It’s that time of the year again. Pumpkin patches have sprung up around the city, party invitations are crowding your email and stores are overflowing with fake vampire teeth and candy corn. Halloween is right around the corner! Check out our super easy Halloween decorating ideas and take advantage of the most awesome time of the year! But before you buy or craft any decorations, look over your property’s guidelines or check with the manager. Some communities, especially if they’re family friendly, might object to overtly gory or scary decorations on your door or porch (so basically anything from The Walking Dead is out).
- Pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns are a must, of course. If you want to break the mold, wrap your pumpkins in burlap or fabric or dye them black. If you like your spook with a dash of glitz and glam, coat your pumpkins in glue and sprinkle glitter on them.
- Liberally strew candles, especially tall black, red and white ones around your home. To score some extra gore points, light a red one and let red wax flow on the sides of your other candles to imitate dripping blood. But make sure you never leave burning candles unattended, no matter how cool your jack-o-lanterns burning in the middle of the night would look. A gust of wind or a prankster could knock them over. Although your renter’s insurance has your back in case of a fire, you really don’t want to deal with the ordeal. Also remember to place them in stable holders, away from flammables and out of the reach of small children and pets. Or just switch to flameless candles or glow in the dark sticks.
- If you’re someone who regularly buys flowers, don’t throw your bouquets out when they start wilting. Dry them out, cover with fake webbing and you’ve got yourself a touch of a haunted house. If creepy crawler don’t freak you out too much, pick some up dollar store toy bugs, spray paint them black and add them on top of your creepy bouquets.
- Haunted props like smoke, fog and lightning and thunder machines can really set the mood for a night of fright, especially if you’re planning on having people over. However, make sure you buy the equipment from a reputable retailer. And save the receipt. Should they inexplicably vanish into the night, receipts will help you when filing a renter’s insurance claim. The last thing you want to deal with is a short-circuit plunging your party into darkness, or worse, cause a fire.
- For some easy to make ghost companions, blow up a few white balloons and tie them off with long bits of fishing twine. Turn them upside down, draw some big black eyes on them, cover them with long ragged pieces of cheesecloth or some other flimsy white material and secure the loose end of the fishing twine to ceiling with some sticky tape.
Now that we’ve inspired you with design, go pick out a cool costume and stock up on candy corn, before hordes of zombie shoppers swarm the mall.
