Whether you’re throwing a Halloween party or just want to give the Trick or Treaters something to scream about, the right decorations and atmosphere can mean the difference between blah and ahhh! Here are some ideas to help make your Halloween spooktacular.
Homemade Halloween Decorations
You don’t have to spend a fortune on decorations to achieve a scary, Halloween effect.
- Toilet paper isn’t just for the Trick of Treaters. It actually works really well as a cheap and disposable streamer. You can buy loo rolls in green and white and then hang it from the ceiling. Use different lengths to create an eerie atmosphere. It’s surprisingly effective.
- Your Halloween House wouldn’t be complete without a few cobwebs and maybe even a nasty looking spider. You can create a cobweb effect with sheets of cotton wool. Simply pull and stretch at the wool to create an unkempt look and drape over bannisters and shelves. You can pick up a plastic spider or two and strategically place them against your fake cobweb.
- For countries where Halloween falls in autumn, you can take advantage of the fallen leaves and collect yourselves some bare branches. Create yourself a Moriticia Adams style arrangement of headless roses and pointy twigs.
- One of the iconic images of Halloween is the Jack-o-Lantern. Pick yourself up some pumpkins and then get carving to create some evil looking lanterns. Place your Jack-o-Lanterns by the front door, in the windows and on tables and watch as the candlelight conjures up some spooky images.
A Spooky Supper
Let the food and drink you serve be an extension the Halloween experience.
- There’s not much that’s scary about the punch bowl. But what about a punch bowl that has a ghostly hand reaching from out of its depths? You can create a frozen hand by filling a rubber glove with water, freezing it and then removing it from the glove before placing it in the punch bowl. You can use food colouring to create frozen hands in all sorts of sinister shades.
- Serve up ghostly treats for your guests. How about some jelly worms and gummy spiders? Chocolate mice? Try to theme your snacks to continue that Halloween feel. Cut sandwiches into bat shapes, use food colouring to make green cakes and get Halloween themed cocktail sticks.
- Get Halloween themed plastic plates, cups and cutlery. Decorate the table with cobwebs and maybe use a Jack-o-Lantern as a centrepiece. Get some trick ice cubes with fake spiders and insects inside. Pop them in your guests’ drinks and watch them squeal.
Set the Atmosphere
Use spooky sound and special effects to give your house a ghostly feel.
- You can download a number of creepy sound effects that work wonderfully well to create a sinister atmosphere. Doors creaking, chains clanking, evil laughter, howling, cauldron’s bubbling, screaming. You could even record some of your own.
- A dry ice machine is great for creating smoke. Set off the dry ice machine when the Trick or Treaters come knocking and answer the door clouded in a spooky fog. It’s sure to get a reaction.
- Dim the lighting and use candles wherever possible to help enhance the atmosphere. You could even drape coloured scarves over your lamps to create a more moody lighting.
Halloween is a great time of year to get creative and have fun creating your own ghouls and goblins. Set the scene, enjoy the spooky atmosphere and have a happy Halloween.
Sarah Williams - Sarah Williams is originally from the South West of England but now lives in the Illawarra region of Australia. She is a freelance writer, ...
