Halloween is right around the corner. While watching scary movies, carving and painting pumpkins, apple picking, buying costumes, and eating candy are all well-known Halloween traditions, Halloween potlucks are another great way to celebrate this spooky holiday.

Perhaps you’re planning on throwing one this year for your neighborhood friends or your office cluster. If you do, you’ll be looking for inspiration right about now. While TikTok and other social media platforms can be great for this, there is also something to be said for the traditional, old-school style of everyone bringing a dish that matches up with the theme of the day. In this case, Halloween.

If you’re looking for some styling themes and new recipe ideas for this year’s Halloween potluck, look no further. We’ve scoured the Internet so you don’t have to, and we’ve gathered together some great ideas to inspire you while at the same time reward your tastebuds. So, here’s to witches on broomsticks and black cauldrons of bubbling potions … because it’s that time of year for the Halloween potluck.

How to Style Your Halloween Potluck

How you decide to decorate your home for your Halloween-themed potluck is key to maintaining the theme. Try using large pumpkin or skeleton-themed plates for finger foods. Using Black and orange bowls or Halloween-themed bowls for dips, chips and other dishes is a perfect way to add some Halloween decor to your potluck. Another way to add decor is to use Halloween or skeleton-themed glasses for wine or whatever drink of the night you have for your guests. Halloween-themed napkins and decor also go a long way.

Food Ideas for Your Halloween Potluck

Food is of course the main idea of a potluck. Because potlucks can be a mixture of different foods, it’s important to try to have something for everyone. This could include neat Halloween-themed charcuterie boards, fall desserts, dips, and more. Here are some food ideas for your Halloween potluck.

Ghost S’mores Dip

This sweet treat is perfect for your Halloween potluck, and you only need a few simple ingredients. For this simple recipe, you’ll need ghost marshmallow peeps, graham crackers, chocolate, heavy cream, and a skillet. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line your skillet with chocolate chips. Pour one-fourth cup of warmed heavy cream on top and then completely layer the marshmallow peeps on top. Place mini chocolate chips over the eyes and mouth of the ghost marshmallows. Bake for eight minutes until the chocolate has melted and the peeps are golden. Use the graham crackers for dipping and you’ve got a delicious sweet dip that’ll be gone super quick.

Mummy Hot Dogs

During the Halloween season, sweet treats get all the attention, but there’s no reason why both savory and sweet can’t shine. Add this idea to your Halloween potluck menu by creating mummy hot dogs. Another simple recipe, this only requires a few ingredients. You’ll need one can of crescent dough, American cheese, 12 hot dogs melted butter, and Dijon mustard.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, separate the dough into four rectangles, and slice into thin strips. Cut the American cheese into thin slices as well. Place each hot dog on a piece of cheese and then wrap the thinly sliced dough around it, forming it to look like a mummy. Brush with melted butter and bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. To make your hot dog look extra mummified, dip a toothpick in mustard and dot two eyes at the top.

A Halloween Sangria

Top off your Halloween potluck with a delicious and fruity Halloween sangria. For this, all you’ll need is wine and slices of your preferred fruit. Fruits like oranges, blueberries, and apples work well for this sangria. Garnish each drink with candy eyeballs, candy ghosts, candy skeletons, or candy spiders to make your drink look extra spooky.

Halloween-themed Pizza

This Halloween potluck idea is perfect for a small gathering. With this idea being all over TikTok right now, this dish is low effort and will have your guests wanting multiple slices. Either make or purchase pre-made pizza dough and shape it into either a pumpkin or a ghost. Add your homemade or store-bought pizza sauce, cheese, and any additional toppings. To make this recipe more inclusive, bring a vegetarian pizza along with a meat pizza so that guests have options.

Halloween Brownies

Show off your baking skills by making a warm and fresh batch of brownies. For this recipe, you can either use a box brownie mix or make your brownies from scratch. After they are done baking, the Halloween touches come. Use green icing to replicate vines and place pumpkin candies on top to resemble a pumpkin patch. To make spiderweb brownies, use marshmallow fluff and melt it down and place it over your brownies to give a spiderweb effect. Place candy spiders on top. If you’re feeling artistic, you can even design brownies based on iconic Halloween characters like Frankenstein or Jack Skellington.