Halloween is just around the corner - and half the fun is getting ready for this spooky celebration!
When people think of Halloween, spooky costumes and tasty sweets are usually the first things that come to mind. As well as creative costumes, you can also make sure your house looks scary by making some unique decorations.
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The great thing about making your own Halloween decorations is how cheap they are, compared with buying them in the shops. The other good news is that they are high quality and can be put into storage until next year, saving you more money.
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Decorated pumpkins
While most people have carved a pumpkin into a Halloween lantern at some point, why not try adding some arty designs to yours as a different type of decoration? Buy your pumpkins from the supermarket and then paint them, using craft paint, in some bright colours. Let the paint dry on the pumpkins. Paint some leaf shapes on plain paper, in different sizes in autumnal colours. Cut the leaves out and glue them all over the pumpkins for some colourful and unusual Halloween decorations.
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Spooky silhouettes
If you're having a Halloween party with a buffet, decorate the area around the food table with some spooky silhouettes. Buy some black craft paper and cut out silhouettes of creepy characters such as witches, broomsticks, cauldrons, ghosts and anything else you can imagine. Attach them with Blu Tack to mirrors, windows and walls around the table. Add some spooky plastic spiders to the table, sit back and see who dares approach the buffet first!
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Spider's web cake
This is a very easy Halloween activity that even small children will enjoy. Buy a simple cake from a store, such as a jam sponge, or a chocolate cake. Using white frosting, decorate the cake using a piping bag so it looks like it's covered in spider's webs! Top your cake with yukky plastic spiders. This is a very effective technique and guests will think you have put in a lot of effort, whereas in reality, it's very simple. Don't forget to store your cake in a secure container to make sure REAL spiders don't get to it before the big night!
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Giant spiders
This is a good craft idea for older children. Place an oversized arachnid on your front door to scare visitors. Have all the craft items ready in your home before you start, as this activity takes a little more planning and skill. Blow up one large black balloon to make the spider's body and a smaller one for its head. Tie the two balloon knots together into a spider's shape.
Make the legs by wrapping black fake fur around eight black pipe cleaners to create bendy, hairy legs! Then, twist the legs onto a black pipe cleaner so there are four legs on either side. Using black string, tie the legs onto the body, adding some glue if necessary to keep them in place. Let the glue dry, before hanging your massive spider on the front door, using wire, to scare guests as they arrive!
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Spider's web wreaths
Decorate your garden gate, bushes and path with giant spiders' webs. Buy some circular craft wreaths about 14 inches across and wrap them in white cloth to create a thick frame. Then, criss-cross white string or twine across the frame into the shape of a spider's web. Buy some plastic spiders and glue them to the frame and web. Attach twine to the top, and hang one on your front gate and more around your garden, where people will see them as they arrive.
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Bat branches
Add some Halloween bats to your garden too! Cut out bat shapes from stiff black craft paper, either drawing the outline first in white chalk or paint, or using a stencil to get the shape right. Glue on large sequins from a craft shop for their eyes so they will catch the light. Illuminate your garden with battery-operated LED lights to create a path and hang the bats on either side on branches and in bushes. Hang some from your fence too for good measure.
After the party's over, make sure you store your Halloween decorations away safely, so you can reuse them next year. You can also make more next time, so you will have an ever-growing collection of decorations for the most spooktacular party!
