13 spook-tacular Halloween decorating ideas

Head to the high street to pick up spooky decorations, costumes and tasty treats. Stores including Wilko, Poundland and supermarkets such as Asda, Lidl and Sainsbury’s have impressive ranges this year that won’t break the bank.

Bat tealight holder, £4; pumpkin pinata, £12; hanging ghost, £3.50, all Sainsbury’s

For an easy craft idea, collect used cardboard toilet roll tubes and spray paint them black. Fix on black paper bat wings and googly eyes using a dab of glue and hang these from the ceiling using some clear fishing wire.

Simple white balloons can be transformed into scary ghost faces using a black permanent marker. Draw on eyes and a mouth to create whichever spooky features you wish and then hang them around the house!

Creep it real white ghost balloons with streamers, £3.99 for ten, Ginger Ray

Cluster a group of flickering candles in your windowsill or next to your pumpkin to attract trick-or-treaters. For added drama, use a red candle to drip red wax onto white or cream candles to create a blood-spattered effect.

If you’d rather not splash out on new decorations, look around the house for things you already have that can be given a Halloween twist. Anything orange or black in colour is perfect for the occasion, or dig out your old wooden broom to create a faultless witch’s accessory.

Bundleberry by Amanda Holden orange trunks, £45 for two, QVC

Get the children involved with baking up a storm in the kitchen, either as goodies for trick-or-treating or as a snack for a Halloween-themed party. Try decorating simple white-iced cupcakes as ghosts or mummies, or making spider-shaped biscuits using a specialist cookie cutter.

DIY your own miniature graveyard in your front garden to create a spooky display. Use cereal or carboard boxes and paint the surfaces in dark grey paint before initialling with RIP. Stand them in the ground or support them from behind using a large stone.

Decorate the inside of your house with specialist wall stickers for the occasion. Bats, pumpkins or larger mural-style designs will instantly transform the space and the stickers can easily be peeled off and re-used the next year.

Halloween bats wall stickers, £10.50 for three, Chameleon Wall Art

Stretchy fake cobwebs are a fun and affordable way to decorate your house, inside or out. Pick some up on eBay for as little as 99p and wrap them around the bannisters or porch to make a dramatic entrance.

If you’re throwing a dinner party or children’s gathering especially for the occasion and want to impress your guests, scour through your local charity shops for candelabras or tall candle holders to create a striking centrepiece. Spray paint them black and hang cobwebs from the bases, or use orange dinner candles instead of white for a frightening finishing touch.

Continue your table styling with disposable plates and cutlery with a Halloween theme. Check out Talking Tables for ranges that will instantly give any dinner party a fun twist and use a plain black sheet as a tablecloth to further the gothic look.

Skeleton Crew bug scatter decorations, £2.92; Skeleton Crew paper plates, £2.50 for eight; Skeleton Crew napkins, £2.92 for 20; Party Porcelain gold cutlery, £7 for six sets, all Talking Tables

Try your hand at DIYing a Halloween wreath for your front door to encourage trick-or-treaters to visit. Use a polystyrene or wicker wreath as a base and decorate with dried autumn leaves, miniature spider toys and pieces of fake cobweb. You could even wrap some fairy lights around the finished design to make sure it stands out at night time—just make sure the lights suitable for outdoor use.

As well as having the traditional carved pumpkin, why not get creative and decorate a few more to really enhance your display? Spray paint them in black or metallic, or splatter with red paint for a bloody effect then dot them around the house on mantelpieces or windowsills. For those feeling a little more artistic, try embellishing your pumpkin with a skull face using black marker on a white spray-painted base.

Pre-lit black tree 60cm, £22; pack of four skulls, £18; hanging decorations, £8 for 12; standing black owl 24cm, £10; black glitter faux crow 21cm, £5, all John Lewis