When we moved to our home in the mountains, we knew that there wouldn’t be any trick or treaters who would hike up here. So, for many years, Halloween was not a big deal. That is, until we joined the MINI club and began going to the annual costume party. Now, it is fun to do a little tablescape, make some pumpkin recipes and sew a table topper or a wall hanging or even a new costume. On this table, skulls and black webs bubble out of a black cauldron with happy pumpkins nestled in the leaves.
My Halloween plates sit atop white dinner plates with orange chargers underneath. Black napkins are held with pumpkin napkin rings. The base is our Autumn Jubilee Pumpkins and Leaves table topper from 2016. The pattern is on the linked post, with links to the individual blocks on that post as well.
Another year, I did the table in black, with a black and gold tablecloth topped with a Halloween wall hanging. The bubbling caldron is on this table as well, with a sill sitter of sparkly Spooky lettering.
On this table, I put lights in the skull garland so it would light up at night for a creepy ambiance. The pumpkin looks a little less happy here, LOL!!
Happy pumpkins shine in the sun at our local pumpkin patch. Both Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins and small pie pumpkins can be purchased here with proceeds going to charity.
So, how about a Halloween breakfast? Make my Pumpkin Cake Donuts to go with your morning brew.
Or, maybe some of my Pumpkin Orange Bread would be good. I make some of these in small loaves for the neighbors and friends this time of year.
I am the Great Pumpkin some years.
Packaging the bread in fun bags from the discount store makes them festive.
Of course, a Halloween card will go in the package, too. A few may go in the mail as well. These were stamped on a previous Autumn Jubilee. With jack-o-lanterns and fun ribbons, making them was easy and fast.
After a busy day delivering goodies, a piece of Pumpkin Toffee Dump Cake is ideal. This makes a wonderful pot luck dish, too.
Then it is time to think about a costume. Find some old books and craft them into Hogwart’s Textbooks.
Then dress as professors! This is My Sweet Babboo as Professor Snape, and I am Professor McGonagall, our costumes in 2019. We got him a temporary tattoo of a Death Eater Snake for his arm. No, that isn’t his hair, it’s a wig. We carried the textbooks as props, too. My wand is one he got me some years ago to put on the shelf with my Harry Potter books. His is a stick we got from our property. These are serious costume hounds in this car club, so we have to be creative.
We hit the Spirit Halloween store in 2019 on the day after Halloween and got a couple of things that will serve in more than one way for the next couple of years. Then you know what happened last year and there was no party. But it is back on for this year, so I had to look a bit more for a key piece to my plan. I found the perfect dress at a thrift store, which saved me hours of sewing and a lot of money for fabric. I did have to make a pinafore, and I’ll show you our final costumes after the party.
Halloween is a fun reason to sew a quick table topper or door decoration from a panel. There are lots of cute ones in the local quilt stores right now. I did this one for fun with a panel I found, added some buttons and embellishments to make it special. I sold it at the fair this year.
It really is simple with panels, just add some borders, and quilt.
So, we will have some Halloween fun with friends, and maybe watch a scary movie. If you haven’t seen The Skeleton Key, it is without a doubt my favorite creepy movie. The weather finally turned a bit cooler yesterday, so maybe the fall color will come out in the trees soon. I made a new soup recipe with a ham bone from a slow cooker ham I did on Friday. It was yummy, and I’ll share more about it soon.
So, lots of ways to have some Halloween fun. Today’s giveaway is sponsored by MadamSew. A lucky winner will receive a 60mm rotary cutter and extra blade, along with a set of lights for your sewing machine or craft table. Visit MadamSew for new ideas and a Customer Favorite promotion with a free gift!
Just leave a comment on this post, then click on the Rafflecopter button to enter the drawing.
Do you have any Halloween plans? What is your favorite creepy movie?
From My Carolina Home 
Goodness, I needed two cups of coffee as I read through all the amazing details on your post today….such fun
How adorable you two are!!
Wow! So many fun ideas! I guess one of my favorite scary movies would be “wait until Dark” . I saw it in high school with all the senior class and since it was aa all girls school you can imagine the screams! So old school, but still suspenseful.
The pumpkin pie bars look so yummy. Thanks for sharing- I will definitely be trying it for Thanksgiving!
I am going to be on a cruise, so I plan on decorating the stateroom door with a big orange pumpkin “chair cover” I found at Dollar tree. It is vinyl and flat and was easy to put in my suitcase. A few magnets will keep it on the door and make sure we can find our cabin easily too. No costume tho.
No trick-or-treaters at our house either but we always buy some treats just in case.
