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Some ideas please! My grandson wants to decorate our front porch for Halloween this year.?
I haven't done anything like this in almost 20 years. Can you give me some ideas? We have a wicker porch set, with a couple of chairs and a table, and a hanging porch swing.
I don't have ANY decorations - gave them away years ago when my kids grew up, so I'll have to start from scratch.
I don't want to spend too much money - maybe $100 or less. What can we do, and where should I shop?
What could we do on our own? When my kids were little we stuffed some clothes and put a shrunken head on top, and stuff like that, but my imagination is not like it used to be.
I'm sure there are some things we could do with old clothes, or material, etc. that wouldn't cost anything.
Thanks for all your suggestions!
I don't have ANY decorations - gave them away years ago when my kids grew up, so I'll have to start from scratch.
I don't want to spend too much money - maybe $100 or less. What can we do, and where should I shop?
What could we do on our own? When my kids were little we stuffed some clothes and put a shrunken head on top, and stuff like that, but my imagination is not like it used to be.
I'm sure there are some things we could do with old clothes, or material, etc. that wouldn't cost anything.
Thanks for all your suggestions!
6 Answers
Fortunately for you, you can go to a general store like Walmart and they have tons of cheap and cool options to decorate.
You can visit several stores and find nice things. I don't think you need more than $100 to have a great decoration.
You can visit several stores and find nice things. I don't think you need more than $100 to have a great decoration.
Yeah, walmart has tons of cheap decorations you could use. Go see what they have and think of where you could put them while you are there.
You should go the dollar store, i was there wit my son last week and i bough tons of decoration they are pretty awesome,and my little one was very happy
Thrift shop:
purchase navy blue or black bed sheets and throw them over the wicker furniture, pin them down with safety pins.
Purchase a woman's dress that's flowing. Stuff the top with a stuffed bra. Tie a wire to it. When you see kids approaching the porch pull the attached wire from inside the house. The dress will be like some kind on ghost "hiding behind the covered porch furniture.
"Dollar" stores have these flickering "candles", I think four to a pack for a dollar.
Spider web stuff, stick and stretch over porch, and furniture.
They sell tapes with "scary sounds", purchase one or two, and play it so it can be heard on the porch, maybe get the player out the window, and unto the porch.
Silver glitter all over the place.
Fake spiders go great on top of fake spider webs.
Purchase a life size plastic skeleton, and hang on porch.
Of course you need a few rats placed on strategic places.
Make sure none of this stuff interferes with "trick or treaters". Little ones are not watching where they are going, and the older ones wear masks, diminishing their visual.
Never use real candles on the porch!
purchase navy blue or black bed sheets and throw them over the wicker furniture, pin them down with safety pins.
Purchase a woman's dress that's flowing. Stuff the top with a stuffed bra. Tie a wire to it. When you see kids approaching the porch pull the attached wire from inside the house. The dress will be like some kind on ghost "hiding behind the covered porch furniture.
"Dollar" stores have these flickering "candles", I think four to a pack for a dollar.
Spider web stuff, stick and stretch over porch, and furniture.
They sell tapes with "scary sounds", purchase one or two, and play it so it can be heard on the porch, maybe get the player out the window, and unto the porch.
Silver glitter all over the place.
Fake spiders go great on top of fake spider webs.
Purchase a life size plastic skeleton, and hang on porch.
Of course you need a few rats placed on strategic places.
Make sure none of this stuff interferes with "trick or treaters". Little ones are not watching where they are going, and the older ones wear masks, diminishing their visual.
Never use real candles on the porch!
You could get some white tissue paper like what you put in bags for gifts and make ghosts and hang them.Spread some web,and fake spiders on the trees,and porch.get some dry ise and a plastic coldrin and put it on the porch so it will fill the porch with smoke.Get some string and staple strands up with spiders hanging down.It wouldn't cost very much.Just a few art supplies.
I hope this helped,Angela
I hope this helped,Angela
About the only thing you really need to spend much money on are a few lights, some pumpkins , and perhaps some basic art supplies if you don't already have them lying around.
The fake cobwebs are a great "bang for the buck" item. They are basically a polyester fiber material that comes in a bag along with a half dozen plastic spiders. It only costs a couple of bucks and goes a long way towards creating that spooky look.
