Halloween, the first of the big autumn holidays, is almost upon us! Depending on how you celebrate, you might be having a big party, staying home to hand candy out to visiting trick-or-treaters, or maybe just watching your favorite scary movie. However you celebrate Halloween, if you’re in the mood to throw up some easy decorations to help get in the holiday spirit a little better, why not try these tips to get you and your family in the Halloween spirit?
Mood Lighting
If you’re having company over for scary movies or some kind of Halloween celebration, swapping out your standard lightbulbs for something a little…spookier is a cheap and easy way to help set the mood! Most hardware stores, especially this time of year, will carry colored lightbulbs – why not swap a few of your everyday white and yellow bulbs out for something a little more appropriate to the holiday like purple, green, or red? (Not all of them, though – you still want your guests to see where they’re going!)
Mad Scientist Specimens
Here’s an easy one your kids can help with that (hopefully!) won’t make much of a mess. Grab some food coloring – green, purple, and so on – and a few empty Mason jars (or maybe actual Bunsen beakers from a supply store, if you’re feeling adventurous). Fill the jars with colored water and create some creepy specimens to leave in there – giant insects, doll’s heads, toy monsters, whatever you can find – and clear off some of your bookshelves to free up space to display your experiments! Just make sure the kids know not to drink whatever’s in there – they wouldn’t want to turn into a monster themselves!
Candles and Pumpkins
Most people think of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns as being strictly outdoor decorations, but with a little work you can use them for the inside as well! For a fun centerpiece or fireplace mantel decoration, take a few smaller pumpkins – or maybe some synthetic ones, if you don’t want to deal with real ones – paint them black, and arrange them near some old-fashioned long candlesticks and vintage-looking decorations like metal plates to create a moody atmosphere that doesn’t require actual antique table settings. If you’re really feeling motivated, you could even make some subtle carvings into them, like silhouettes or black cats!
Flying Bats
Here’s another inexpensive and fun one that the kids can help with! For some easy to make wall decorations, take some black felt and cut them into bat outlines, then decorate them with white fabric markers or puffy paint to add as many or as few details as you want! Once they’re ready to hang up, some simple scotch tape will let you create a flock of bats on your wall.
Hopefully these tips help you prepare for whatever Halloween fun you and your family are up to!