Do you ever wish you could make your Halloween decorations more distinctive? If so, you should take some direction from my nephew, who recently completely wowed us all with his creativity. Every year, my sister and my neighbor have a good natured competition over who creates the best haunted house within their own homes. But this year my nephew outdid them both with his distinctive and unique Halloween decorations.

With his decorations, my nephew would have done the Adams family proud. He placed fake spider webs all over the house, with the stairs looking the best. Then he used several plastic bats, setting them artistically in various corners of the rooms of their house. He even hung them from the chandelier in the family room. Then he used paper skeletons to add an extra touch. He stuck them to the walls in a very creative fashion. For example, one looked like it was walking into my sister’s bedroom, and another appeared to be peaking out of the door to the basement. There was even one that would welcome you as you entered the front door, greeting you from behind the couch with a bony smile.

He also decked out the kitchen. He placed artfully carved Jack O’Lanterns around with tea lights to give the room a spooky glow. Then, with clever touches he made the kitchen into a witch’s sanctuary. A decorated paper witch was hung where the mop is usually kept, and the mop itself was decorated to look like a witch’s broom. Then, he placed a potion pot on the stove to really make it feel like something creepy was cooking in the kitchen! You just knew that witch was up to no good!

However, the theme I loved the most was the one he put together in my niece’s bedroom. She’s an avid collector of stuffed animals, with plush toys everywhere. There were stuffed monkeys, cats, bunnies, teddy bears, and pretty much anything else you could think of. Rather than get rid of all the cute, my nephew decided to use them as props. He turned some of the plush toys into phantoms and ghosts, with white handkerchiefs used for each and a hole for their eyes. He looped a strap around their waists and hung them from the ceiling so they were “floating.” For her stuffed raccoon, because it already had a villainous look with its natural mask, he added a chain and a plastic knife. He turned several of the animals into vampires, the best of which was one of her teddy bears. He gave it a black cape and made some sharp white teeth from paper to complete its transformation in to a bloodsucker.

My nephew proved that with some creativity you can really make a spooky Halloween haunt. And of course, to no one’s surprise, he won the competition! We’re now all anxiously waiting to see what he’ll come up with next year, and who knows what my niece’s teddy bears will become next! So as you can see, there are many ways to be creative and work with what you already have to make the perfect Halloween sanctuary. Have fun, and creativity will surely follow!

By: Corina Volegna

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Halloween doesn’t get everyone’s vote, but it does get our family’s. How much you enjoy it depends on how you view the holiday: for us it is a great excuse to have fun together and get a chance to dress up, and is therefore a firm favorite in our home. One of the things we enjoy most is getting the decorations out: from large spiders to eerie ghosts, everything is an excuse to have fun. There is only rule when it comes to Halloween decorating: anything goes so long as it’s spooky or scary, so big hairy spiders get their day!

There are of course various levels of decorating, from a simple carved-out pumpkin in the window to a fully decked out haunted mansion. I love taking a drive around town on Halloween to see what other people have done: it is always a treat to see a home where Halloween decorating has been taken to a fine art! Some decors can be quite intricate and normally pretty suburban front yards metamorphose for the night into the most unbelievably spooky arrangements. I have seen yards transformed into realistic cemeteries, complete with fog machine, special lighting, sound effects and spider webs galore. A well decorated home is usually a good indication that the owners have stocked up on tasty treats, and should be well worth a visit when you take your children trick or treating.

Some people like to carry the decorating theme on indoors, and don’t stop with straightforward schemes either, turning their homes into fully-fledged haunted houses. These folks go into a lot of trouble decorating their homes, and must really enjoy the process to go to such length. For them it is about dazzling the trick or treaters that may venture in. These days, however, parents rarely let their progeny enter a stranger’s home: it only take a handful of bad apples to spoil the fun of the holiday, so it hardly seems worth the risk.

