7 Home Decorating Ideas for Halloween

It may be more well-known as an American custom, but Halloween has found its way to Australian shores. Drive or wander the neighbourhood on 31st October and you’re sure to see chievous kids used to carve scary shapes in them to frighten people in the street.

The Halloween tradition only started in the 19th century and it may have simply come down to the fact that pumpkins are more widely available at that time of the year in the US. Most people will carve pumpkins for their front door, but another alternative is to paint them black and have your very own black cat pumpkins to welcome trick or treaters. Best of all, there’s no carving required.

1. Pumpkins galore

The jack-o-lantern; famous for the ghouly eyes and sinister smile. The tradition actually dates back to the 17th century when children would carry lanterns while going door-to-door asking for soul cakes to commemorate the dead. In fact, these were made from turnips and missome witches, goblins, superheroes, and heroines around.

So, why not dress your house up for the occasion and join in on the festivities as well? Here are some neat decorating tips to make sure your home is the spookiest, scariest and enchanting of all. Get started today by popping into Marketplace Gungahlin and picking up everything you need at Kmart, Homebase or Big W.

2. Floating decorations

All you need is your decorations of choice and some fishing wire. Some great ideas include:

• Stringing some witches hats from the ceiling of the front verandah. You can even add some LED light sticks or battery powered tea lights to make them look like witches hat lanterns.
• Grab some fake spiders and other frightening insects and string them around the place.
• Glow in the dark ghosts and goblins. These don’t even need help to light up.
• Some plastic or plaster pumpkins.
• String some bats from the roof or light fittings. They’ll blow in the wind as well so they’ll look like they’re flying.

3. Lots of lanterns

This one’s quite simple really. In the lead up to Halloween, save your empty plastic 2L bottles of milk. Don’t forget to give them a good rinse before storing them though. When dry, fill the bottles with battery operated or solar fairy lights. You can also use glow sticks to create different colours if you wish. Then all you need to do is draw some spooky faces on the outside. You can line your walkway with these, giving a ghostly Halloween glow.

If you want to create the effect of pumpkins without actually using the fresh ones, you can turn some old mason jars into a jack-o-lantern. The best thing is, you can reuse these time and time again! Just cover the jar with some orange tissue paper and add the features with black cardboard. Then all you need to do is pop in a tea light candle – flame or battery powered.

4. Flying ghosts

These ones can either be on your property or on the trees outside, whatever you prefer. It’s a great way to get the whole street involved as well. And best of all, you just need some white balloons, gauze fabric and a black permanent marker.

Simply blow up the balloon and draw the face on. Perhaps draw it on both sides so no matter what side people are approaching from they can still see the face. Attach a string to the balloon and cut the gauze to size. Remember to cut it big enough so it gives a flowy effect. Cut a circle in the fabric and thread the string through the hole. Then simply let it drape over the balloon.

5. Bloody footprints

This one is not only cool but it’s also extremely fun to do. The most important thing here is though, to remember to purchase washable red paint. Just step into the paint (barefoot remember), and then carefully walk down your path towards your front door. Don’t forget to have a towel and some water waiting for you at the end to clean your feet. And it may be handy to have a paint brush around in case you need to redo or fix up the footprints.

If you want to really commit to this one, consider putting some handprints on the door and around the door handle too.

6. Dress the windows

Of course, not all your decorations need to be outside. There’s plenty you can do in your window frames to bring the spirit of Halloween inside. Pop some silhouettes in the window made out of black cardboard. It can be as simple as a bat, a pumpkin or a ghost, or as detailed as a witch or black cat. You can also hang some fake cobwebs around the window frame.

7. Decorate your door

Your door is the first thing people will see when they come to your house so you may as well make it inviting and frightening. Cut out a silhouette and stick it to the door. It could be a witch, a broomstick, a spider or a ghost, whatever takes your fancy. You can even create a whole scene on the door itself. Be creative.