In Defence of A Grown-Up Halloween

OK, now before you accuse me of literally taking candy from the mouths of babes, I will readily admit that Halloween itself is the ideal holiday for children, who are natural proponents of dressing up and eating weird-looking sweets.

I will also admit that there is no way to avoid the fact that on All Hallows Eve your energies will likely be spent shepherding tinies dressed as Elsa or Minions around your neighbourhood, the idea being that it is best to create positive family associations with Halloween before it becomes an excuse to dress up as a sexy cat and drink to oblivion.

To forget all that for a moment, why not embrace the vampy, dark, cool side of Halloween and have a grown up dinner party?

Firstly..

Food.

And drink.

Obviously drink plenty of blood-red wine.

Make your favourite pasta and tomato sauce variant - perhaps seafood linguine - but substitute Cuttlefish Ink Spaghetti from Carluccio's for ordinary pasta. Voila! Spooky yet Italianate, sophisticated, and most importantly, easy.  It looks dastardly but will taste delicious.

Leave the Hallowe’en-themed sweets from the supermarket to the children – they are universally revolting. Try instead this huge delicious-themed box of caramel-filled chocolates from Hotel Chocolat for a table centrepiece which is thematic and beautiful (and tasty).

Decoration Skulls are, without a doubt, the most chic of the Halloween decorations. So why not take care of drinks and décor at once with this Crystal Skull Vodka from Fortum & Mason.

To add an inexpensive but cool touch, this Day of the Dead garland from Amazon fits the grown-up colour scheme and is really rather pretty.

If you must carve a pumpkin, try to find a Crown squash, with their unusual blue-grey colouring, to keep the mood of your décor spooky but unique. 

Costumes

My view on Halloween for adults is that, done correctly, you don’t need an actual costume – just give off the vibe you’ve been casually bathing in the blood of virgins. Subtly witch yourself up, taking Morticia Addams, Edward Scissorhands and Angelina Jolie in Maleficent as inspiration.

Make sure everyone makes an effort to make the party into the stylish celebration of the supernatural it deserves to be. That includes men who own not so much as a pair of black boxers. Wouldn’t it be fun to see what they look like with eyeliner on?

Make-up

I can't be the only one who owns dark berry lipstick, loves it on everyone else, and yet doesn't have the courage to actually put it on my mouth and walk out the door. (That is, as opposed to putting it on my mouth and taking selfies, which I do frequently). If you share this desire to be bold, this dinner party is your chance. Channel Dita Von Teese - ultimate modern pin-up girl - and pair your burgundy lips with pale skin, free of bronzer or blusher, a dark cat eye and defined eyebrows. Add a beauty mark high on your cheek.

Don’t forget nails – Chanel’s 20-year-old classic Rouge Noir is the ultimate varnish for a wannabe seductress.

Go forth and goth!