The VERY Big Halloween Post...crafts, ideas & more!

This big Halloween post includes lots of photos to inspire you, vintage images to use in crafts, a simple craft tutorial and a little trip down Halloween memory lane.

Why not grab a cup of tea and relax with me while browsing through it all?!!




I thought it might be nice to start this post by sharing some wonderful Halloween decorating ideas with you. Sadly I can not take credit for these gorgeous photos, they all come from elsewhere on the internet, most from American magazines as that is obviously where Halloween is celebrated most. They are not all about Dracula and ghost's but I hope they inspire you to get creative with your own decor, inside and out!



If you have a patio or summer house, this is a great idea to celebrate Halloween for "grown-ups". What better way to enjoy the beautiful colours this time of year has to offer than to have a gathering of friends outdoors. Wrap up in a warm jumper and serve hot apple cider !



Candles always add atmosphere to a gathering. Add some Halloween candies for a festive flavour...



More outdoor ideas...So pretty!



These next few photos offer ideas that are easy to do yourself...





String up some apples and add pretty leaves for a festive garland...



Pumpkins used as vases offer a great alternative to traditional Halloween decor!



And why not get the children to collect some large branches (particularly if you are in need of pruning in the garden!) and stand them around your door for spooky but easily acheived decoration. If you don't have acces to artificial birds, you could add "spider webs" which are easily purchased from most shops this time of year or you can even make your own with a bit of cotton/poly batting from the fabric shop. Just tease it out for an eerie effect..



or make some fun candy cones for the kids in bright colours and fill them with little treats....





I wanted to make a Halloween bunting using vintage postcards. I only have a couple vintage Halloween postcards myself but I found quite a few on the internet. (Funny how modern technology makes it easier to get vintage ideas!) I printed out quite a few to create this pretty "bunting".



If you would like to try it for yourself, you will need a length of ribbon preferably in a Halloween colour (however long you would like), some coordinating colour ribbon, copies of vintage postcards (I have included some below for you to print) , a hole punch and if you have one, a laminator.



First, print out your postcards. I print mine to 4 cards on an A4 size photopaper. I used photopaper but if you do not have a laminator you should use cardstock so that it is stronger.

If you have laminator, laminate the cards and cut off the excess and round the corners so they are not sharp. If you do not have a laminator, simply trim the cards and round the corners.



Punch a hole in each upper corner of the card and string onto your ribbon, leaving extra length at each end to create a loop to hang the bunting.



Use your extra ribbon to make little bows and glue them onto the main ribbon length between the postcards with fabric glue. I used pegs to keep them in place while they dried.

Thats it... Hang it up and enjoy!

Here are some postcards you can print out to use on your own bunting. Just click on the image to enlarge it, right click and save.

















Before I leave you today I thought I would share some thoughts of Halloween and some memories of Halloween when I was a child. For those of you in the UK, it might be a little look into this most American of holidays and how wonderful it really is...

When I moved here to the UK 20 years ago, you could not buy anything pertaining to Halloween in the shops. I suppose through the media and American movies, the shops saw a gap in the market, a chance to make more money and decided to offer a few costumes and some decorations. Over the years this has really grown and now there is an aisle in most big grocery shops dedicated to Halloween merchandise. Of course without the history of this holiday to back it up, it is still a bit of an "unknown" for many people, particularly the older generation.

When the shops began offering the goods, the kids wanted them and assumed that they could go "trick or treating" and it would be like it was in the portrayed in the American movies. A few years ago parents at Georgia's school said they were taking their kids out trick or treating and so we decided to try it too.

It was not very successful. Some people were "into" it and prepared, some opened the door and stood there staring at us (very awkward) and several even got a bit nasty, saying they didnt beleive in it, it was all wrong etc. That night Georgia developed a little worry about trick or treating and has never been keen since. The last couple years, she has had some friends over for Halloween and she lets the friend's go to the door first and if the people are friendly then she may go up to the door. This really bothers me. Afterall, where I came from, it was possibly the best night of year, with so much fun I could almost have burst with excitement!

When I was a child we spent a fair amount of time planning our costumes. Rarely did we buy one, they were usually made from things at home AND, contrary to what we do here in the UK, the costumes do not have to be scary. As a matter of fact, they are often funny, or sweet or cute.

There was a road in a little town where we once lived called Blossom Lea road. It was perfect for trick or treating, being a big circle shape. We could go down one side, get to the end , turn around and come back down the other side. Lots of houses, lots of candy. It was a big family area, almost every house had kids and so they really made an effort. My friends and I would arrange the time to meet up and off we would set. Usually this was about 7:00. The really little kids might go a bit earlier with mum or dad walking slowly behind but once we reached about 8 yrs or so we would go in a group together without parents...very exciting.



The houses on Blossom Lea always had at least some pumpkins and decorations of Indian corn and a scarecrow but many were more involved. Some houses had scary music or ghostly sounds playing on a tape recorder (this was the late 70's afterall), some had homemade ghosts standing on the lawn. One house that remains in my memory had a large cardboard coffin in the front garden by the door. Dracula laid in the coffin in full regalia and he had a huge bowl of candy on his chest. As most people had scarecrows of some sort we assumed that Dracula was simply an outfit stuffed with straw like the rest so up we all went to grab a handful of candy and suddenly "Dracula" sat up and screamed and grabbed our hand! We jumped nearly out of our skin and ran off laughing so hard we could barely catch our breath. Of course we eventually ran back and grabbed some candy. Such fun!!

I have lots of memories of little things like that and I would like to thank all those parents who put such effort into it. After all these years I still think fondly of those times and tell my kids about them.



When the trick or treating was done for the night we would go back to one our houses and spread all our candy onto the living room floor, usually while watching a semi-scary movie or Charlie Brown's Halloween on the telly. We would take out each piece of candy that was not one of our favourites and trade them with our friends. A great night was had by all...

A couple suggestions that may help here in the UK....

In the US, if a person does not want trick or treaters, they would keep the porch light off. It was a sign that they were not "doing" Halloween. This may be useful to older neighbours or relatives here in the UK who are intimidated by the strangers at the door or who can not get up and down to answer the door many times. This is what we tell my elderly mother in law and she says it has helped alot.


I have heard some people complain of having to get up and down so often to answer the door for the kids. Back home we are used to making an evening of it. We are used to someone having to be "in charge" of the door. Often times someone will set up a folding garden chair by the door and sit there with their bowl of candy so they are not up and down like a yo-yo. Many people will even sit outside, bundled up in jumpers with friends and warm drinks, waiting to greet each child and fuss over their costumes. If you look at it like a burden it will feel like one but if you look at it like it's one evening of fun for the kids and even for yourself, it is actually quite fun and has a real "feel good" factor.



Make some lovely memories for your children this year and enjoy!
Happy Halloween!!