Halloween weekend is coming up. This is one of the weekends that arguably has the biggest, wildest parties of the year. Whether it is a small get together, or a huge kegger, there is one thing that is the most essential part to your party. This article isn’t about that particular thing. It is about the second most essential part of your party: Food. Everyone gets hungry at parties, and with all the running around that comes with this weekend, appetites will most certainly be soaring. This article will have some suggestions for party food so that you and your guests don’t leave with grumbling stomachs.
Easily the most important Halloween food, if you can call it food, is the candy. From king-size, to the less-than-fun fun-sized bars. From handfuls of candy corn, to somewhat sketchy homemade candy. There are all types of candy and you can find it anywhere. It may be the easiest thing to go out and buy in bulk for your party needs. You can get different varieties and shapes. The best part: if all of the candy isn’t eaten and/or stolen by the end of the night it is all yours. Who knows how long you can make all that candy last?
The next step up from candy is your basic junk food. This basically covers everything from cookies and chips to pretzels and Chex Mix. Again, this is an incredibly easy path to take if you need to supply some food for your guests. There will not be many people who are against free cookies and chips, as long as you stick to the basics. Usually you can go with regular potato chips in a bowl. If you feel like spending a bit more you can even buy some dip. There are more than enough different kinds of dips to keep everyone satisfied. You can go to any given grocery store and get bags of your favorite kinds of chips. This works out well because even if they aren’t everyone’s favorite, you will be left with a bunch of chips that you expected to disappear anyways. Cookies work as well but they are often a bit more expensive. It might be safer to use them only for smaller events. Another item that falls into this category that’s frequently forgotten is pretzels. You can also go with the classic Chex Mix. Pretty much anything you can put in a huge bowl and share with everyone works!
The best thing you can do for a party quite honestly is to suck it up, take some time and bake. Homemade baked goods reign supreme when it comes to social snacking. If you don’t know how to bake, it may just be time to learn. Or, if you are against learning a skill that will be useful for the rest of your life, you can simply ask someone to help you. Get together with a large group of friends and make hundreds of baked goods. Make anything you want. One great part about making your own food is that you have all of the power. You can add as many ingredients as you want. Maybe add extra sugar! Or extra vanilla extract! Anything you want works. You will also receive bragging rights, because quite frankly, you made some really tasty food. Instead of just saying that you went out and bought something, you can say that you made your very own delicious creation. You still have a bunch of time so, get out there and get some food for your fellow partiers.
Ian Winship can be reached at [email protected].
