Fall Dinner Party For the Girls

A little witchy, a lot of fun

Last year I hosted an Autumn Equinox dinner party for my girlfriends. We had pasta and wine, I made Taylor Swift’s Chai cookies, we pulled tarot cards and made a group bucket list of things we wanted to accomplish during fall. It was incredibly cozy and fun, and hosting a gathering to celebrate the changing of the seasons felt really intentional and festive. I’m already thinking about what I want to do this year, so let’s plan a hypothetical dinner party together!

I think this party would also work great in October as a kind of witchy girls night when you don’t want to go full on “Halloween” but you want to feel like Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in Practical Magic.

Perfect 90’s fashion and layers sadly not included

Cocktails

I like to provide a fun welcome cocktail for people and I usually make a big batch of something easy. Last year I made a fall sangria that was gone so fast I don’t even know if I got a full glass. But what I had I thought it was delicious! I used this recipe from TikTok. Next time I will absolutely double it, but it took seconds to combine and I just had it chilling in the fridge waiting for guests to arrive. If you want to get festive, you could do a brown sugar cinnamon half rim on a coupe glass. I like this cocktail as a welcome drink because it wasn’t super heavy before dinner.

Midnight Margaritas or lavender and rosemary infused cocktails would be an obvious fun nod to the movie.

If you want to do a post dinner nightcap, another cocktail that was a bit more labor intensive but most certainly worth it was a pumpkin espresso martini. There are a ton of variations on this drink, but this recipe looks good.

Appetizers

I have to actively hold back when it comes to appetizers and cheese boards. I tend to put out way too much and then no one is the right amount of hungry for dinner. A few favorites if I’m not just doing the Trader Joe’s cracker and cheese thing (which let’s be honest, the pita crackers and Boursin cheese combo are foolproof crowd-pleasers) are Ina’s cheese straws, her butternut squash and ricotta bruschettas, or if it’s still tomato season where you are, her whipped feta crostinis are incredible. Don’t underestimate the power of cutely displayed shrimp cocktail either.

The Menu

I can’t enjoy a party if I’m cooking so everything needs to be done or mostly done before the first guest arrives if I am hosting solo. For large groups in the cooler months I find things like pastas or soups make really wonderful serve yourself dishes paired with a big fresh salad or vegetable side. This sausage and fennel rigatoni is a major hit at every party we’ve made it for and feels pretty “fall”. I also love having a big soup on the stove with fun toppings for people to build a bowl. Chicken tortilla soup with chips to crumble, sour cream or Greek yogurt, cheese, and avocado is like a warm hug for guests. Also goes well with Midnight Margaritas if you’re sticking with the Practical Magic theme. I could see a fondue night being really exciting especially if everyone is sitting on the floor or on poufs at a low table.

I am never above takeout for dinner parties if cooking isn’t your favorite part of hosting. Chinese could be an fun option and I think you could get into the display with takeout containers and fortune cookies.

Dessert

Dessert is mandatory for me at any party and I can usually find time to bake the day before so it’s not a stress the day of the party. I always offer to make coffee or tea for my guests after dinner. Maybe the pumpkin espresso martini is sweet enough, but I also love to grab black & white cookies from Zabar’s (any deli or Jewish bakery near you should have these!) because they feel like little witchy moons. Brownies, cupcakes, pie, whatever you like! Even homemade whipped cream (so, so easy and you can make ahead and store in the fridge) with fruit could be a lovely lighter option. If dessert isn’t your thing, assign it to a guest! Someone usually is looking for an excuse to try out a new cookie recipe.

Music

We need to get Stevie Nicks blasting. But since I’m feeling all the 90’s nostalgia from our favorite witch sisters, I’m adding in some moody classics from back in the day with hints of some more modern magic tunes. I’m so sorry I have Apple Music, but if you’re interested I made a playlist called 90’s Good Witch that you are welcome to enjoy.

The Table

Well I’ve of course made a Pinterest board for you with general inspo vibes. But I think you could go two ways with this— more autumnal and warm or darker and moodier witchy. I think you most certainly need to keep an eye out for a candelabra at the thrift store, and I really love the taper candle in a wine bottle look. I kind of feel like to channel the Owens’ house I would maybe do plain white base plates, then mix thrifted salad plates. Some could be delicate and floral, some could be really earthy maybe even stoneware. Naturally, I went down a rabbit hole and became obsessed with these whimsigoth glasses, which made for a very fun pop of color on my table. I also snagged these plates.

The Magic

Is everyone bringing a magazine and are we watching Practical Magic and making vision boards? Are we writing a manifestation list? A bucketlist? Are we pulling tarot and googling what it means and reading aloud? Are we all bringing a favorite bottle of wine to do a wine tasting with dinner? A cocktail competition? My advice is to keep it loose and easy. Feel out the guest list and how many people you have. No one likes a party that’s too rigid and structured but it’s nice to have a little something in your back pocket as the host in case you need to warm everyone up or people want to keep the good vibes going with their nightcap.

To quote Sally, “there are some things I know for certain..” and one of them is you will never regret throwing a dinner party with your friends. I genuinely believe it’s one of the best gifts we can give to those we love. Whether it’s a party for 2 or 20, it matters. If you’re on the fence, give it a whirl! It’s how you learn.

Remember it’s not about spending a ton of money— shop your house, borrow, thrift, rearrange furniture so it feels special and different. And of course, let me know how it goes.