The last weekend in October is upon us… which means many of you might be attending some type of Halloween party in the next few days; whether it be an adults-only party or an event with your kids. Shad and I have hosted parties in years past… and I have to say that I usually get compliments from friends on how “themed” and “creative” our Halloween appetizers are.

The secret is…. Halloween party apps are by far the easiest apps of any party we host, and the reason being because I chose appetizers that look the part but can almost entirely be store bought!

So if you’re attending a party this weekend and want to impress the host and hostess… here are 5 appetizers/creative items to choose from with tips on easy ways to buy almost every ingredient and combine them in 5 minutes or less. I’ve pinned these ideas from Pinterest over the years, and have adapted them to fit the “time saver route”. If you click on the picture it will bring you straight to their websites- but check out my tips below each one.

All props used in these appetizers (black pot, plastic spider, skeletons) are from the dollar store:

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Franken-Guac:
Includes Guacamole (I bought store bought from Shoprite or Sam’s Club), Blue Chips for hair (put extra blue tortilla chips in a plastic black kettle pot which I’ll mention the details on below.) Sour Cream for eyes, 2 black olives for the neck, and this recipe calls for refried beans for the eye balls, scar, and mouth- however, I substituted regular black beans and laid them out in the same pattern for the mouth and scar. Spread out the guacamole in the shape of a rounded long rectangle.

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2. Skeleton Meat & Cheese Platter:

I feel like meat & cheese platters are a staple appetizer at any party. This idea is super cute and easy to do. Just visit the dollar tree or your local dollar store and grab a small skeleton. I cut open the chest of our skeleton to put the meat inside and disconnected the legs and arms to just stick out the sides and bottom of the platter. Put a knife through the center/heart as shown.

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3. Pumpkin puking spinach dip (or any other dip):

This recipe calls for: a small pumpkin pie pumpkin which can be found in the vegetable section of your grocery store this time of year, spinach dip (I bought my store bought from Sam’s Club, I’ll post the brand but it’s absolutely delicious and reasonably priced) along with crackers on the side (substitute it for veggies instead if you wish). If you’re looking to get a little more technical you can always substitute the spinach dip for anything else- pictured here is also a 7-layer dip. Cut the eyes out of the small pumpkin, a hole through the mouth, put the dip up to the mouth, and you’re good to go.

4. Mexican dip with spider web sour cream and a plastic spider from the dollar store:

This picture is showing a 7-layer dip, but for our past party I just made an easy Mexican dip: 1st layer cream cheese spread out, then a jar of store bought salsa on top of the cream cheese, diced up green peppers and onions make the next layer, and finally shredded mild cheddar cheese on top. To decorate it with the sour cream in a plastic sandwich bag, cutting a tiny hole in the corner, squeeze the sour cream out, and use it to mimic a web over the shredded cheese. To finish it off, get a plastic spider ring and stick it in the dip.

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5. Caramel- Apple Sangria:

Apple Cider, Pinot Grigio, Caramel vodka, and cut up apples to finish it off. I tried this recipe and instead of putting it in a pitcher, I put it in a punch bowl. While a pitcher is much easier to bring to someone’s home as opposed to a punch bowl: I made this drink more “Halloween-ish” by sticking plastic eyeballs in the punch and making frozen hands as ice cubes. I’ll explain how to make the hand ice cubes below.

Tips:

1: Dollar Store:

All items as props- eye balls, spiders, plastic skeleton, and black kettle pot can be purchased as the dollar store.

2. Disposable/Leave-it-behind Platter:

While you’re at the dollar store, buy a festive tray to put your appetizer on that you won’t mind leaving behind at the host/hostess’s house. Nothing’s worse then having to worry about bringing your platter home at the end of the night.

3. Black Kettle Pot:

Purchase a plastic black kettle pot to bring tortilla chips in if you do any of the dips above.

4. Festive Drink Additions:

If you’re bringing a drink a super festive idea is to make “hand ice-cubes.” Grab some plastic disposable gloves, fill them with water, tie the end like you would a balloon, and stick them in your freezer for a couple of hours. Cut and peel off the gloves after it’s frozen, and add them to the punch bowl. The plastic eyeballs and floating hands definitely look the part of Halloween. (Note: make sure the disposable gloves you used aren’t the powdered on the inside kind, if they are, turn them inside out before filling them with water).