Halloween decorating ideas such as black cats, ghosts, and witches pop up all over front lawns and porches as Halloween approaches. “Boo!” is the refrain heard across the land as leaves turn color and drop. Halloween decorations are suddenly popular as the temperatures drop for the scariest of holidays.
In October, it’s time to switch out your summer porch decor for the autumn season. Halloween decorating ideas can start with bundled corn stalks, a straw bale, some pots of flowering mums, and a few small gourds grouped together. These quick fixes are a great way to welcome fall and set up a base for more ambitious Halloween decorating ideas. Of course, if you don’t have easy access to traditional fall decorations, you can always get Halloween Decorating Ideas from Amazon.
A scary carved pumpkin is a must! Adding fabric ghosts hanging from the porch lights is always a nice touch. At the very least, switch out your front door wreath seasonally. For Halloween, try a grapevine base and use wire to attach some plastic bats—and even a few small plastic skulls.
More Halloween Decorating Ideas
When thinking about Halloween decorating, you can go in several different directions. Choices range from cute (scarecrows and smiling jack-o’-lanterns) to sinister (cobwebs and gravestones) to gruesome (rats gnawing on bones and zombie entrails strewn about). The level of realness is up to you, but don’t go overboard on the gruesome factor. This is especially true if you have small children in the neighborhood or if sensitive friends will be visiting. You can always tone down the fright level on your outside décor and amp it up indoors if you’re hosting a Halloween party for adults.
Halloween is the best of holidays to indulge your creative whims and fantasies. One artist friend I know sets up a different scene on his front lawn every year. One time it was an alien crash landing site. Another time it was skeleton and zombie dinner party. Use your imagination to see what you can create using leftover materials and discarded furniture.
You can also go all out with a Goth Garden that works great for the Halloween season. Plus, a gothic garden adds spooky touches to your yard throughout the year.
Halloween Decorations for Indoors
Inside your home, black, orange, purple, and lime green are the classic colors of the holiday. But you can use your own favorite color scheme if you wish. Subdued grays and beiges can be just as spooky as neon hues. Metallic colors are also a great way to punch things up. For example, spray painting plastic skulls gold or silver is a great way to make them spookier in the dark. The key is to pick a small palette of colors to create a coordinated look.
Look for things you can group together and repurpose for an entrance table vignette or to place on your dining table or fireplace mantel. Some ideas include large empty jars filled with candy corn and other Halloween candy. Add partially burned candles on a mirror and dinosaur toys arranged on a tray of mosses.
Halloween can spill over into the rest of your home, too. In the powder room, place a basket full of guest towels with bones inserted in them. In your kitchen, add big googly eyes to large pots and mixing bowls. Meanwhile in your bedroom, an open wall can get a paper silhouette cut-out scene of woodland creatures. My favorite animals for fall include owls, foxes, and a stag deer.
But Wait. There’s More!
Halloween has a way of sneaking in to every corner, if you let it. Mummy-wrapped dining chairs and hand towels decorated with fake-blood stains lend a spooky mood. You don’t have to be a crafting wizard to add a few of these fun touches to your own home. Plus, you’ll have a frighteningly good time doing it.
Here’s another helpful tip. After Halloween has past, remove the spookiest parts of your décor (ghosts, black cats, gravestones, etc.) and leave the fall/harvest elements. Presto! You’ve just given your home a head-start on its Thanksgiving décor!
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Kathy Jentz is the Editor/Publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine (www.WashingtonGardener.com). A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that gardening and decorating should be stress-free and enjoyable. Her motto is “inspiration over perspiration.”
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