Halloween at Home: Everything to Buy for Trick-or-Treaters and a Party to Remember

By mid-October the shift is impossible to miss. Pumpkins are stacked outside every greengrocer, the supermarket has a whole aisle of fun-size chocolate, and the neighbours have already put a skeleton on their front step. Whether you're expecting a steady stream of trick-or-treaters, throwing a party for the kids or hosting friends for a night of costumes and spooky food, Halloween rewards a little planning.

Most of the magic comes down to what you buy. The right decorations, a couple of good carving pumpkins, enough sweets to last the evening and a table of themed snacks are all it takes. This year the 31st falls on a Saturday, so expect a busy night. Here's everything to add to your list.

The Front Door: Your First Impression

For trick-or-treaters, the front of the house is the signal. A lit pumpkin and a few decorations tell families yours is a door worth knocking on.

For the porch, path and windows:

• Stretchy fake cobwebs with plastic spiders
• Orange or purple LED string lights
• Window clings of bats, black cats and ghosts
• A Halloween doormat or "Trick or Treat" sign
• Solar path lights or lanterns to light the way
• A skeleton, scarecrow or giant spider for the step
• Hay bales or straw decorations, if you have the space

Pumpkins: Carving and Display

The carved pumpkin is the heart of the night, and carving one together is half the fun for children.

What to buy:

• Carving pumpkins with a flat base so they sit steady
• Small decorative gourds and mini pumpkins for the table and windowsills
• A pumpkin carving kit with mini saws and scoops, safer and more precise than kitchen knives
• A sturdy metal spoon or scraper for hollowing out
• A washable marker to draw the face first
• Battery tea lights or LED candles for inside
• Pumpkin stencils if you're going for something more ambitious
• Trays to protect surfaces from moisture

Keep the flesh and seeds: the flesh makes soup or pumpkin pie, and the seeds roast into a crunchy snack.

Trick-or-Treat Sweets: Buy More Than You Think

Running out of sweets at 7pm is a Halloween classic nobody wants. If you live on a busy street, budget generously and buy a little extra.

For the bowl:

• Fun-size chocolate bars in multipacks
• Individually wrapped sweets: gummies, lollipops, chews
• Mini packs of crisps or popcorn for a savoury option
• A cauldron or pumpkin-shaped bowl to serve from
• Small treat bags if you prefer to pre-portion

For children with allergies, keep a separate bowl of non-food treats: glow sticks, stickers, pencils, mini bouncy balls or temporary tattoos. Some families mark their door with a teal pumpkin to show allergy-friendly treats are on offer, and a teal bucket or painted pumpkin is an easy addition to your list.

Costumes and Face Paint

Even if the party isn't strictly fancy dress, a basket of spare accessories means latecomers can still join in.

Costume basics:

• Black or red capes for vampires, witches and wizards
• Witch hats, devil horns, cat ears
• Masks and half masks
• Coloured wigs
• Broomsticks, wands and plastic pitchforks
• An old white sheet for the classic ghost

Face paint and make-up:

• Water-based face paints suitable for children's skin
• Fake blood gel
• Black and white face crayons, sponges and small brushes
• Cosmetic glitter
• Make-up wipes and moisturiser for the end of the night

The Party Table: Spooky Food Shopping List

Halloween food is about shapes and colours rather than complicated recipes. These are the ingredients behind most party favourites, easy to prep ahead and lay out on one table.

Savoury:

• Pumpkin or butternut squash for soup
• Puff pastry and cocktail sausages for "mummy" sausage rolls
• Black olives for spiders and eyeballs
• Mini mozzarella balls
• Eggs for devilled eggs
• Carrots, cherry tomatoes and peppers with dips
• Cheese, crackers and cream cheese
• Sliced bread and bat or pumpkin cutters for sandwiches
• Sausages or burgers if you're cooking for a crowd

Sweet:

• Baking basics: flour, butter, sugar, eggs
• Whole almonds for "witch's finger" biscuits
• Dark and white chocolate
• Orange, green and black food colouring
• Icing sugar and Halloween sprinkles
• Marshmallows and meringues for ghosts
• Cupcake mix and black or orange cases
• Toffee apple ingredients: apples, sugar, lolly sticks
• Biscuit cutters shaped like pumpkins, bats and ghosts

To serve:

• Themed plates, cups and napkins
• Platters and cake stands
• Decorative cocktail sticks

Drinks: Potions for All Ages

A bubbling cauldron of punch in the middle of the table always gets a reaction.

For kids:

• Cranberry, orange or apple juice
• Orange fizzy drinks
• Ice, with skull or pumpkin moulds
• Coloured straws
• Gummy worms to hang over the rim of glasses

For adults:

• Apple cider
• Red wine for mulled wine
• Punch ingredients: oranges, cinnamon sticks, cloves, brown sugar

Games and Entertainment

What to buy:

• A pumpkin or ghost piñata, plus sweets to fill it
• Apples and a large tub for apple bobbing
• Small prizes for games and a treasure hunt
• Torches or glow sticks for games in the dark
• Card, glue, scissors and stickers for a craft corner

A Practical Tip

Shop in two rounds. Decorations, costumes, packaged sweets and tableware can be bought now, while the shelves are full and the best costumes haven't sold out. Leave carving pumpkins, fresh ingredients and ice for the last two or three days: a carved pumpkin only looks its best for a short while, and your party food deserves fresh produce.

Organise Everything with Spesary

Build your Halloween list in Spesary and split it into categories: decorations, costumes, sweets, party food. Share it with whoever's helping, so one of you can grab the decorations while the other does the supermarket run, and you both see in real time what's already in the basket.

Because on the 31st, the only fright should come from the ghosts at the door, not from realising you've run out of sweets.