Tip of the day--A little inspiration for your fall entertaining

Before a party, I get all of the bowls and serving pieces out and ready to use.  Don’t have a table runner?  Use fall colored napkins instead.Notice the tablecloth?  A few yards of fabric marked down 40% off at JoAnn’s did the trick.  It didn’t even finish the edges.  If using plastic glasses, be sure to leave a sharpie so that guests can write their names on the glass.   The bats are made of black poster board and took less than 30 minutes to make.  Our daughter loves these, and I put them up each year.  You could easily laminate them to make them last even longer.  This was a party we had when our daughter was still young. Since young children would be present, we rolled up the rug and put it in a back room for ease of clean up after the party was over.On the mantle, there are a few winter squashes (edible when your through with using them as decor) and a few store bought fall decorations.  I bought these at Big Lots when they were super discounted.    The urns were filled with Japanese maple branches from our yard. The Christmas lights made everything sparkle and seem festive.  On the stove you find the main course.  Everyone helps themselves when they are ready to eat.  Chili, vegetable soup, and beans are ready and waiting.  Each of these can be made a couple of days ahead of time and all of the leftovers freeze beautifully. Here you see the snacks ready to be prepped for the party.  If you can see the picture frame, it includes Halloween clip art that I framed to fit the theme of the party.  Simple and very inexpensive!This photo is a little blown out, but it gives you another idea of how to use autumn leaves as a centerpiece.  When using a large mouthed vase or urn, use a frog or clear florist tape taped in a grid on the opening to help you keep your stems in place.