September is a wonderful month for celebrations.  While we still enjoy warm days and the nights begin to have a chill about them. The arrival of autumn signals our minds to shift from thoughts of summer fun to the return of festivities that are just around the corner.  Halloween,  Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are will arrive before you know it and with them the traditions of the season.  A “Welcome Autumn” celebration is fun, easy to prepare and allows you the freedom to incorporate any holiday theme, even one of your own creation. Build your welcome autumn party around a colorful and delicious candy buffet.

Theme

The theme of your candy buffet is the gateway to the holidays.  We suggest you set up your table (6’ to 8’ long) into three zones, working left to right. The far left section is your autumn section which can include Halloween or Harvest (Thanksgiving) decor. The middle section is going to be a fusion of fall, changing to winter. The far right will be the Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa section (your personal choice).

Choose three different solid colors for the table covering and backdrop. Your left section could be covered in orange, then the middle in a yellow cloth, and the far right in green (or white). The backdrop can be the same clothes draped over a rod with garlands of leaves, ribbons or balloons, and far right strings of twinkling lights hanging vertically.

Centerpiece

The centerpiece can be an arrangement of mason jars with twigs for a natural look or substitute the twigs for rock candy suckers in a variety of colors. The jars on the left contain acorns and are trimmed in theme ribbon for Halloween, Harvest, or Thanksgiving. The center jars should be the largest and filled with candy of colors that layer in orange and yellows and into green, white, blue, or red. The ribbons should be combination all season ( choose three ribbons and string them together). The far right will be jars filled with pine cones, walnuts, and/or foil wrapped candy with twigs that are “frosted” or white) This creates your moving from autumn to winter.

Candy

You will need to buy candy in bulk for your candy buffet.  Our suggestion is Sweet Services, for service, choice, and price. They also have many supplies you need to create your candy buffet, such as scoops, trays, and gift bags. They will help you choose the proper candy, suckers, theme candy, and gum to create your buffet. You will need 8-ounces of candy per person. Make sure you have jars that are easy to reach and appropriate scoops, tongs, or spoons to retrieve the candy with.

In most cases, it is suggested that you choose two colors of candy and stay within the hues of those colors. In this case, you will use two  to three color choices for the left and middle section and two different color choices for the right (winter) end of the table. Start with lighters fall colors on the left, deeper fall colors in the middle, then your winter selection on the right. Your gift bags can be anything from plain brown snack size bags to holiday scenes.

Your “welcome to the holiday season” event is sure to be a sweet success, by following these simple tips. Use your imagination and create a unique buffet. There is no wrong way to create your masterpiece.