Drop Dead Gorgeous: The Glam Halloween Party That Started a Tradition
October 30, 2026
If you know me, you know Halloween at our house isn't orange and black, it’s gorgeous shades of purple to make for an official Galloween. All the gals & all the glam. Last year I hosted my favorite kind of night: my girls, Lily and her friends, glam decor, and spooky sips. I'm finally getting last year's party up on the blog, because it was too good to keep in my camera roll! (And let’s face it, I had been MIA on the blog just like I mentioned on my previous post.)
The palette was lilac, deep purple, black and gold, basically my whole personality in party form. Here's everything: the tablescape, the food, the drinks, and all the little details (plus what I can still link for you!).
The Tablescape
The table is always my favorite part. I started with black placemats, black dinnerware on gold chargers, black linen napkins with gold spider napkin rings, and my pink marbled glasses. They have little black snakes on them, which kind of became the unofficial mascot of the night (Lily thinks snakes are so cool, so she was very excited to have snake decor).
Down the middle: gold snake candle holders wrapped around black flameless tapers, bud vases of deep purple calla lilies, velvet pumpkins scattered in lilac and black, and the centerpiece I'm still obsessed with: the Jonathan Adler Gilded Eve Fruit Bowl (yes, it's a big white hand!) filled with mini lilac velvet pumpkins.
Ashley may earn a commission when you shop these links. As an Amazon Associate, Ashley earns from qualifying purchases.
The Decor Details
The disco ghost!! If you do one thing for a glam Halloween, get a disco ghost. Ours greeted everyone by the cabinet, next to my black eucalyptus and a "Press for Champagne" frame (priorities).
I styled the built-in shelves with beaded owls, silver lace pumpkins, tiny ghost cameos, magenta skulls, flameless candles, and a garland of dark purple eyeball flowers across the top. Even the cocktail napkins were on theme: "More Boos Please."
Ashley may earn a commission when you shop these links. As an Amazon Associate, Ashley earns from qualifying purchases.
The Food
I kept the menu snacky and pretty, everything in the same dark, moody palette.
The fruit tower: a three-tier stand piled with moon drop grapes, black grapes, red grapes, blackberries, blueberries, black figs, plums and pomegranate. It's the easiest centerpiece ever and it doubles as decor.
Veggie cauldrons: veggie sticks served in mini black cauldrons on a tiered marble stand, with Just Ranch dip for dunking and a bowl of pecans on the side.
The soup: Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Soup, served in the little Crate & Barrel cauldron bowls. Love a pre-prepped moment. Nobody at a party has ever said "this soup tastes store-bought," and it's one less thing to make from scratch.
Also on the table: a cheese plate and my Summer Pasta Salad. That recipe is already here on the blog; for the party I just swapped in autumn-colored bowtie pasta to make it festive.
The cookies: custom cookies by Sugar Kristals on Instagram; I found the inspo on pinterest, and she recreated the styles perfectly. They matched the party so well, down to the pink skull table runner.
Ashley may earn a commission when you shop these links. As an Amazon Associate, Ashley earns from qualifying purchases.
The Sips
The signature drink of the night was a Crownberry Apple: Crown Royal Apple + cranberry juice. I don't remember my exact pours from that night (hostess math!), but here's the classic recipe. It's a two-ingredient wonder and you truly cannot mess it up:
Recipe
Crownberry Apple
Ashley's signature Galloween sip: Crown Royal Regal Apple and cranberry juice over ice. A two-ingredient wonder. For the party, every glass was finished with a little dry ice so it smoked.
Ingredients
- 1½ oz Crown Royal Regal Apple
- 4 oz Cranberry juice
- Ice
- Fresh cranberries or an apple slice for garnish
Instructions
Fill a glass with ice.
Add the Crown Royal Regal Apple.
Top with the cranberry juice and give it a stir.
Garnish with fresh cranberries or an apple slice.
Notes
Galloween party version: finish each glass with a little dry ice so it smokes. Dry ice tip: buy it the day of, keep it in a cooler, and never touch it with bare hands (tongs only!)
Fill a glass with ice, add the Crown Apple, top with the cranberry juice, and give it a stir. For the party, every glass got finished with a little dry ice so it smoked. (Dry ice tip: buy it the day of, keep it in a cooler, and never touch it with bare hands. Tongs only!)
For the girls: Shirley Temples, the Stiller's Soda Shirley Temple flavor (the best!), with edible glitter stirred in so they sparkled, topped with green apple gummy worms and gummy eyeballs (both Amazon finds). Equal parts gross and adorable, which is exactly the brief for a kids' Halloween drink.
Ashley may earn a commission when you shop these links. As an Amazon Associate, Ashley earns from qualifying purchases.
For the Little Ghouls
If you ask Lily, Galloween is now a tradition, she declared it herself, and tbh? She's right. She and her friends painted pumpkins, ate too many snacks, danced around the living room, and even put on a Halloween fashion show. She loves a celebration, just like her mama.
I set up a little craft table with mini pumpkins to paint and decorate: paints, glitter glue, pom-poms, the works.
And the tiniest guest: it was London's first Halloween season, and he partied in his candy-print onesie until he dropped.
That's Galloween! Same time next year, and this year's party post is coming right behind this one, because I apparently can't stop myself.
xo, Ashley
Monthly giveaway
Let’s talk all things Hair, Life, & fun
Join in to receive monthly updates + every month I pick one email subscriber at random & ship you my Monthly Faves Box... once you’re subscribed, you’re entered every month.
Loading comments…