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A pretty centerpiece, easy food and yummy sweets make a great, and quick, party!

The countdown is on and Halloween is just around the corner. If you're caught short on  time, but still need to get a party together, this may be just the post you need to read. Now, this isn't fancy or overly special, but it works!

I decided on a color theme and went with it. I sat with my husband and a couple kids and  brainstormed for ideas. We came up with lists of foods that came in orange, white and  black, primarily. I allowed some red in there as an extra and came up with a workable, frugal and speedy menu for a party on the quick; This whole "party" took about 45 minutes to complete.

• Veggie trays are easy and well-liked so I went with the color scheme I chose and used  cauliflower for the white, baby carrots for the orange and wanted to use purple peppers for the black except I wasn't able to find them at two stores so I used red peppers. I added a favorite dip and a bowl of black olives and that was done in about 15 minutes.
• I decided a cheese and cracker tray was also a favorite and so went with cheddar cheese in orange and white, large round white crackers, dark red beef summer sausage and deep brown pumpernickel bread minis. The cheese cutting took the longest, but still, in all, the tray took 15 minutes tops.
• Black bean hummus is really more purple, but still falls within the Halloween color range, so I made that along with pita wedges. That was about 5 minutes in the making.
• Black seedless grapes and orange wedges pair up well and took minutes to do.
• I tossed together black licorice nibs and mini marshmallows for a neat black-and-white  treat and bought a bag of Pumpkin Mix Halloween m&m's. Cookies for dessert were from a ready-to-bake Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough that I simply pushed a  candy corn into each before baking. Adding the candy prior to baking gave the finished product a unique and pretty look.
• Brownies from a mix topped with white icing and orange and black sprinkles were  another easy and perfect addition.
• Drinks were a simple punch made from Black Cherry Kool-Aid and citrus soda mixed together and topped off with a frozen red hand made by filling a rubber glove with red  Kool-Aid and freezing it. Remove the glove once the "hand" is frozen and set into the punch bowl. The kids think it's just too cool.
• Decorations don't need to be over-the-top or expensive. I collected leaves with my 3  year-old and rubber banded them together before setting into a pretty vase tied with a length of crepe paper. It was simple, almost free and definitely attractive. Candles are a nice touch and add to the Halloween atmosphere.

Add plates, napkins and cups bought at the store and you're done!