How to decorate your home for Halloween

1st Jan 2015 Home & Garden

Whether you want to keep it understated or go all-out with terrifying touches, embrace the season and have some fun planning ahead for the Halloween celebrations. From things to make in the kitchen, to how best to attract trick-or-treaters, read on to get inspired with these spooktacular ideas…

1. A stylish twist

Raven in a cage decoration, £12; gold mercury-effect pumpkin, £7; Boo pumpkin, £7, all Sainsbury’s

Halloween doesn’t have to be all about garish decorations and novelty party pieces; dress your home with sophisticated accessories for a more adult-friendly look that you can work subtly into your décor.

Faux pumpkins can be kept out as autumn ornaments, or pop a plastic skull into an existing dome jar for a quick and easy decoration.

2. Potion master

Eddingtons Halloween pumpkin 7.25L glass drinks dispenser, £35, John Lewis

Serve up a spooky punch at a Halloween party to keep guests refreshed and in the spirit of the celebrations.

Mix up a concoction using colours such as pumpkin orange, slime green, or blood red juices to stay on theme and have some fun making DIY ice cubes to look like eyeballs if you’re feeling creative!

3. Photobooth fun

Skeleton crew photobooth, £8.99, Talking Tables

Dress up for the occasion with a selection of props as part of a photo booth. Both kids and adults alike will get stuck in and you’ll be left with some amusing selfies to remember the event.

This ready-to-go kit comes with a selection of face masks, glasses and hand-held signs, as well as a frame to complete your photos.

4. Bright idea

Ochre battery candle trio, £9.99, Lights4fun

Use candlelight to set a spooky scene at home and give off an atmospheric glow. Place some flickering candles in the window by your pumpkin or as part of your dinner table design for a Halloween feast.

LED designs without a real flame can be used again and again so choose neutral coloured candles that can then be used around the house once the festivities are over.

5. Creepy cookery

This recipe features or requires Candy Eyeballs, icing, spatula and a 12-slot muffin tin, all available from Wilton.co.uk

Get the whole family involved and bake a batch of tasty treats with the little ones to give out as trick-or-treat prizes.

Check out Pinterest online for a whole host of design ideas from one-eyed monster cupcakes and ghost meringues, to iced pumpkin cookies and spider doughnuts.

6. Witchcraft

Ghoulish single black rose, £1, Wilko

Grab yourself a can of black spray paint and coat a bunch of roses for an instant decorating idea. The same will work with a rustic twig from the garden, or why not collect conkers and decorate them with orange and green paint to look like miniature pumpkins?

Remember to always use spray paint outdoors or in a well-ventilated area and lay down newspaper to protect the surface you’re working on.

7. Party piece

Instead of a traditional trick-or-treat set up, why not introduce a Halloween piñata, full of wrapped sweets to be won? Make your own using papier-mache or cardboard, or buy a pre-bought design if you’re short on time.

Be sure to hang the piñata away from anything breakable and always have an adult supervising younger children.

8. Simple make

Use a red candle to drip wax over a white one for a speedy and spooky DIY idea.

Let the wax fall in haphazard lines from the top to the base to create a blood effect and make these the focal point of your table setting on 31 October.

9. Into the night

Image via Pottery Barn

Decorate the outside of your home to attract trick-or-treaters and make sure they stop by.

As well as having your pumpkin clearly on display, lay a trail of plastic black, or glow-in-the-dark, spiders from the street to the front door to show the way, or make your own ghost scarecrows using white sheets to place on the front lawn.

10. Bargain buys

Image via Pinterest

Keep costs down by scouring your local charity shop, car boot sale or Freecycle website online to find pieces you can work into your Halloween decorating.

Look out for old candelabras and picture frames which you can drape with fake cobwebs to add a spooky twist or apothecary-style jars and bottles that can be transformed into potion vessels.