The werewolves howl,
The witches brew,
And vampires fly
O’er me and you.
The time has come
To decorate scary,
Trade your ribbons and bows
For something scaley or hairy.
Yes, Halloween is right around the corner and it is time to break out the pumpkins, ghosts, and goblins once again. Many of us go all out in converting our homes into something the Munsters and Addams families would like to share. However, living in an apartment presents a whole different set of challenges when getting your scare on. So break out the candy corn and caramel apples, scritch your black cat and pat your Hell hound on the head as we look at all the different decoration ideas we have in store for you!
1. Prep Your Pumpkins, Straw Bales, and Cornstalks
Pumpkins are essential to Halloween. Whether it is a spooky-eyed Jack-O-Lantern or colorful displays of pumpkins and their gourd cousins, no Halloween décor is complete without the addition of straw bales and cornstalks. All of these vegetables and fruit are easy to find during the fall season and are a fairly inexpensive way to add color and festivity to your apartment. A small pumpkin with a few ears of variegated corn on top of the table for a centerpiece will not only work for Halloween but will carry through all the way to Thanksgiving.
An important safety tip to keep in mind when deciding on a carved Jack-O-Lantern or painted pumpkin; unattended lit candles are a fire hazard. If going with the Jack-O-Lantern, use a battery-powered tea light in the pumpkin instead of an open candle. Your pumpkins do not have to be orange. There are white, green, and pink pumpkins; there are even pumpkins with warts and hats! Let your imagination go wild!
2. Balcony and Patio Halloween Decorations
Think of the patio door, front door, and windows as your way to share your decorations with everyone passing by. Don’t let these large blank spaces go to waste. Window decorations can be customized to fit the theme of your décor. Going for a friendly, festive look? Decorate your windows with bright window decals or a giant jack-o-lantern face made of construction paper. Bring in the Bats, Spiders, and Other Creepy Crawlies
Critters of all sorts are a natural addition to Halloween decorating. Insects, especially spiders and centipedes, are easy to cut out of black construction paper. I found that building my own spider web and wrapping up my daughter’s Barbie dolls in string and attaching them as captives to the web became a real eye-opener for the Trick or Treaters. Of course GI Joe was also crawling up the web to rescue his friend from the menacing jaws of arachnid death!
Having a cauldron of bats hovering throughout your apartment or hanging from the balcony can also send chills up the spines of your neighbors. To give them an even more realistic look, try curling the wings to simulate flight and use tape and fishing monofilament to suspend them from overhead. All those flying bats will look scary during the day and downright terrifying at night. Talk about ambiance.
3. Make Your Front Door a Portal to Spookyville
Seasonal doormats are a quick and easy way to keep your home current with the changing seasons. However, there is something fairly new to make your entryway even more frightening (or entertaining). You can now purchase paper artwork that will completely cover your door. Some of the common themes are, of course, monsters. My personal favorite is of a skeleton caught while in the bathroom.
4. The Mad Scientist’s Lab
Changing your apartment into a Mad Scientist’s potions laboratory will make a unique and memorable experience for visiting guests. Set up a cauldron with green food coloring, and if you can find it – dry ice will make it appear that your witch’s brew is boiling and bubbling. You can create potions bottles by filling up odd-shaped bottles of different sizes with herbs and colored liquids. You can even fill the containers with slime and don’t forget to add in the occasional rubber finger or fake eyeball! One of the best places to find hidden and odd treasures is the thrift store near you.
5. Make it all about the art
Another great way to let the ghoulies creep into your abode is to give a scary upgrade to your artwork. The internet is full of Halloween-themed prints and artwork, which can be downloaded and placed into the existing photo frames in your home. If you really feel up to the challenge, photoshop your family and friends into new settings or give them a completely ghoulish makeover and display them prominently throughout your home.
6. Find festive colors to scare in the holiday
Orange and black have always been thought of as the Halloween colors of choice. I am all for tradition, but you can broaden your palette and add other color choices to make your festivities POP! Let’s start with flower choices. Mums come in a whole array of different colors, from red to yellow and orange to purple. A bouquet of these bright colors as a centerpiece with a couple of ghosts on a stick will create an interesting focal point for meals and treats during get-togethers.
If you are in the mood to go dark and Goth, try a bouquet of black roses with white carnations.
Balloons are another, inexpensive way to add color when transforming your surroundings. Imagine an orange and black balloon arch at the entry to your apartment. Large white helium-filled balloons with bats circling them, or an orange balloon with the silhouette of a wolf howling are great ideas. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.
7. Halloween Wreaths, Ornaments, and Lanterns
Following the idea of adding color with flowers and balloons, don’t forget about other possibilities. Though your door may not have ravenous hordes of Trick or Treaters descending upon it in search of sweets, it should still look prepared. You can find a wreath adorned with spiders, pumpkins, or ghosts to match your décor.
In a couple of months, many will be gathered around a decorated evergreen with a bounty of gifts at its base. To stay in keeping with the Halloween season, try this instead. Gather up a bunch of dead branches from the nearby forest or park, put them into a vase, and decorate them with small bats, ghosts, and spiders. Add in a candy corn garland and you have nailed it!
Another inexpensive way to create a spooky atmosphere in your apartment with your kids is to make paper lanterns. Made of stiff cardboard paper cut with precision (more or less), lanterns can show off the best sides of Halloween, from black cats to bats and ghosts. Remember to use flameless LED tea candles for a safe and spooky option.
8. Set the table
Don’t forget about your table! Festive decorations can transform any dining or coffee table into a Halloween focal point. Whether you’re looking to bake up a batch of whimsical Halloween brownies or some spooky sweet supernatural cocktails, here are some quick and easy Halloween Dessert ideas for the spooky season, sure to get you in the spirit! Boo appetite!
- Ghost cookies
- Caramel apples
- Pumpkin Cake Graveyard
- Candy Corn on the Cob
- Monster Truffles
- Halloween Candy Bark
- Day of the Dead Cookies
- Halloweentown Marshmallow Spiders
- Strawberry Ghosts
- Ghost Pretzels
- Spider Cookies
These, and many other seasonal recipes and only a Google quest away.
No matter if you prefer spooky decorations purchased online or fun and colorful celebrations with creations you made at home, Halloween decorating is open to everyone. The options for decorating your apartment home for this scary holiday are endless—with imagination and an eye for the ghastly, you can turn any space into a festive Halloween experience! Now get out there and scare someone!