Life
The year I decided to decorate for Halloween, I strung our bushes with fake cobwebs and felt pretty darn proud of myself. The only problem was my lack of follow through — the decorations were still up on Valentine's Day. I'm not crafty and I get a little lazy, but there's a part of me that still really loves the idea of decorating for Halloween, so I decided to search for easy Halloween decorations so your porch looks just spooky enough.
I'm in total envy of the families who are able to create the perfect Halloween tableau, guaranteed to charm the neighbors and scare the little kids. As intimidating as it seems, I do think that most families with a free Saturday afternoon can come up with something that works. You can go the DIY route, or if you're like me, the "what can I find online" route, maybe combined with something I can make with my limited abilities. If you are trying to create the looks from scratch, enlisting the kids can result in wonderful family bonding time or, possibly, a lot of pumpkin paint all over the kitchen. Maybe even a little of both. But in the spirit of one of my favorite parenting mottos, "You try something once and if it doesn't work, you don't need to do it again," here are some fun and (hopefully) easy Halloween decorations.
1
Skeleton In A Chair
Posable Skeleton, $24, Oriental Trading
Buy a Posable Skeleton, then take a chair you have around the house and seat that guy in it. You can dress it up or leave it all bones or put a chalkboard sign in his lap. You even could put the candy bowl in his lap and see if the kids are brave enough to try to take a piece.
2
Cobwebs Everywhere
Nothing is creepier than cobwebs. As I mentioned before, I've gotten packages of cobwebs and strewn them over my bushes. The packages are pretty condensed so a medium-sized package may cover a lot of space. They also sell cobwebs in a can. You can go that route, or create your own cobwebs. Most of the DIY webs use things you may already have around the house, like cotton balls, a drill, glue guns and yarn. Throw in a few plastic spiders and you are good to go.
3
Dismembered Heads & Other Body Parts
Realistic Body Parts, $11, Amazon
Dismembered body parts might actually be creepier than cobwebs (see number two). You can use old dolls, either from your closet or from trolling garage sales and locating them. You can even buy realistic bloody body parts like the ones in the photo above. Department stores might have some damaged mannequins they are willing to part with, too, so it can't hurt to ask. You can use these parts in many ways, either strewn across the porch or huddled in a basket with a sign that reads, "former visitors." Red paint can be used to create bloody parts and painting them all white can give them a deathly feel.
4
Carved Pumpkins
Carve out a pumpkin and place a light inside and you'll have instant scary, according to Better Homes and Gardens. The meaner the Jack-O'-Lantern face, the better. You can also find an eerie phrase and carve it into a series of pumpkins, like "Turn. Back. Now" or "Get. Out."
5
Eerie Music
Put together a playlist of scary music to set the mood as soon as someone approaches your porch. There are websites where you can download Halloween music, such as Spooky Soundtrack, or you can scroll through iTunes or your digital music library for classic Halloween songs you think might work.
6
Scarecrow Man With A Pumpkin Head
Better Homes and Gardens has an easy way to get a little spooky. Take out some old clothes, stuff them with hay, towels, pillows or something fluffy, arrange them in the shape of a person, and place a carved Jack-O'-Lantern at the top. Seat the whole thing on a bench or chair. The Jack-O'-Lantern can be something you carve from a real pumpkin or a plastic one. Either way, your fake man is guaranteed to scare the kiddies, especially after dark.
7
Stuffed Animal Sacrifices
Any stuffed animal works for this one, but the "well-loved" ones, with matted fur and missing eyeballs, might work best. You can hang them with rope from the porch ceiling or put them underneath the rocking chair. Use some red paint for blood or paint over their eyes. Have fun putting them in all sorts of gruesome situations.
8
Mini Grave Yard
Get some swim kick boards at the pool store or toy store and paint them with grey paint. Add some black sticker letters to create fake headstones and just hot glue 1/2" wood dowels to the back so you can stick them into things. Place them in a planter, lean them against your porch rails, in the flower bed, or in the landscaping in front of the porch. You can adorn the grave with a wilting bouquet of fake flowers or for extra scare, put a fake hand sticking out of the dirt.
9
Brainstorm Your Own Fun
Pull up a website like Oriental Trading or Amazon and search for spooky decorations. From skeleton dogs to giant spiders to witches' cauldrons, use what you see on the sites as a jump off point to create your own spooky porch design.
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