What a fun post, full of great photos and ideas! I love the Halloween plates, the cards with the fun Halloween ribbon, your very detailed costumes, the photo of the pumpkins and all the darling tablescapes! Oh, and I have made both the donuts and orange pumpkin bread; both are delicious and hubby-approved! I generally stay away from scary movies. I think the last one I saw was “The Picture (Portrait?) of Dorian Gray”. Am I dating myself? Lol! It’s still been so balmy here the trees are only about half turned, or really less. Not enough cold nights. I have my Halloween quilts and wall hangings out. Not quite as much fun as when the kids were home to generate the excitement, but I do like to mark the seasons. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love the old movies, especially the original Dracula and Frankenstein movies from the 1940s.
The only thing we celebrate on Halloween is my hubby’s birthday!
I think Halloween is your favorite event!
I am not a fan of scary movies and opt instead for Halloween fun. We have not had any trick or treaters for several years. I may get my mug of hot cider to enjoy with some Pumpkin Orange Bread and watch the old movie “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken’.
That is a perfect movie choice!! Love that one!
Aren’t y’all so cute? I will take a slice of pumpkin orange bread with my morning coffee. Great ideas!
After living in the country for many years, we moved to a small town. I love walking around and seeing my neighbours’ very creative Halloween decorations. I think I really need an over the door organizer. Madam Sew has some very interesting products.
I will be at a craft retreat Halloween weekend…great plans! No favorite movie but I did watch Hocus Pocus for the first time. Fun movie!
We too, don’t have trick or treaters, but your costumes are way too much fun Good job. Thanks so much for your blog, I sure do enjoy it. Happy fall and Halloween to you
Always love to watch “Young Frankenstein” every Halloween! The old Abbott & Costello movies are fun too.
I don’t have any Halloween plans….maybe to get my decorations out this year would be a good one! My favorite scary movie was Carrie, but there are so many good ones.
We have no Halloween plans, except to hand out candy to a few Trick or Treaters (we get less than 100). My favorite creepy movie is “Christine”.
FUN post and love all the pics – especially the Harry Potter ones and your fun tablescapes! We get a few treat or treaters and I enjoy dressing up and filling their buckets! I love everything Fall! Thank you!
This week I’m planning to make some of your pumpkin bread – it’s my favorite recipe! I even have a pumpkin I grew to roast up and get the pumpkin from. We don’t get many trick-or-treaters anymore, and I miss that, too. Great Harry Potter costumes!
Your mini car club sounds like a very fun group! I love travelling vicariously with you on your road trips. We drove the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway a few years ago on our vacation. Beautiful! I’m looking forward to seeing this year’s costumes
I love your Harry Potter costumes! I’m so glad that your party is back on this year!
I finally get to see who Babboo is in all of his glory! Love the costumes.
Love the tablescapes, love the costumes, love the pumpkins! Looking forward to shopping Madame Sew!
Great job with the Harry Potter costumes! We will bring our kids out trick or treating for Halloween. I admittedly don’t really like scary movies but my favorite one to watch this time of year is The Nightmare Before Christmas.
We don’t get very many trick or treaters in our neighbor, but we are always well prepared with candy just in case.
Halloween is such a fun time of year. Love your table settings.
I brought your Pumpkin Toffee Dump Cake to the family holiday gathering a few years ago. It became a such a favorite that I was assigned dessert the following year. Perhaps we’ll be able to enjoy the cake this year having missed 2020 celebrations.
Connie
P.S. The Sulky Sampler prize arrived. I grin each time I see that sleeve of fall/ Halloween threads!
It is not really a “hallowe’en ” movie, but we have always loved watching Beetlejuice this time of year. Thanks
I always enjoy seeing your tabescapes, you have such a fun collection of seasonal dishes. We love your orange pumpkin loaves. Gosh you’re such a cute Harry Potter couple. Our library had some cute potion books decorated like yours. I love my heat erase pens from Madam Sew, I see I’m not alone, they’re a favorite! I cracked up when I saw the photo of the spool & bobbin organizer bundle, they looked like little robots. For Halloween I look forward to seeing some classic Christopher Lee Dracula movies. Bela Lugosi is the best, but that Christopher Lee has his own charm.
Dump cake looks yummy!
Super Spooktacular post today (but they are always good). Your Sweet Babboo as Professor Snape nailed it in the coffin. What an adorable couple. I love your Halloween theme tablescapes, baked goods, quilts and more. I now want to see if I can find similar paper bags for baking and sharing, at my local dollar store. Great touch.
I love all your table scapes, just wish I had room to store all that stuff!!
Love the Harry Potter costumes – I’ve seen each movie probably 15 times and see something new each time I watch it again. You both did a great job with your costumes. The table scapes are wonderful!
We don’t get trick or treaters but we do have our favourite chocolate bars on hand just in case.
I think I’ll bake one of your pumpkin desserts to enjoy pumpkin and the evening.
thanks,
Alexandria
I don’t have a favourite movie but the pumpkin dessert I bake may have a spooky candy on top.
Alexandria
Love all things pumpkin!
