on the number of knocks. Strategically, this setup also gave us more time to prep food in the kitchen while guests mingled and enjoyed the opening reception. For trick or treaters on Halloween night, we changed the signage- knock once for candy, twice for a toy.
The Tea Bar
Inside, two separate rooms were set up for guests- a tea bar area for mingling and a sit down dining area where tiered treat trays were served. On the tea bar, tea pots and tea cups were ready for guests to self-serve with a variety of teas, grown up libations for optional spiking, and garnishes. To spookify the table, the sugar cubes were shaped in spider and skull molds, heat sealable tea bags were cut into ghost shapes then filled with an apple pie tea blend, and decoupage labels like “poison” adorned the jars containing garnishes.
The Dining Room
Creepy cloth is in our top 5 favorite decorating items. Toss it over furniture, frames, and tablescapes to spookify a room. We hung panels from the ceiling as mysterious curtains that guests could still have visibility through but had the sensation of walking through. Plus, we loaded them up with faux spiders. We recycled a faux mantle from our vampire party and added a gallery wall using our collection of frames from previous years to create a corner where a friend made custom ghost drawings and another did Poe-etry reading. Each table was dressed simply in black tablecloths with black plates, faux candles, and a guide to tasseography (the art of reading tea leaves);
The Outdoor Entry
My favorite part of decorating is the exterior. The weather was tremendous this Halloween, and the leaf changes synched beautifully with party week. We made foam tombstones way back in 2009, and they survived three moves. They get reused annually, but we try to integrate them with the theme differently each time. This year, that meant moving the headstones into the front pollinator garden with an entry gate for guests to walk a lighted path through the cemetery. We repainted the “HalloweenLand” sign from 2022 to “Haunted High Tea” to designate the party theme. Creating paths with elements that guests walk under (hanging lanterns, spiderwebs) and through (gates, curtains) helps create a storyline and builds curiosity.
The Music
The Menu
Much of the emphasis was on food for this party. Pass hors d’oeuvres were available on the porch to start the evening while we prepared the main affair inside. Once everyone was seated, each table was served tiered trays with a variety of sweet and savory handheld items. To accomplish this, the planned menu required limited fresh preparation and included items that could be made in large batches. Some items like scones and hand pies were even made in advance and frozen so they simply had to be reheated. All drinks were also batched or set out for guests to serve themselves to allow for assembly time.
Appetizers:
Pesto “Skull” Stuffed Mushroom Caps
Deviled Eggs
Main Affair:
Spellbook Brownies
Curried Pumpkin Hand Pies
Cheddar-Jalapeno Scones with Strawberry Jalapeno Jam
Chocolate Covered Strawberry “Brains”
Cakelets with Pumpkin Buttercream
Cheese Plate
Beverages:
Green Tea Potion
Black Tea Punch
Tea Bar:
Halo Tea
Apple Pie Tea
Dried Orange Wheels
Cinnamon Sticks
Elderflower-peach Whiskey
Spiced Rum