this board was inspired by a lot of different images + food choices; ultimately, we love the little nods to the monsters that make halloween kind of spooky, but also a lot of fun.

a few years back one of our daughters asked to be mike wazowski + rarely have i seen a person own a costume so well. we all love halloween around here, so for our weekly planned meal of toddler charcuterie on thursdays, this themed board had to happen.

what started as a meal for the kids (toddler charcuterie thursdays) ended up feeding the whole family tonight, which is another of the many reasons that we can’t quit putting meals on a board. this was so fun + festive + just the pick-me-up we needed to get us ready to fly into the weekend + all hallow’s eve next week!

there are so many creative ways to make a themed board + the possibilities are endless. when i make this board again, i’ll remember to work in a few oreo/pretzel spiders + maybe a few witches’ brooms. i hope this will be another tradition we stick with for years to come!

building blocks:
(serves 4)

brie, 1 wedge cut into coffin shape
watercrackers or similiar, we called ours “moon crackers”
fig + olive crackers
wheat thins
1 hothouse cucumber
unexpected cheddar
candy eyes (add these to anything to give your kids a giggle)
olives
pistachios
mandarin oranges
proscuitto (salami, or other meat of choice)
green apples
nut butter
mini marshmallows
blackberries
chocolate pretzels
hummus + pita chips
maple almonds
cheddar + caramel popcorn mix
maple leaf cookies

directions:
(20 mins from prep to table)

wash all produce (blackberries, apples, cucumber etc.)
place berries into a small bowl, add to board
peel mandarins + place on board
slice apples + pair up 1/2″-3/4″ slices
spread nut butter on either half + sandwich mini marshmallows between
cut brie into coffin shape (if you are a purist, then this is doubly scary because there almost no way around cutting off the end of the point of the wedge 👻), surround the coffin with crackers
add a handful of chocolate pretzels
quarter-fold salami to create texture
heat proscuitto in oven (ryan made ours into “bat shapes”!)
slice cucumber lengthwise + cut in half; shape holes for eyes, mouth + “tail”
slice cheddar into strips + shape a tail with knife on one end, add candy eyes
sprinkle popcorn directly onto board or into a bowl
fill in nooks + crannies with pistachios, almonds + olives
add a few maple leaf cookies

serve it up + watch as it becomes a graveyard smash!

bonus: our kids even asked to go to the grocery store with me to help source some last minute items to create this board. turns out it’s not just about the food afterall. i love getting to share a fun meal + the prep is becoming one of their favorite parts of it all too. never to soon to train a home cook!