Halloween Decorations: Spook Your Trick or Treaters

Halloween Décor: Spook the Trick or Treaters

On all Hollow's Eve, children, young and old, leave their humble abodes to see out treats to fill their bellies. Some with have bellyaches, others will be jumping around from the sugar rush, and others will continue to sort their booty that they received from their neighbors.

Every year that I can remember, Halloween has become more and more of a spectacle for fun and delight. While Christmas has the bright lights and holiday cheer, Halloween showcases the dark side of ghouls and goblins. However, more and more decorations have become cute. The Jack-o-Lantern has smiles rather than scary jaws. Who's afraid of Casper the Friendly Ghost!

Here are some ideas to delight, scare or put a smile on a child's face;

• · The basic Jack-o-Lantern has been a mainstay of every Halloween. As a Jack-o-Lantern purist, you cut around the stem that then becomes the lid of the lantern. Next you scoop out the pumpkin innards, seeds and all which creates a cavity where you can leave a candle (more recently they make these LED candles to illuminate the pumpkin from the inside. Anyway, you carve out pieces of the pumpkin to review triangle eyes, nose and a crooked smile. Lately many pumpkins have been painted, and others have been carved like a piece of woodwork.
• · If you strip away you skin and muscles, you are left with Skeletons! Even Mickey Mouse had to deal with Skeletons in Fantasia! Jason and the Argonauts fought Skeletons. It's funny how a bunch of bones can fight you, yet are so easily fallen apart. You can purchase a cool skeleton or carve one out of foam!
• · Ghosts are really easy, all you need is a bed sheet and balloon for the "body" and your brigade of ghost can haunt your home for the night of evil or mischief.
• · Cobwebs are the remnants of spiders, which can be made from clumped up cotton balls held by hairspray and pulled for the effect.
• · There are plastic and very realistic looking spiders, but you can make a cute one with an egg carton and some string pipe cleaners.
• · When there are cobwebs, spiders are to be found spinning their sticky silk to capture creatures big and small
• · Fog Machines can be purchase for little money and provides a shroud for unexpected people for jump out and frighten!
• · Saying, "To be or not to be" and you hold a skull can be a great gag
• · Tombstones made of paint and foam lining your walkway can have funny sayings such as "Here lies good old Ted, so sorry you fell on your head." Usually the sayings rhyme. Enjoy making your own limerick.
• · Make a recording of creepy sounds as your guest arrive, the soundtracks from Psycho, Halloween, Friday the 13^th and so many more will put raise the hair on your visitors neck. A creaky door open is a great sound effect.

Usually every amusement park has some kind of Halloween theme during the season, Disney has a Not so Scary Halloween, Six Flags has Fright Fest, and Hershey has Hershey Park in the Dark. Six Flags has the scariest makeup and décor, while Disney and Hershey seem very tame and geared towards the younger trick or treaters!

Enjoy some of these ideas and please comment with other ideas. However you spend your Halloween, enjoy yourself and stay safe!