Longtime readers of Entertablement will know that Halloween is not my favourite holiday. While I love seeing the little ones dressed up in their costumes, the destructive and sinister side of Halloween doesn’t appeal.
But plates of animals dressed in costumes? That I can get behind.
West Elm has been producing the Dapper Animal series based on drawings by Rachel Kozlowski for years now, but somehow I missed the Halloween animals rendition.
Judging by the offerings on eBay, I believe it encompassed two different sets of four, the first being the  Bat bunny and Shark dog above and the Alligator cat and Bumblebee chicken shown below.
What a fun table they inspired!
The more recent set of four is still available at West Elm. The unifying feature in the second set is a pumpkin on each plate. From the Witchy Owl…
…to the Bandit Fox…
… the Ghostly Racoon…
…. and the Skeleton Cat.
Black and orange are traditional Halloween colours and seemed a good starting place to unify the two sets of plates. I’ve long had the black twig cutlery, and napkin rings from World Market. The orange napkins are a Pier 1 find. So far, so good.
A black cobwebby tablecloth with an orange and black gingham-edged runner formed the base. You can see I had a helper with this table. I think Moxie was afraid I’d slap a costume on her, so she kept herself well hidden under the table.
The pumpkin cups and saucers are from Maryland China, several years ago. With all that colour and visual activity, I stuck with clear glasses: Trestle by Fitz and Floyd.
Black cat and pumpkin salt and pepper shakers accompanied the Maryland China pumpkin teapot, cream and sugar from the same series as the cups and saucers.
And another set of black cat salt and pepper shakers came out to play.
Halloween is all about trick or treating, though. First, we needed treats, so I settled on Golden Cupcakes with Homemade Poppycock topping. The cupcake wrappers added the final festive touch.
There was a massive variety in the kit, from witches’ stockings and hats…
…to jack o’lanterns…
…and ghosts.
All set for a fun and not-so-spooky evening.
Happy Halloween, all!
Wonderful happy tablescape! The pumpkin cups and saucers are the cutest seasonal gems I’ve seen!! May Halloween be filled with delights only and good memories
And to you! I hope you have happy and incredibly cute trick-or-treaters!
The pumpkin ware is still offered by Maryland China, but only in white. It’s very reasonably priced, considering it’s lovely, delicate porcelain, too.
I’m working at the store, the center of our village life, on Halloween…handing out free cocoa or coffee to cold trick or treaters and parents. Was so fun last year and I expect it will be this year too.
Oh, that sounds like a lovely way to spend Halloween! Enjoy all the fun!
Helen this is soo cute! The dapper animals just brought a smile to my face and the Maryland china is adorable. And the cupcakes look delicious. I’m betting your grands will just absolutely love this table. Happy Halloween to you!
And to you, Kim! I hope your trick-or-treaters are happy and well-behaved. 🙂
The grandgirls always come over to show us their costumes and pick up a few treats along the way. Cupcakes make an excellent start to the evening!
This is the happiest Halloween table and menu I have ever seen. It is certainly the first one I would call beautiful, as the holiday always seems so morbid. Obviously,I too am not a big halloween fan, but this is a game changer!!
Morbid is the right word, but these dapper creatures seem to have right lighthearted approach.