Voodoo On The Bayou Halloween

For this year's Halloween party, we wanted to marry Cajun cuisine with the swamps of Louisiana... so Voodoo on the Bayou was born. The menu focuses on classic New Orleans dishes served up in appetizer-sized portions: a Southern twist on the Bloody Mary, mini versions of po' boys and muffaletta, Cajun-spiced spinach dip, flavorful gumbo and brandy milk punch garnished with glazed doughnut holes!

We wanted the decor to resemble a spooky swamp setting with a few voodoo elements.

Notable party elements:

Hanging Spanish moss, cattails, alligator head, owl and green mood lighting
Black cheesecloth table covers and draping
Vintage plantation shutter and window with "eyes" peering in
Dripping wax candles in wine bottles

Skull bamboo picks
Moss-covered skull with a voodoo-inspired top hat
Bird cage filled with Spanish moss and skeleton hand

To create the swamp scene, we made use of critters you'd find in the bayou (an owl and a gator head), along with cattails and Spanish moss - all bathed in green light to set the mood.

Voodoo On The Bayou Halloween Decor and Food

The table was draped in black cheesecloth and had a backdrop of a vintage, weathered plantation shutter and window. To create the eerie eyes peeking in, we used orange string lights poked through black foam board and set the board behind the window.

What Halloween display would be complete without candles? We recycled empty wine bottles (with the labels removed) and added white taper candles. We wanted a spooky effect, so we used inexpensive candles (not the dripless kind) and burned them for a while in front of a fan, which helped the wax to drip as it melted.

Voodoo On The Bayou Halloween Decor - Alligator Head

Voodoo On The Bayou Halloween Decor - Skull

The moss-covered skull was purchased as-is from a party store, but we added a top hat that we decorated to resemble Baron Samedi, one of the Loa (spirits) of Haitian Voodoo. He is often depicted with a top hat (even as the character of the same name in the James Bond film Live and Let Die), and he is a Loa of the dead, so we incorporated a skull and skeleton motif. Baron Samedi has been considered one of the patron loa of New Orleans.

We purchased a black top hat and used a hot glue gun to add skull beads, peacock feathers and pheasant feathers. We used the leftover skull beads on bamboo party picks to garnish the cocktails!