Halloween Dinner Guide 2025: Tablescapes, Menu & Checklist

When is Halloween 2025?
All Saints’ Day falls on November 1 each year, while Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) on October 31 is the liveliest part of the celebration.

Over two thousand years ago, Celtic druids in Ireland lit bonfires under the full moon marking the start of winter, giving thanks for the harvest and honoring the coming cold (the “winter is coming” imagery in Game of Thrones echoes this). They couldn’t have imagined that, millennia later, those rites would evolve into a global celebration.

Yes—originally called Samhain, Halloween marked the end of the old year and the start of the new for the Celts. Much like ancestor rites at Lunar New Year in China, the Celts believed that at the turn of the seasons, the spirits of the departed returned home and might seek the living as stand‑ins; other creatures would come with them. To avoid being recognized, people disguised themselves as monsters, and druids went door to door collecting offerings for the gods.

Many of our modern Halloween impressions trace to Samhain: costumes from the idea of hiding from wandering spirits; “trick or treat” likely from the collection of offerings (another view ties it to medieval children offering prayers for the dead); and jack‑o’-lanterns from an Irish folktale about a drunkard named Jack who tricked the Devil—barred from heaven by his vices and from hell by the Devil, he roamed with a lantern carved from a turnip (later Americans found pumpkins worked better).

All Saints’ Day itself is a Christian feast, originally held in May to honor all known and unknown saints.

In 835 CE, Pope Gregory IV moved All Saints’ Day to November 1—perhaps to displace what Rome saw as a pagan festival, or simply to align with local customs (Italy also had a November 1 observance unrelated to Celtic tradition). Whatever the reason, the two calendars ended up side by side.

Christian observances don’t involve costumes or candy; most churches hold solemn prayers from October 31 to November 2.

And the Halloween we know today is modern in form: born in ancient Ireland but popularized in the modern New World.

What time does trick-or-treating start and end?
On Halloween night, people put on carefully prepared costumes and head out to parade and collect treats. Most areas publish event notices in advance with times and locations. City centers are especially lively; many events run from about 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., and festivities can last until midnight.

How to decorate a Halloween table (3 steps)
1. Choose tableware in black, orange, and red to match the mood.

2. Layer with chargers and serving trays.

3. Candlelight & safety checklist.

The dinnerware checklist
Confirm your guest list in advance and prep dinnerware by headcount: service for 4/6/8~

Halloween‑ready—everything is oven‑to‑table and microwave/dishwasher safe.

Have you planned your Halloween dinner menu?
👻Ghost veggie salad