No trick or treaters at our house. We live in the country and most of our neighbors are older. Thanks for sharing the fun things that you do.
Loooove MadamSew!! Have ordered great items from them!! Thank you for chance to win your Give-a-way!! We don’t do much fancy things for Halloween, but we love to watch the original Hocus Pocus movie 😀
I enjoy purple, orange, black & white colors of the Halloween season and I prefer fun, non spooky Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus! Thanks for all your inspiring Halloween ideas.
Lots of people mentioning that one, maybe Practical Magic would do too!
Oh how fun your costumes are! I’m totally wanting to make that pumpkin dessert!
You two are a cool couple. The pumpkin dessert is on my to do list. Thanks for the inspiration.
You have – as always – taken it to a new level! Hadn’t turned on the oven for weeks and “needed” a dump cake – wish I had this recipe then! WOW this is amazing.
Love all the decorations. So festive. Last year I had over 200 little tricksters at the door.
Thanks
The orange pumpkin bread sounds really delicious!!
Love those costumes and that you and your husband can enjoy the experience together.
I always enjoy seeing your tablescapes, Carole! We don’t do much for Halloween except by the grandloves lots of candy!! No one climbs our hill for trick or treat either!!
Hi Carole,
Your table scapes are so creative. Every season you do different things.
You and hubby are so cute. Looking forward to seeing this years.
Have a great weekend.
Your house looks SPOOKTACULAR!
Marion
Very pretty table. With the covid delta variant still running its course in Oregon, I doubt we’ll even bother to decorate for the holidays this year.
What a fun post. Love the dump cake.
Love your tablescapes! I have 7 cats so there is not a lot of that going on in my house
It looks like you have a lot of fun on Halloween! I’m going to try the dump cake recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I think your orange pumpkin bread is calling my name!
Such fun ! Love the costumes!
Thank you for the recipe!
Your costumes are super! Have a fun time at the costume party and watching scary movies. I even love scary books to read! I printed your pumpkin donuts recipe last year and didn’t get around to trying it, so I plan to do that this year AND make the pumpkin orange bread. Yum! Thanks for all you do for us, Carole. I’m not entering Madam Sews giveaway this year because I won a wonderful set of sewing machine feet about 2 years ago and have really enjoyed it! Happy Autumn with all the fun it brings and the yummy goods, too!
I don’t like scary movies but I do watch all the old Alfred Hitchcock movies all the time. Pumpkin bread sounds wonderful.
Cant find my leaves . They were put up to be easy to find with the next clue..yea.
I do love Halloween fabrics and decorations but don’t have any real plans for Halloween. My days of making costumes for my son are long over. One day I hope to do that again for grandchildren. Don’t have a favorite scary or creepy movie, I don’t even like to see the ads for those!
MadamSew always has interesting gadgets and helpful tools.
Love all things Halloween, you two look so cute 🙂
I’ve never really liked Halloween but when my kiddos were small I made costumes for all five of them. I was very glad when they became old enough not to trick or treat. In our town, few kids trick or treat except to neighborhood homes they know. My younger daughter’s favorite holiday is Halloween and she decorates every room in her house with spooky items. I like to sew for fall so those colors work for both occasions.
Thanks for the Pumpkin Orange Bread recipe and Pumpkin Toffee Dump Cake recipe. Would like to make both of these. I usually sit on my porch and wait for the Trick-or-Treaters. I have been wearing my “Witch” outfit the last few years. I made 2 aprons that are Halloween fabric and I made a witch hat. They are fun to wear.
I love your blog posts! The recipes look fantastic, can’t wait to try the Pumpkin Toffee Dump cake. My favorite scary movie; to this day Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds scares me. I know it’s old and as an adult can watch it rationally, but I saw it when I was 5. Remember when drive in’s had two movies? Well I didn’t sleep through the second movie as my parents thought. My husband and I always watch Hocus Pocus, but now that I’ve watched the trailer for The Skeleton Key, I think I’ll watch that one (during the day! LOL)
Happy Halloween to ya, Wish I lived close to you to share recipes and ideas. My kitten Sunshine has a snoopy toy to play with , she loves to toss him into the air and then pounch on him, poor little fellow, glad he isn’t real. Taking her to get spaded Thursday. Lots to do this week. Love the pumpkin dish settings so cute. Phyllis
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The recipes sound delish! I want to make the bread!! We don’t have Halloween trick or treaters and we have no parties to go to, but I decorate for us.
Halloween plans include wearing a Halloween apron that I recently made. I’ll wear it over clothes or a coat depending on the weather while passing out candy since we do still have quite a few trick or treaters. I can attest to the fact that the Orange Pumpkin Bread recipe you shared is 100% delicious!
For many years, as a teacher and a parent, Halloween was one of my favorite times of year. Now I enjoy it via your blog and other similar online sources!