Nightmare Before Christmas Themed Dinner

This week, we had a spooky and merry time enjoying a Nightmare Before Christmas Dinner!

The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect mashup of Halloween and Christmas spirit.  There is a hot debate as to whether it’s considered a Halloween or Christmas movie, but I personally believe it’s a Christmas movie for the following reasons:

1. It begins with the conclusion of Halloween
2. It takes place during the Christmas season
3. The plot is about the discovery and celebration of Christmas spirit
4. Santa is in it!

It’s our family tradition to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas after a night of trick-or-treating to conclude Halloween and welcome the Christmas season!  (Yes, I’m that person that jumps right into Christmas in November).

But while considering the food references in the film, I decided the menu had a much more *Halloween* feel.  So, I made an exception and planned our Nightmare Before Christmas Dinner for the Halloween season (while still adding a couple nods to Christmas).

So, while we count down the days until Halloween, I hope you enjoy our Nightmare Before Christmas Dinner!

I created some Nightmare Before Christmas food labels to accompany our dinner.  You can print off your own by clicking the link below!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you!

Sally’s Worm’s Wort Soup

To kick off our Nightmare Before Christmas Dinner, I served Sally’s Worm’s Wort Soup.

In the film, Sally serves this green soup to Dr. Finkelstein with a dash of Deadly Nightshade to put him to sleep so she could sneak out. 

The soup’s appearance in the film is less than appetizing, to say the least.  It reminds me of split-pea soup, and I knew there was no way my six-year-old would eat anything like that.  So, I scoured Pinterest for a soup recipe that would give me that quintessential green color, but also please the kids.

I stumbled upon this Creamy Italian Potato and Zucchini Soup from Inside the Rustic Kitchen and decided to give it a try.  I added some fresh basil, parsley, and green onion to the recipe to help amp up the green color.

You guys…YOU GUYS!  This soup was AWESOME.  I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve been this excited about a new recipe.  It had the perfect hue to resemble Sally’s soup, and it was delicious.  And the extra crazy thing – it’s really healthy!

I topped each bowl with a skull design I made from a thin slice of Swiss cheese as a nod to the Deadly Nightshade in the film.

When serving the soup, I braced myself for potential whines and complaints about the green color or the healthy ingredients.  But incredibly, the entire family loved it. 

My toddler kept mooching spoonfuls from my husband, and my 6-year-old self-proclaimed “zucchini hater” couldn’t get enough of it.  She and her sister have been eating the leftovers every day since our dinner.  Recipe win!

Jack Skellington Pizza

Our main course for our Nightmare Before Christmas Dinner was a pepperoni pizza with Jack Skellington’s face. 

This was super simple to assemble and I’m happy with how the face turned out.  Plus, you can never go wrong with pizza for dinner at my house!

Halloween Town Cheeseboard

During the film, we enjoyed a Halloween Town Cheeseboard inspired by the spooky residents of Jack’s home.

I made Jack Skellington’s head by using a cheese ball recipe from I Heart Naptime.  This was a super quick and simple recipe, but instead of coating the outside of my cheeseball with nuts I mixed them in to maintain Jack’s white appearance.  For his face, I created a stencil with parchment paper and used poppy seeds to fill in his eyes, nose, and mouth.

The night sky was made with blackberries and blueberries.  I also made ghosts and spooky eyes with sliced cheese and black olives.

And finally, for dipping I used blue tortilla chips and (my personal favorite Halloween snack) Garden Veggie Ghosts + Bats Chips.  I always find these at Target, but you can also order them from Amazon HERE.

Oogie Boogie’s Bugs

Oogie Boogie is famous for his bugs, and I knew it would be incredibly easy to throw together a bowl of bug candies for the kids. 

Our bug bowl consisted of a variety of gummy worms, gushing worms, and gummy octopus – wait, that’s not a bug!  But their eight legs certainly pass for gummy spiders, so I tossed them in anyway.

The kids got a kick out of it, and we learned our toddler LOVES gummy worms (oh boy).  I already regret exposing him to gummy candy because he can’t seem to get enough.

Dr. Finkelstein’s Reindeer Cookies

Ok, here is where Christmas played a part in our Nightmare Before Christmas Dinner.  For our (second) dessert, I made reindeer gingerbread cookies.  And not just any reindeer cookies – skeleton reindeer cookies just like the reindeer who fly Jack’s sleigh in the film.

It occurred to me that I have never actually made gingerbread cookies before, so I was very happy to find this great recipe from Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen.

The cookies came out of the oven perfectly, and once they were cooled, I used white icing to pipe skeleton designs on them.  I was very happy with how they turned out!

I have to give a shoutout to my friend and her husband because they actually 3D printed this cookie cutter for me!  They deserve major props for the success of these cookies.

Life’s No Fun Without a Good Scare

I hope you enjoyed our Nightmare Before Christmas Dinner!  Halloween and Christmas are my two favorite holidays, and I think this menu was a great tribute to both.

Looking for other Halloween-inspired dinners?  Check out our Beetlejuice Dinner HERE and our Ghostbusters Dinner HERE!

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