If you’re going for sophistication, chances are this won’t be your average costume party. Just make sure all your guests know they don’t have to dress like superheroes. Likewise, your decorations should reflect the holiday without sacrificing style. So out with the plastic pumpkins and cardboard skeletons.

In with the sophisticated yet scary accessories. "Halloween has become the second most popular holiday in terms of decorating," says Chris Tennyson, director of visual merchandising for Bombay. "But most of the Halloween décor is geared toward kids--it’s cartoony and silly."

Tennyson has some advice on how to incorporate Halloween accents into your overall decorating scheme to set the scene for your party.

Make a Grand Entrance
Set the tone for the evening by greeting your guests with Bombay’s painted yard stakes and Halloween wreath. Display the stakes lining the sidewalk up to the front door. Once at the door, the wreath, crafted of natural corn husks and sprinkled with orange glitter will ensure an enthusiastic entrance.

Fill your foyer with Halloween atmosphere with a collection of silver jack-o’-lanterns glowing with the light of votive candles. "These jack-o’-lanterns are an instant show stopper when displayed in multiples in a dark room," says Tennyson.

Greet your guests with a glass of champagne or sparkling apple cider. Pour the bubbly from a beaker to simulate something from a mad man’s experiment.

Set a Boo-tiful Buffet
Serving buffet style makes for easy entertaining. Guests can help themselves and you can spend more time mingling and less time in the kitchen. Your food can be as simple as chips with dip, a vegetable platter and an assortment of cheeses, all from the local grocery store. Remember, presentation is everything, so display your food artfully on Bombay’s spider web platter and embellish the area with decorative spider webs from your local craft store. If you’d like to offer guests something more substantial, consider a soup or stew served in hollowed out miniature pumpkins instead of bowls.

Bombay’s spooky spider web tablecloth is the perfect backdrop for its pumpkin punch bowl. Crafted of silver-plated brass, the punch bowl comes with a serving ladle and includes four silver pumpkin-shaped cups with handles. Add a block of dry ice to your punch bowl to easily create an eerie fog effect.

Don’t Forget the Rest of the House
You can add a touch of Halloween to every room in the house. In the powder room, swap your everyday towels for something with a holiday theme. Light one of Bombay’s pumpkin spice scented candles to invoke the smells of the season.

Candlelight always helps set the mood for a party, and is especially appropriate at Halloween. Bombay’s crooked three-armed taper holder is a great accent piece. Crafted of brass, it has an eerie, antiqued look that would be just as appropriate on a Hollywood movie set as in your living room. For a more whimsical touch, opt for the iron tree votive holder, handcrafted of iron wire and featuring cool fingerlike branches that hold purple votive cups. When the candles are lit, they cast a subtle purple glow across the room.

Even if you aren’t planning a party this Halloween, these accent pieces from Bombay will dress your house for the season and delight your family.

To see more Halloween accessories, visit www.bombaycompany.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content.