3 quick and easy ways to set the scene for a spooky Halloween

Nothing says “Anti-Halloween” like a dark, undecorated house on Halloween. Most trick-or-treaters will skip a dark house all together. And yet, many houses go unvisited every year because of their outside decor, leaving many well-intentioned women with loads of candy to dispose of (usually in our mouths) at the end of devil’s night. Even a simple sign of pro-Halloween sentiment will show trick-or-treaters that your house is a Halloween candy hot-spot. But you don’t need to spend a fortune on decorations or set up a mechanical graveyard haunt to get the point across. Halloween decorating can be quick, easy and simple!

1. Start with pumpkins

I must admit, pumpkins are my favourite part of Halloween. They are so versatile, and they really make one’s house smell like cozy fall. Halloween pumpkins are also a great way to decorate though, especially outside. One or two pumpkins says you are into the holiday. Five to twelve lining your front walk or the steps leading up to your house is a classy way to show your spirit. Light them with tea lights, or to avoid real flame (that can get knocked over and easily blow out) purchase the faux-flame flickering pumpkin lights at stores like Michaels that will cast light continuously without the use of a real flame.

2. Make sign posts with cardboard

Sign posts can be a fun, spooky way to send a message to Halloween visitors. Using some of the cardboard you haven’t yet recycled, cut squares, triangles, rectangles and any other shape you like. Then, use white or black paint as your background colour, and orange, black or white paint for your message. Write things like “Caution!” or “Beware”, then hang the signs or mount them on stakes along your front walk. To take this idea to the next level, purchase blackboard paint and use different colours of chalk to write your message on the boards. Rest well at the end of the night knowing you’ve done something nice for the environment by reusing before recycling. Even better – store your signs for next year, and Mother Nature will list you as her new BFF.

3. Spook with sounds

Pick up a CD of spooky sounds from – well, pretty much anywhere these days, and hide a CD player somewhere near your door to give trick-or-treaters a spooky soundtrack. These CDs can include groaning ghosts, monster songs and random screams – perfect for setting an eerie ambiance!