Masked Ball: Dessert Party

Excerpted from Halloween: A Grown-Up's Guide to Creative Costumes, Devilish Decor and Fabulous Festivities by Joanne O'Sullivan (Lark, 2003).

Most of the time, having a few friends over for a nice meal and a few glasses of wine is the maximum effort a working grown-up can expend on entertaining. But there comes a time in everyone's life to go beyond the ordinary and host a truly legendary party. Louis XIV had le Bal du Roy in 1668. Truman Capote had his Black and White Ball in the 1960s. A Halloween masked ball and dessert party could be yours. Are you ready to give it a try?

To pull off this party, you'll have to be committed to a vision. Frankenstein's monster and the mummy must be turned away at the door. This is an elegant affair with a spooky edge, a party that seems like the ghost of lavish balls of the past. Don't be intimidated, though. There's very little cooking involved, and the decorating requires very little expense and only an afternoon of styling. With a little time to plan and some willing guests, your party should be a smashing success.

INVITATION
Make it easy for your guests to get in the spirit of the ball. If you provide them with a mask in the invitation, there's no excuse for them to show up without one. The Baroque look of this invitation sets the stage for an intriguing night and helps to build anticipation for your fabulous party.

YOU WILL NEED:
• Clear-drying adhesive or glue
• Bone folder or butter knife
• Envelope template
• Wrapping paper with lettering or colour copy of old letter
• Cooking parchment (bleached or unbleached)
• Scissors
• Mask template

TO MAKE:
To make the envelope, cut out envelope shape from cooking parchment. Crease the fold lines with a bone folder or butter knife. If using bleached parchment, place it on a baking sheet and bake it for 10 to 15 minutes at 325F (162C), and allow to cool. The paper will now have a light tan color. If you wish to age the envelopes further, smudge a light coat of sepia-toned ink along the edges.

Glue the envelope together with adhesive or glue, leaving the top flap open.

The invitation is written on a piece of wrapping paper that resembles an old hand-written letter. If you can't find paper like this, find an old letter in an antique store or copy one from a book. Color photocopy the letter onto stiff paper. Cut the letter to fit, writing side out, folded in half inside your envelope. Write your invitation message by hand on the blank side of the letter, or drop a printed invitation inside.

Enlarge and photocopy the mask templates onto thick paper. Cut along the outside edge and place the mask, image side out, in the envelope over the old letter so it shows on the address side.