Last-minute Halloween party ideas

The evening of 31 October is no time to practise your sculpting skills – follow our easy video guide to carving a pumpkin and keep things simple by using one of our handy templates. Choose from a bat, witch or haunted house design, tape it to your squash, then mark the outline using a skewer to get a head-start on the carving process. Simpler still, our hole-punched lantern can be achieved in minutes – just use an apple corer for an instant lantern. Add a candle and dim those lights.

Or, make a pumpkin bowl:

Slash your pumpkin in half, horizontally – a serrated knife may make this easier – and use it as a decorative treasure trove. Hollow it out so there’s enough space to fit a glass bowl, then fill it with sweets, as shown in the following video:

Find more delicious ways to use up your pumpkin:

Pumpkin hummus
10 new ways with pumpkin
How to use pumpkin seeds
Our best ever pumpkin soup recipes

2. Ideas for spooky snacks

Halloween cheeseboard with creepy crackers

Assemble a Halloween cheeseboard with creepy crackers for a party spread suitable for adults. You'll need a selection of cheeses, including an orange one, blue-veined variety, white option, and if you can find it, a charcoal-coated cheese. Then, serve with homemade creepy crackers made with black food colouring.

Devilled eggs

These spooky devilled eggs are a perfect bite-sized party canapé. Gently crack some hard-boiled eggs and leave the shell on, then submerge in a mixture of water, vinegar and food colouring – we suggest using red, orange, green or black. Drain, remove the shell and pipe in the filling for a striking finish.

Healthy Halloween nachos

Make these fun, healthy Halloween nachos for a sharing platter everyone will love. Start with a simple guacamole by mashing avocado, lime juice and coriander. Then, make a sweetcorn salsa by combining corn, tomatoes, onions, peppers and black beans. Cut the bat shapes out of tortillas using a cookie cooker or scissors, then bake until crisp.

Halloween bark

For an eye-catching treat, this Halloween bark is a deceptively easy. Simply melt white chocolate, add orange food colouring and have fun topping with jelly snakes, edible eyes, popping candy and sugar-coated peanuts.

Mini monster burgers

Cornichons and pimento-stuffed olives bring these Halloween burgers to life. Even better, they take just 3o minutes to make.

Eerie eyeball jelly

Give your guests a fright with this convincingly realistic eyeball jelly made with blueberry-stuffed lychees. Layers of red and green jelly add a spooktacular finish.

Spider's web taco dip

Pipe soured cream onto a creamy avocado, lime and coriander dip for a fun Halloween treat that's ready in 20 minutes. Decorate the edges with chopped red onion, peppers and olives, then get dunking.

Discover more quick and tasty Halloween bites.

3. Create a Halloween drinks menu

Eyeball & hand fruit punch

Kids and adults alike will love this creepy eyeball and hand fruit punch. Make the ice hands by filling disposable gloves with water and freezing overnight. Combine blueberry juice, cranberry juice and sparking water, then make eyeball shapes using lychees stuffed with cherries and raisins.

Grasshopper cocktail

Grown-ups can look forward to this minty grasshopper cocktail with an eerie green colour. Mix equal parts crème de menthe, white crème de cacao and single cream, then shake hard until the outside of the shaker is cold and strain into a cocktail glass or small coupe.

Blood beetroot cocktails

Mix a batch of these vampire-inspired bloody beetroot cocktails for your next Halloween party. Steep grated beetroot in lemon juice and caster sugar for an hour to get the vibrant colour, then strain and combine with Aperol, chilled prosecco and ice.

Find more terrifying tipples to sip with our Halloween drinks guide and our top Halloween cocktails and best Halloween mocktail recipes.

4. Speedy Halloween bakes

Halloween slash cake

This scary Halloween slash cake is not for the faint of heart. Bake a rich red velvet sponge, then layer with blood-red buttercream frosting and sweet strawberry jam. Cover the cake with white fondant, then use a sharp knife to cut slashes into the icing. Drizzle a little of the reserved buttercream mixed with some water into each to look like blood.

Kiwi slime pies

Gooey kiwi slime pies are an easy party food that screams Halloween. Bake individual pastry cases by filling muffin tins with shop-bought shortcrust pastry, then make a tinted custard using green jelly, eggs, milk and sugar. Fill the cases with the custard and top with kiwi slices to finish.

See more ideas with our Halloween baking recipes and best Halloween cake recipes.

5. And finally, throw together a costume

Reach into your kitchen cupboards to create a last-minute costume. Black bin liners can be used as a gothic poncho, while a sprinkling of flour in your hair gives a ghostly pallor. Just make sure you brush it out thoroughly before washing it – nobody wants to start November with the beginnings of a pizza base in their hair.

Get more Halloween party ideas:

How to make a Halloween feast
Halloween cocktails, punches and soft drinks
How to throw a kid's Halloween party
How to make Halloween cupcakes
Halloween recipe collection
Halloween hub page

Are you a grown-up who loves Halloween? We'd love to hear how you celebrate...