It’s my first official post of September and I do believe that means I am allowed to go all out Halloween all of the time! You know I’ve just been waiting for an excuse!! We’re 8 weeks away from the big day, and I have already completely lost my mind shopping all of the Halloween decor out in the stores! So, when I found these amazing skeleton hands in a most unexpected place… I immediately knew they’d make the perfect Halloween Place Card Holders for that eerie All Hallow’s dinner party I’m planning!
Skulls and skeletons…. some of my favorite Halloween decor staples… probably of course because I decorate my house with them year round, and this time of year, I get a free pass to work on my collection!! I’m especially drawn to realistic looking Halloween decor, so imagine my surprise when I came across these life size skeleton hands at Kroger! Yep – the grocery store! Right now, they have them on sale for under $5 a piece…. so for those of you with a Kroger in your hood.. you may want to head over there quickly. For those that don’t… let’s be honest – they are skeleton hands…. some Halloween store is bound to carry something similar! If you have no luck finding the hands, Kroger also carried the skeleton feet. Snatch those up and check out how I turned them into a Macabre Dinner Party… complete with DIY Toe Tags! Update – both the skeleton hands and feet are available also at Walmart. While not the ones I bought, I also found a similar pair on Amazon (linked below).
I thought these particular hands were so cool because of their shape… perfect for holding something. I’m sure I could easily go down a rabbit hole of all of the ways you could use these to hold something, but for today, I thought I’d share my plan for using them as part of a Halloween Dinner Party set up.
I know… place cards can be so prim & proper, but I’m a huge fan. I orchestrate my dinner parties carefully, and ensuring the right people are seated next to or across from one another can make or break an evening! Thus…. place cards! Not to mention, I think they can give an extra bit of glam to a place setting. I always love watching my guests when they realize they have a dedicated place at the table…. it’s like a game to find out where you’re sitting and who you’re sitting next to! I can’t stand hosting a dinner and hearing that dreaded “where should I sit?”!!
For these place cards, I simply cut black card stock into rectangles (about 4 1/2″ x 3 1/4″), and folded in half. I used a silver pen to draw a border around the front of each card, as well as the guest names. The folded cards sit nicely in the palm of each skeleton hand! The hands sit atop a silver charger, black dinner plate, and plum napkin. Easy… eerie… elegant! Now I need to get to work on my centerpieces!
Update: I loved these Skeleton Hand Place Card Holders so much, I used them at the Halloween Dinner Party I hosted! Check out how beautiful they look with black on black striped napkins, and a black & off-white tablescape.
Not such a fan of the place cards? I found these skeleton hands can do double duty as a napkin holder. Simply flip them over, and they can keep a safe grip on your napkin! For this set up, I used an orange charger, a black dinner plate, a silk crinkle orange napkin, and some black floral stems… for a spin on a traditional Black & Orange Halloween Tablescape.
Having a Halloween party or perhaps you’re just a fan of Gothic Entertaining? Add this Gothic Punch Bowl to your drink station! Try serving goodies on this Black Glam Cake Stand or this Ouija Board Serving Tray! Fill these Rock Star Bowls with dips or snacks! And make these Black Widow Cupcakes for your Guests!
I. Love. It. ALL! Nuff said 😉 I have a couple of skeleton hands, I must see if they’re capable of holding a place card. Clearly, an absolute dinner party must for the stylish Halloween hostess 😜 Sx
Thanks Sue! You’re so sweet! When I walked passed these hands in the grocery store I had to have them… gals like us will likely be using them for dinner parties year round!! 🙂 I’ve bought three stores out of them so far!!
Fantastic! and affordable. I’ve spent a little too much on Halloween decorations this year and I haven’t yet bought my place settings. Luckily my house already has a pretty Gothic vibe and so does my dining table, but this will be the icing on the cake!
Kate… I’m so glad this idea will work for you! Not sure if you caught it, but I used this on another table I set up (http://www.meandannabellee.com/halloween-dinner-party/) …. These hands really look great no matter what color story your using!