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BASIC SET UP
This was the candy bar /dessert bar. Above it, I featured large sugar skull paper banners. I also have some of the little flowers hanging as a banner.
You can see the intricate details of the banners better here. My Cricut machine cut all these for me! It was time consuming, but requires little effort from me (the machine is the true workhorse!).
They are simple paper mache masks that you can find at a craft store.
The table featured this fun sugar skull table runner. I also placed the circle flowers all around.
I just love the vibrant colors that go along with Dia de los Muertos.
DINNER TIME
For a twist on the usual, I placed my guests salad in a small ball jar, and added a fun lacework style flower and a name tag that was embellished with rhinestones.
The salad just slides right out.
I served my guests NESTLÉ® STOUFFER'S® lasagna because it is one of the easiest meals I can make. When I go all out with decor and desserts, I don’t want to think about a main meal. I always have one in my freezer, because they can be made in a cinch when I have forgotten to think about what’s for dinner. A lot of guests enjoy it, so it’s a win win.
I purchased the family size for my party, but they have an even bigger one — a Party size! Be sure to stock for freezer with both!
There are several different varieties of lasagna, and each comes with the fun traditional curly edge noodles!
Our family fights over “Middle” or “Edge” pieces. What about yours?
We rounded out the salad and lasagna with garlic bread. You can see some of the memorial candles I picked up at HEB as well as the small cut flowers.
Now that you’ve seen the delicious dinner, let’s move onto the desserts……….
DESSERT BUFFET
The buffet in the back held mainly desserts for my guests.
I saved time by buying plain remade cupcakes at HEB. On top I added sugar Sugar Skulls. I also found sugar skull cupcake wrappers that I added to the cupcakes. Easy Peasy!
Oh….I spy some desserts here!
These may look odd, but they are so delicious! Beneath that chocolate pudding is layers of more pudding, and NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Ultimates Chocolate Chip Lovers Cookies. Amazing! The skulls are simply made out of tempered NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® White Chocolate Morsels piped into a skull shape. The recipe for the Sugar Skull Chocolate Trifle will be below!
Here you can see the fun banner draped off the table.
On the other side you can see the White Chocolate Pumpkin Ginger Snap Dip I made (recipe will also be below)
In addition to a try of cheese and crackers, I offered a fruit tray and a bowl full of NESTLÉ® Nerds.
WHEW, that was a lot, huh!
I know most of you are wondering what in the world my boys were doing while I was having dinner with my girlfriends. Well, they were having a party of their own!
The good news? If you love HEB as much as I do, you don't want to miss out on this!
Look for a demo at your nearest HEB store, check out the list for locations and dates HERE. They will be sampling Pumpkin Cookie Butter dip with LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin and HEB Specaloos Creamy Cookie Butter!
My HEB had a lot of Dia de los Muertos items, as well as Stouffer's lasagna!
Now that you’ve seen the party layout, the desserts, & my table settings, let’s move on to recipes!
RECIPES
Sugar Skull Chocolate Lovers Trifle
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons NESTLÉ® Cocoa
- pinch of salt
- 2 ¼ cup milk
- 2 cups NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels
White Chocolate Pumpkin Ginger Snap Dip
- 1 stick butter (½ cup)
- 2 packages Cream Cheese
- 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 can (15 oz) LIBBY'S®100% Pure Pumpkin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups crushed ginger snaps
- 1 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® White Chocolate Morsels
- Ginger Snaps, sugar cookies, or graham crackers for dipping
3. Warning—a fun dessert- it won’t last long!
Dia de los Muertos "Day of the Dead" SVG Cutting Files
It would be wonderful if you pinned my party so that others can see it too!
Atta Girl Amy says
This party is amazing! I've heard of The Day of the Dead, but we've never celebrated it. After seeing your amazing decor -- that banner, OMG, and the coffee mug/vase -- and the delicious food, I can't wait to have a Dia de los Muertos party of our own.
And we are big fans of Stouffer's lasagna here, too. I think I like the juicy outside pieces the best!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks Amy! I had no idea until I moved to Texas! It's lots of fun. Some of the Mexican restaurants here have murals that have the sugar skulls, and it took the kids awhile to figure that out 😉
PS: I used one of your parties for inspiration (Fanta).
inkhappi says
I want to come party with you! This looks amazing and the dinner looks so yummy. Love the individual salad jars and those masks are way cool!
Valerie Lewis says
This looks like such a fun party, I love the sugar skull look! Pinning for later!
Stephanie Paxman says
This turned out so great Sara--love all the colors!!
Vashti Q-Vega says
Wow! This is fabulous! I've gotten some terrific ideas from this. Thanks for the inspiration.
My Cozy Corner says
Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks Valerie! I appreciate it!
MrsMajor Hoff says
The colors are great! It made my patio look so festive! Thanks Stephanie!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks for stopping by, I'm glad you were able to get some ideas! Happy Fall!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks for hosting!
Theresa says
What an awesome party full of great ideas. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Pinned & shared. See you again soon. Theresa @DearCreatives
Oriana from Mommyhood's Diary says
Beautiful party ideas!! The food looks amazing. Love all the colors. Thanks #client
Jess says
Oh wow! This looks like such a fun idea! Love it!!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Audrey Humaciu says
What a fun party. Congrats on your feature on the #HomeMattersParty
Dina M. -SavvyInTheKitchen says
wow your party looks great! Thanks for sharing on Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesdays link up. I have also pinned your recipe to our tasty Tuesday's Pinterest Board. Hope to see you back next week!
Camila Rojas says
Everything looks awesomeeeee... Wow you thought of everything. So many details and such a great job. I can see how much effort and love you put into it!
XOXO
Melissa Vera says
Thanks for linking this post on the #HomeMattersParty last week. We picked it as one of our features. You can view it at http://adventuresfrugalmom.com/home-matters-linky-party-59/. Make sure you grab the I was featured button and looking forward to seeing what you link up next. Congrats and once again thank you for linking up.