Halloween is the first holiday that many people really decorate for. Oh, they may have put up flags or buntings for the Fourth of July or created spring centerpieces for Easter but Halloween tends to include outdoor as well as indoor decorations. It is second only to Christmas.
The best Halloween décor is not necessarily expensive. One year my parents stuffed some of Dad’s old clothes with straw, added work gloves and boots, and sat the scarecrow shape on the container where the milkman left the milk on the front porch. They added a Jack-O-Lantern head and an old straw cowboy hat. That figure was the talk of the neighborhood, and the only thing more impressive was the graveyard a friend of my dad’s created on his front lawn.
You can create your own Halloween décor inside and out. With your imagination, a few things you have around the house, and a couple of hours on Pinterest, you’ll be decorating like crazy in no time. Here are some ideas to inspire you.
Mini Pumpkins
You can use mini pumpkins in a number of ways.
- Scoop them out and use them on tables with votives inside. You don’t have to carve them out but you could.
- Scoop them out and use them to serve soups and stews.
- Create a table arrangement with them. You can spray paint mini pumpkins, too. It gives a designer look – try white, gold, or silver.
Fake Cobwebs
Fake cobwebs can almost always be found inexpensively at a party or craft store. They can instantly turn any corner into a scary haunted spot.
- Drape the cobwebs over unlit candles in candle holders on your mantle.
- Use them on the top of curtains, hanging off shelves, or anywhere you want a little Halloween ambiance.
- Rearrange the framed art on your walls to make it hang at various angles and add cobwebs for instant spookiness.
Miscellaneous Ideas
- Use dead branches in arrangements, sticking out of pumpkins, or laying horizontally on tables. Like pumpkins, these can be spray painted to change the look.
- Paint clay pots to look like candy corn. Just paint a thick strip of white on the bottom edge, paint a thicker strip of yellow in the center and then top with a strip of orange. You can use them to hold wrapped candy or as the basis for an arrangement.
- Put candy in Mason jars and then make labels in a creepy font on your computer to put on each jar. Be creative in your titles – dragon’s eyeballs, hair of dog, etc. Label the candy and then set the jars in a group on a table or shelf.
- Let the kids make Jack-O-Lanterns with paper plates and black construction paper to hang where ever you need a little extra Halloween.
- Vintage Halloween décor and Halloween postcards are usually easy to find in antique shops. They can be used in a variety of ways to add a punch of Halloween where you need it.
What are your best Halloween decorating ideas?
photo credit: Lauren Javier
