I can’t explain why, but this particular Halloween season has been so much fun for me! Maybe it’s because I wasn’t able to celebrate it last year, and I’m feeling the impulse to not take it for granted this time around. Whatever the reason, I’ve been experiencing little thrills all month as I see Halloween decorations up in yards throughout town, pumpkins and bags of candy lining store displays, and when I get to cue up a spooky movie each evening with John. Little moments like those have put such a big smile on my face, and I’m here for that kind of joy despite all the chaos going on in the world.

To keep the Halloween happiness going, I thought I’d challenge myself to put together a simple holiday buffet table. Maybe it could help you if you’re planning on hosting a get-together this October! We have a vintage console cabinet in our dining room that I’ve always thought would be the perfect place for a small buffet spread, so I finally made good on that dream with an armload of tasty treats fit for Halloween, including savory snacks, colorful sweets, and seasonal décor from my stash down in storage.

I was actually really surprised to find that our local grocery store was low on Halloween-themed food the day I went out to source for this shoot. I searched the aisles for pumpkin-shaped crackers, black and orange tortilla chips, and batty cookies, but came up empty-handed. I couldn’t even find Halloween-colored Oreos! Maybe I was looking in the wrong place, but, at any rate, I had to think creatively, and ultimately went with more generalized Halloween-themed colors and shapes instead.

I bought round, orange cheese-flavored rice cakes since I thought they gave off a pumpkin vibe, grabbed regular Oreos since the black color still felt right for the holiday, and picked out whole grain tortilla chips that had a bit more color to them, accompanied by ghoulish green guacamole. The only thing that’s really “authentically” Halloween is the bowl of Reese’s Pieces candy. Everything else is from the regular aisles of our grocery store, but it all fits the tone of the holiday thanks to a limited color palette.

What helps really drive the theme home, of course, is the décor surrounding my party food. I didn’t buy anything new for this scene, instead pulling my small box of annual Halloween accents up from the basement. You may recognize my skeletons, skulls, pumpkins, bats, and foliage from other Halloween and fall decorating stories that I’ve shared here on the blog, but I think they look fresh in this setup since the pieces are being used in a new-to-us way here in our dining room. Click this link to peruse all of the Halloween decorating posts I’ve published over the years in case you want more inspiration or to see these same pieces used in other ways.

I love how this little buffet came together and am especially excited that it didn’t require buying anything new (other than the snacks). I thought it was kind of cool to see how regular “everyday” food items could look Halloween-themed just by following a seasonal color palette too. If you have a Halloween party planned this year, I hope today’s post helps inspire you to use what you have to make a buffet that your guests will swoon over. That said, if you’re looking to add to your décor collection, check out this shopping guide that I put together, which is full of spooky accents to love. What would you put on your Halloween buffet?

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