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Halloween Headquarters

Photography Kate ThorntonPhotos 16Issue October 2017
Batch’s Spicy Bloody Orange Margarita recipeFor 15 years now, event designer Lisa Thomas’s lair has been the “it” place for trick-or-treaters—and their chaperones. As for adding a little freaky flair to your own front door, she says all that’s needed is a classic wreath (like this hydrangea number by Lisa’s floral business, Out of the Garden), florist wire, fluffy grasses, and creepy-cool add-ons—think faux crows and leggy spiders.Lisa plans for about 400 visitors—pint- and parent-sized. Children get to choose three pieces of candy from these treasure chests.For whimsical garden decorations, fill an urn with potting soil, then balance pumpkins and gourds atop one another, filling the spaces between with more earth.Tuck in pansies and cabbage plants and water generously daily. Too precarious? Try the same method with a garden box.Patterned straws and spooky garnishes elevate the simplest cocktail, notes Batch bar service’s Katie Poole. “A specialty drink is usually guests’ first impression,” she continues, “so in a way, it’s the microcosm of the entire event.” The jelly-bean bar stays fresh (read: not sticky) thanks to lidded apothecary jars.Leave a stack of paper bags for the self-serve, unwrapped treats.Lisa puts out at least two five-gallon self-serve drink dispensers and fills them with margaritas for adults and a second nonalcoholic option, this year the “Shirley Temple of Doom.” She has refills pre-made to keep each vessel flowing.Harvest Catering pulled together a menu with a charcuterie board, persimmon and mozzarella bites, and chilled shrimp, aka “brain mold”Veggies, chops, deviled eggs, and pimiento cheese; and oysters.OystersTomato bisque with web-like crème fraîche.Ashley Brown of ABCD Cakes layered the cake with raspberry-Cointreau “Boo-ze Berry” filling and created hand-painted skull macarons in an assortment of flavors, such as candy corn and peanut-butter cup.Halloween HeadquartersCaramel apples and candy rounded out the sweets.Halloween Headquarters

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