Many moons ago I conjured up an idea to host an early October gathering to help welcome the season of Halloween. I had read about a great way to sample the flavors and smells of autumn by having a witches tea party. What a great idea! It sat in the back of my mind for years but this year I decided to finally do it. Since my young nieces would be visiting soon I decided the mood would be light and cheery and everyone that attended would have to dress up as a witch. It went better than I expected and now I can’t wait to do it again next year. Keep reading to see how you too can throw a witches tea party of your own.
When I first mulled over the idea of hosting a witches tea party I really just wanted to have an excuse to get together with others and start getting into the Halloween spirit. Sampling autumnal teas that you find in stores around October could be a cozy activity. However, after an unbelievably hot October I realized tea would be out of the question. If I had been hosting more adults I could make fall themed beverages spiked with a little alcohol or sample different flavors of ciders. Since I was making this a family and child party I decided instead to have tasty fall treats and serve apple cider. The party vibe I was going for was light-hearted and festive. I wanted to get everyone’s Halloween imaginations going by allowing them to be creative and participate in some fall themed activities.
The Invitation
For this party I didn’t have to actually make any formal invitations. Instead I just told my nieces that they had been invited to participate in the first annual gathering of witches. I told them it was a very exclusive party and only certain people are lucky enough to get invited. My plan was just getting them excited and it totally worked. I said that in order to be accepted into the gathering they would need to bring with them at least one item associated with a witch. It could be a broom, a hat, a rubber rat, a skull, a potion…anything! But they must bring at least one item or else they would not be allowed. Immediately they both jumped from the couch and started looking for “witchy” Halloween props from my moms house. Before I knew it they had not only gathered items but started dressing up with large witch hats that my mom had from various witch costumes she had used in the past. That flying witch prop was in my mom’s neighborhood so we took a walk to go see it.
Creating A Magical Vibe With Decorations
I really wanted to make an “official sign” for our gathering and saw an amazing one on Etsy. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to buy it for our party but may just do that for next year. I thought the title of the sign was absolutely perfect. We would call our group “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Brooms”.
Fortunately my mom had already decorated her house for Halloween. She had lots of extra props lying around for me to use like brooms, hats, cauldrons and rubber snakes. I just sprinkled some of those around the dining room. I then added a pumpkin scented candle to the center of the table and other props that looked like potions. We placed Halloween paper plates and napkins at each seat to make the table look more festive. Next year I think I will add those hanging Harry Potter candles I see all over Instagram.
Witch Costumes
Now my mom has been a witch for Halloween for as long as I can remember. I think she really has fun with the glam of the costume and the idea of a powerful sorceress. Over the years she has gathered quite a collection of costumes items and especially really nice witch hats. My nieces each grabbed a broomstick and selected their favorite witch hat to wear at the table. My mom dressed up in her favorite costume as well. This picture above was from Halloween night. She was especially proud of her glamorous witch nail polish and cobweb makeup near her eyes.
Goodies For Your Guests
Can’t have a party without good treats for the kiddies to snack on! I served apple cider since it was way too warm for tea. On each plate I added a handful of kettle corn, two types of cheese slices, crackers with pumpkin butter spread and fig jam. As we talked and giggled and ate, we snacked on the treats and drank the apple cider to wash it down.
Witchy Activities
After welcoming everyone to the gathering and lighting the candle we started by eating the snacks. While eating I called attention to the table and said that we have very important witch business to take care of. I had made a test tube holder for potions for a Halloween prop several years ago. I showed the prop to my guests and read off the labels on each test tube. Bat brains, eye of newt, wolf bane and a few more labels were shared with everyone. They really had fun looking at the test tubes that were actually filled with random hard candy, jelly beans or water with food coloring.
Then to get their imaginations going again I asked them to come up with new witch ingredients that I’d use for the next year. As each person came up with a couple ingredient ideas, I made a list with the suggestions and wrote the name of each guest to give them credit. That way I could read the list next year if we had the party again. Outside they had used chalk to create their own “future spell”. I loved seeing them get so creative. In case you can’t read it these are the ingredients they came up with: Future spell = 7 twigs, 1 live bougie (bougainvillea), 1 dead bougie, 3 dead fly wings, 1 pink growing rose, 1 red growing rose. I don’t know but this might be a pretty powerful spell.
Inside the house I used Spotify to play magical Halloween music in the background. The Harry Potter soundtrack is always a good idea. It really helped to set the mood. I also put on a witches kitchen animated ambiance video on Youtube. I asked the girls to find hidden objects on the TV like cauldrons, candles, herbs, potions, mushrooms, cats, keys, and so on. They had a lot of fun doing just that!
We didn’t actually do this rock art during the party but it isn’t a bad idea if you want to have an arts and crafts activity. My mom painted these and I think they are super cool. I love the pirate Frankenstein monster in the middle.
The Coven Conclusion
After we had finished the party and all the treats were gone, I had everyone sit around the table and I thanked each witch for participating. I wished them a great next year and told them that I look forward to our gathering again next autumn. I blew out the candle and told them they are now official members of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Brooms. Haha! They absolutely loved it. After that we adjourned and went off to visit a local fall carnival. It was truly a fun day. If you decide to have your own witches tea party or gathering I hope you have as much fun as I did. Double double toil and trouble witches!
Loved the pictures