Halloween

To say that my family loves Halloween grossly understates our love for the spooky, sugar laden holiday.  When my oldest was a 18 months, we decided to have a Halloween party for our friends with little ones.  This way, we could dress the youngsters up, but keep them inside where it’s safe and warm.  I found some fun trick or treat bags and fill them with toddler appropriate treats and toys.  I made sure that the party was fun for kids and parents alike.

We continued this tradition for many years.  I loved creating holiday themed cocktails for adults and finding crafts and games for the kids.  Having a babysitter on hand allowed the adults to enjoy the festivities while the babysitter and kids set up camp in the bonus room (formerly known as the ‘play room’ before a certain book deemed that moniker inappropriate)

While my kids are too old for trick or treating, we still love decorating the house for Halloween.  Even though we have more Halloween decorations than we have time to decorate, I still love finding new inspiration.  Continue reading to find some of my current favorites.

Fireplace Mantel

The fireplace mantel belongs in the trinity of decorating spaces, along with the dining room and entry room tables.  These spaces offer the perfect platform for everyday and seasonal decorating.  Kailo Chic‘s vibrant mantel reminds me of when my daughter used to ask me what my favorite color was.  I would always tell her that I love all colors and don’t want to name just one and risk hurting another color’s feelings….because, in my world, colors have feelings.  Kailo Chic’s colorful mantel provides equal footing to pumpkins of all colors, and I couldn’t live it more!

Want more inspiration for decorating your mantel? Eighteen25 has loads of ideas!

Banners

Seasonal decorations don’t need to be relegated to horizontal surfaces.  Elevate your vignette by using banners, balloons, streamers, etc.  In my craft cupboard, I have separate drawers designated for both crepe paper streamers and ribbons.  That is how seriously I take my seasonal and event decorating!

Banners, of all shapes and sizes, provide an additional layer of fun and provide that special whimsical effect that I love!  Pizzazzerie, one of my favorite blogs for holiday and event decorating, has an entire Pinterest board dedicated to banners.  She has also graciously provided 7 Free Printable Halloween Banners on her website!

“Not only are these printable Halloween banners free, but they’re also perfect for adding some Halloween style to your mantel, front door, classroom, office, playroom, party table, etc. You get the idea. They’re fabulous. So pick your favorite Halloween banner, print it off, and hang it up!” (Pizzazzerie.com)

Pops of Pink

What comes around, goes around and period style is no exception.  Having grown up in the 80’s, there are some things that I wish would remain history.  However, these whimsical pumpkins are welcome to stay!  The designs are relatively simple and leave plenty of room for creativity, and make for a fun family painting project.  I think you will all agree that these Totally 80’s Pumpkins, by Kailo Chic, are totally awesome dude!

I love how Kailo Chic incorporated Pac-Man ghosts into these 90’s Patterned Pumpkins!  These 90’s inspired pumpkins take a steady hand when it comes to cutting the vinyl stickers.  However, even the tiniest of hands will love adorning the pumpkins!

DIY’ing it!

A holiday season doesn’t go by without a family fun DYI project.  And, I LOVE adding glitter to any craft project!  One year, I sent out hand made invitations to our Halloween party that were, of course, adorned with glitter.  Six months after the party, one of my friends said that she was still finding the glitter in her son’s hair!  I realize that glitter can be a messy craft to work with, but I love it all the same.

One of my favorite pumpkin projects of all time is when my daughter and I took a bunch of mini pumpkins and covered the entire pumpkin with glitter.  We had green, purple, orange and gold glitter pumpkins, all with green glitter stems.  Now, if this is way too much glitter for you, then these painted pumpkins with glitter stems, as shown above, are a great way to go.

Here is a list of some other fun Halloween DIY projects:

• Hang paper bats from the ceiling.  Find templates for bats, are other creepy crawlies on Pinterest.
• Replace prints and pictures, in existing frames, with fun Halloween printables.
• DIY candy corn crafts that double as decor.
• More easy Halloween crafts that will transform your home.

Back to Nature

As you know by now, I love pumpkins of all colors.  However, sometimes nature is the best artist of them all, creating a variety of pumpkins and gourds that quite literally coordinate with the season’s landscape.

Neighborhood garden stores, like Bellingham’s Garden Spot Nursery, are the perfect place to find resources and guidance for those interested in a natural look for the Halloween decor.  The Garden Spot’s selection of natural pumpkins includes:  Pie Pumpkins, Fancy French Pumpkins, Ghost Pumpkins, Wee Pumpkins, Cinderella Pumpkins, Grey Pumpkins, and of course, Jack-o’- lantern Pumpkins.

Taking some fall mums and using a hollowed out pumpkin as a vessel provides a simple and elegant centerpiece or front porch ornament.

Let’s Party

Bar carts are for more than just booze! They are basically ‘party central’ and can be used to hold party favors, eating utensils, and can even be a portable game station!

Above, Kailo Chic uses the bar cart in both the traditional sense, as a drink station, and as another festive themed vignette.

Treats Please!

Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without the treats…..and there is no shortage of inspiration for fun and creative Halloween treats.

A few years back, I tried my hand at the cute little meringue ghosts, shown above.  The beauty of these little ghosts is that they are both treats and decorations all in one!

Find more treats on Pinterest.

Party Supplies: Support Local

Bellingham is big on supporting local businesses. And when I’m planning a party I always try to incorporate local businesses in my shopping list. One of my favorite local shops is Spruce.

Spruce is a local party supply store located in downtown Bellingham. They are known for their love of celebrations and balloons…..balloons, balloons, and more balloons!! Check out their Instagram page to see what I’m talking about.