Halloween is upon us this month, and kitchens in Liverpool are being prepared to host a wide variety of spooky-themed parties for guests of all ages! If you are holding your own Halloween party this year, here are our essential tips for making sure the evening goes off with a bang… or a bump in the night!
Creepy cleaning
All the best parties end up in the kitchen, so you will want to make sure your kitchen is spotless for the occasion. Clean the floors, table and kitchen worktops thoroughly, and put away any non-essential items and appliances to create as much space as possible.
It is worth leaving some cleaning cloths in a highly visible and easily accessible position, so any spillages can be dealt with straight away during the party. This will mean less work for you once your guests have gone home, and also reduce the possibility of any permanent stains.
Demonic decorations
To create the perfect Halloween ambience, you will need to decorate your kitchen. Window decorations are easy to make from black paper. Cut out shapes such as cats, spiders’ webs, witches’ hats and skeletons, and stick them onto your kitchen windows using double-sided tape, which is easy to peel off and clean after the party.
These decorations will be even more effective from the outside if you use coloured lighting in your kitchen. Blues, greens and purples are ideal for creating a spooky atmosphere.
You can also add to the theme by cutting up a black refuse sack to create creepy fronds to attach over the doorway, so your guests have to pass through them to enter the kitchen.
Sinister servings
Your guests will get into the Halloween mood even more if you serve drinks and food in themed glassware and crockery. If you don’t want to spend out on items decorated with skeletons or creepy-crawlies, plain black will also be highly effective.
A few well-chosen accessories on the table and kitchen worktops can make all the difference, and can also serve some useful purposes at the party. Silver skull-themed salt and pepper shakers and knife holders are extremely popular, but always remember to keep any sharp knives out of the reach of children.
Additionally, arrange black candles on the table to add an extra sinister touch. If you have a Gothic-style candelabra to put them in, so much the better! Remember never to leave burning candles unattended.
Terrible traditions
If you want to encourage trick-or-treaters to call, you will need to make a Jack O’Lantern to place in your kitchen window. Do this by hollowing out a pumpkin and carving a scary face into it, then placing a lit candle inside the pumpkin to illuminate it.
Alternatively, you can make your Jack O’Lantern look more like a human skull by using a turnip instead of a pumpkin and scraping off some of the outer skin, to create the appearance of decaying flesh and bone.
Apple-bobbing is another traditional Halloween pastime which guests of all ages will love! You will need to fill a large bucket with water, and float a few apples in it. Guests then need to retrieve the apples using nothing but their teeth! An apple-bobbing bowl can also make a great table centrepiece if you decorate it with spooky-themed cutouts.
All of us at HB Kitchens wish you a safe and enjoyable Halloween. If you would like a kitchen which is designed to meet all your cooking and entertainment needs, please contact us. We specialise in designing and building custom fitted kitchens in Liverpool, and would love to create your dream kitchen for you.