Nowadays you can find just about anything you could wish for to have some serious fun decorating your home for Halloween. The only limits are your imagination and budget.
Shop locally for stylish trinkets and unusual objects, or expand your search to the Internet. The web gives you worldwide access to weird and wonderful things that you would never even have thought off, as well as the bare essentials: no matter what you are looking for, it is available online somewhere.

By: Andrew Caxton

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Once late September rolls around, it is pretty much impossible to not notice the significant numbers of Halloween decorations for sale in the stores. Whether you are shopping in a pharmacy, a retail outlet or even a grocery store, there may be a werewolf, a witch, a pumpkin or a black cat staring at you from the store aisle shelves. In fact, some of these items are so cool looking you may even be tempted to make a quick purchase. Or should you?

When it comes to the subject of Halloween themed decorations, most people will assume that these decorations need to be purchased in a store. While purchasing decorations for Halloween in a store is an easy and effective way of acquiring these items, it is not the only way to acquire them. In fact, it may be preferable to completely avoid purchasing these decorative items in a store altogether and instead make the decorations yourself with your kids.

Far too often, the concept of collective family fun is taken out of the Halloween season. There are a number of factors for this, but if any one single factor had to be pointed to it would be concerns about safety. As such, mom and dad opt not to take the kids out for trick or treating in the volumes that this was done twenty years ago. This has essentially reduced the Halloween season for many to sitting in front of the television set and watching reruns of old horror films. While this can be somewhat fun, its pales in comparison to the more active Halloween season of years past. So, how does one make the Halloween season an active era that the whole family can enjoy? Making your own Halloween style decorations can be the answer.

Now, while some may assume that making Halloween (homemade) decorations would be difficult the reality is that any variety of decorations can be made using construction paper, non-oil based paint, and the old standby, Elmer’s glue. Plus, anyone who in need directions on how to make these decorations can find the answers within any one of a multitude of books on the subject or, of course, accessing free information on the web; as there are a multitude of web pages that provide clear insight, tips and instructions regarding how to make decorations for Halloween. Again, it is not so much important how the decorations look as much as it is important that the family makes these themed Halloween decorations together and has a lot of fun doing it.

By: Joshua Knowles

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Want to create spooktacular Halloween party decorations on a budget? Follow these low-cost decorating tips to create a howling good party!

Creating a frightfully fun scene for a Halloween party doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune. Just use a few (or all) of these tips to create party decorations that won’t scare your budget!

Haunting Hands

These scary hands are a breeze to make! Simply stuff a pair of rubber gloves with tissue paper, newspaper or cotton batting, and then use your imagination to decorate them: spray paint, gauze wrap, fake fingernails, rings, a watch, fake insects, or red “blood” paint.

Jack-O’-Lantern Garland

Draw jack-o’-lantern outlines on orange paper, making sure to draw long stems on top. Cut out the jack-o’-lanterns and then draw on faces with markers or crayons. Fold the stems halfway down, and then attach them to yarn or string with tape, glue or staples. When attaching the pumpkins, make sure that the stems ‘fold’ over the yarn or string. Now you’re all set to drape this garland across a room, over a window or from lighting. You can also make a ghost garland in the same way!

Egg Carton Bats

Using egg cartons to make bats couldn’t be easier! First, separate 3 cups from an egg carton. Cut out part of the bottoms of the two outside cups so that they look like bat wings. Then just add eyes and a mouth with a marker (or you can use googly eyes). To hang, just attach it to a string or rubber band. Feel free to decorate your bats with paint, spider webs or anything else that grabs your imagination!

Egg Carton Spiders

Egg cartons also make fun spiders! Start by separating one cup from an egg carton. Next, make 8 small holes (4 on each side) at the base of the cup. The point of a scissors works well for this. Then insert a pipe cleaner into each of the holes to create legs. Last, just add a face and decorate however you choose!

Bat Clips

Cut out bat wings and bodies from black construction paper, card stock or fun foam sheets. Make sure the bat bodies are large enough to cover clothespins. Glue the bat parts to clothespins (wings first, and then bodies) and then add googly eyes to complete the look. These are easy to clip anywhere!

