Halloween Decorations

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays for decorations.  I love going to craft stores and looking at all of their spooky and fun jack-o-lanterns, vampires, zombies, etc.  From glitter to graveyard, I love decorating this time of year.  I have a few tips for making your home trick-or-treat ready, so keep reading.

One of my favorite things to add to the home is handmade decorations.  The three photos above are three homemade items . The candy corn candle mat is great to use as a coaster as well.  In fact, I have one at my desk at work that I use as a mug rug.  I love it.  I gave a pattern to my mom who cut out different colors of felt, attached an iron-on transfer sheet, ironed on the pieces, and sewed the edges.  It's super simple and you don't even need a pattern if you don't want one.  I'm going to draw my own pattern for a snowman candle mat for Christmas.  The bottom picture is a table runner.  Again, I gave the pattern to my mom who loves to sew and she used a similar technique for the witch, pumpkin, and Frankenstein's monster.  Instead of using it as a table runner, I'm using it as a wall hanging above my fish tank.  I added a little witch candle holder to the top of the fish tank to tie it all together.  Last, but not least, my vampire ducky bank.  I went to one of those "paint this" piggy bank tents at the fair, though there are shops that are open year round.  So, it was premade and all white.  I decided to make a cute bank that looked like one of the gifts made in Nightmare Before Christmas.  It would work great in balck and white, but I like the color.  These are great decorations to personalize and have around the house.

 Next is to really think about where you're putting your decorations.  This is my nightstand and I think these decorations are perfect.  For one, you always need a candle on your nightstand.  This candle smells of cinnamon and oranges, a great transition scent from summer to fall.  The mouse is adorable and I purchased it at Hobby Lobby this year.  I think it's a great item to put on a nightstand because you can match the mouse as you both sleep.  I also have a black cat snow globe in the background.  I have that there because my black cat, Chubby, loves to sleep next to me on the bed so all of these decorations are perfect for the nightstand.

Finally, I suggest really thinking of themes for different areas of your home.  On my bookshelf, I have a graveyard with different skeletons and grave markers.  On my second shelf of my bookshelf, I have jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins.  But one of my favorite things to decorate with during October is ghosts.  I have two tealight candle holders that are just fun little ghost figurines.  I think that ghosts can be both adorable and scary, there are just so many options when searching for ghost decorations.  I remember growing up, my family had this glow in the dark ghost candle that we were never allowed to burn.  It was my favorite decoration and the only Halloween decoration that I remember from my childhood.  Because of this, I love collecting ghost decorations in my adult life.  Find something that's sentimental that you would love to decorate with and you can't go wrong.

Also, if you're into different fall sports, you can find many jack-o-lanterns that are shaped like different items.  I got the football jack-o-lantern (below) at Kmart last year for probably $5.  I keep it up throughout the whole football season (I just add a Santa hat to it during the winter) so you can show your love of the game while still matching with your family's preferred decor.