Lollipop Ghosts

These fun little ghosts not only make fun decorations, but they also make great party favors! To make these adorable little haunters, you’ll need round lollipops, white tissues, googly eyes or black marker and ribbon, preferably black or orange. Using one or two tissues, place a lollipop in the center and then gather the tissues around the top of the lollipop. Secure the tissues around the top of the lollipop with ribbon. You will now have a ghost head (top of lollipop) and body (tissue that covers lollipop stick). Finish by adding googly eyes or drawing them on with a black marker.

Halloween Blood

More of an accent than an actual decoration, there are lots of uses for fake blood – and it couldn’t be easier to make:

* 1 cup corn syrup
* 1 tbsp water
* 2 tbsp red food coloring
* 1 tsp yellow food coloring

Just mix all the ingredients together and you’ll have one cup of Halloween “blood”!

Go Buggy

Creep everyone out with your own profusion of bugs and rodents. Bags of plastic bugs and various sizes of rodents are readily available – and usually inexpensive – around Halloween. Scatter them on tables, floors, walkways, windowsills – anywhere that needs a little spooking up.

Pumpkins Please

Mini pumpkins provide a wealth of decorating opportunities. You can paint them any color and glue nearly anything (felt, construction paper, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, etc.) to them, allowing you to create spiders, witches, monsters…just use your imagination!

Balloon Ghost

All you need to make this fun ghost is a white balloon and two white plastic grocery bags! Start by cutting the handles off the plastic grocery bags. If there are any markings on the bags, try to cut them out, too. Starting at the top of the bags, cut them into strips, leaving the bottom seam of each bag intact. Next, blow up a white balloon. Tape the plastic bags around one end of the balloon, forming a circle around it. (Hint: if you’re planning on hanging the ghost as a decoration, be sure to leave the tied end of the balloon exposed at the top, so you can tie a string to it.) Finally, create a face on the balloon with a black marker, and you’ve got a frightfully fun ghost!

Halloween parties can be lots of fun – and lots of expense. But by using the decorating tips above, you can decorate for Halloween without breaking the bank.

By: Heather L. Clark

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Your yard gives you the opportunity to unleash all your creativity and really think big when it comes to decorating for the favorite spooky holiday – Halloween. But that does not mean you have slave around for hours making and putting up the decorations. Here are some quick and easy ideas for decorating your yard this Halloween:

1. Scarecrows set the mood. Purchase or make a scarecrow and display it in your yard. Make him stand in the center on in a corner or make him sit on a bench, on the steps or on the fence.

2. Wreaths make the yard look very pretty. Choose from grapevine wreaths or black and orange Halloween wreaths to suit your tastes and decorate walls and front door by hanging them.

3. Use pumpkins in every place for an instant ‘Halloween’ touch. Place them on the steps, porch railing and benches or grouped together in unexpected places. When grouping together, mix all shapes, sizes and colors.

4. Gourds are another natural decoration for yards for Halloween. String them to make garlands for fences or place them in baskets.

5. Witches and brooms make for great decorations. Make a purchased or made witch sit on the branch of a tree or on a bench. You can also simply use the broom near the tree or at the front steps and add a sign that ‘The Witch is Up There’ or ‘The Witch is in’.

6. Garden stakes come in various designs for Halloween. Choose ghosts, witches, pumpkins or whatever else fits your theme and choice. They are great scene setters and look especially pretty when placed between plants.

7. Nature’s own decorations can provide fall colors to your décor. Use lots of potted annuals like mums, begonias, dahlias etc. to decorate your yard. You can also use things like fall foliage, dried flowers, seed heads, hay bales etc.

8. Lastly, make a clear pathway for the trick-or-treaters to come in to your front door. Add ropes along the sides or use luminarias to keep them from trampling your plants or flowerbeds.

By: Lata Tokhi

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