Another excellent item are jack-o-lantern trash bags. These are basic trash bags. However, they are orange and have a jack-o-lantern face painted on them. Not very visible at night without a light on them, but the big bonus is you get your yard raked at the same time you are making Halloween decorations.
Speaking of ghosts. Make some out of white el-cheapo trash bags and old newspaper. Just stuff a wad of crumpled up newspaper in the bottom of the bag, use one of the ties to tie it off under the wad of paper to make the neck and use a marker to make eyes, nose and mouth. Hang from the edge of the porch or a tree.
Tombstones are always a good touch, Just take any old scrap cardboard you have lying around and cut a tombstone shape. Use spray paint and/or markers to decorate.
An excellent "centerpiece" is a scarecrow made of any old clothes you have lying around. Stuff with newspaper and sit it in your chair. If you have a way to support it a jack-o-lantern makes a great head, if not, make a head similar to the ones you made for the trash bag ghosts.
Jack-o-lanterns are a must. Pumpkins are cheap, especially if you opt for a couple of smaller or mid-sized ones rather than blowing the whole budget on one huge one. You can go traditional and hack at them with a kitchen knife. However, I would highly recommend the pumpkin carving kits you can find at most stores that carry pumpkins. They are fairly inexpensive and the patterns and little tools make things *much* easier and your neighbors will be astonished at the results. And the best part is you are less likely to open a major artery while trying to carve it. In any case *DON'T JUST THROW THE SEEDS AWAY*. Wash them to get the stringy slimy stuff off, put them on a well oiled cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt, and stick them in a 350 oven for a few minutes until they just start to turn a golden brown. YUM!
If you really want to go over the top see if one of your local ice cream shops or higher end stores sells dry ice. You'll have to pick it up on Halloween day to keep it from evaporating before you use it. Just before dusk drop a chunk into a pan of hot water on the porch and watch it instantly transform the place into a spooky swamp (use gloves, of course). The down side is that you kind of have to tend to it throughout the evening because the water will start to freeze and the dry ice will evaporate. A high maintenance effect, but also a high "cool" factor as well.
Maybe spend a couple of bucks on a colored light bulb to put in the porch fixture. I would avoid the "black" light because they tend to get really hot. Additionally if it is the only light it makes it hard to see. You can spring for the full florescent fixture to use as an accent light in addition to whatever you put in the porch fixture, but that is definitely a budget blowing item.
Let's see... so far we have spent a grand total of around $50 (assuming you didn't spring for the black light fixture and didn't go nuts with the pumpkins). Put the rest into candy because with that kind of display you are sure to draw a crowd.
The fake cobwebs are a great "bang for the buck" item. They are basically a polyester fiber material that comes in a bag along with a half dozen plastic spiders. It only costs a couple of bucks and goes a long way towards creating that spooky look.
Another excellent item are jack-o-lantern trash bags. These are basic trash bags. However, they are orange and have a jack-o-lantern face painted on them. Not very visible at night without a light on them, but the big bonus is you get your yard raked at the same time you are making Halloween decorations.
Speaking of ghosts. Make some out of white el-cheapo trash bags and old newspaper. Just stuff a wad of crumpled up newspaper in the bottom of the bag, use one of the ties to tie it off under the wad of paper to make the neck and use a marker to make eyes, nose and mouth. Hang from the edge of the porch or a tree.
Tombstones are always a good touch, Just take any old scrap cardboard you have lying around and cut a tombstone shape. Use spray paint and/or markers to decorate.
An excellent "centerpiece" is a scarecrow made of any old clothes you have lying around. Stuff with newspaper and sit it in your chair. If you have a way to support it a jack-o-lantern makes a great head, if not, make a head similar to the ones you made for the trash bag ghosts.
Jack-o-lanterns are a must. Pumpkins are cheap, especially if you opt for a couple of smaller or mid-sized ones rather than blowing the whole budget on one huge one. You can go traditional and hack at them with a kitchen knife. However, I would highly recommend the pumpkin carving kits you can find at most stores that carry pumpkins. They are fairly inexpensive and the patterns and little tools make things *much* easier and your neighbors will be astonished at the results. And the best part is you are less likely to open a major artery while trying to carve it. In any case *DON'T JUST THROW THE SEEDS AWAY*. Wash them to get the stringy slimy stuff off, put them on a well oiled cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt, and stick them in a 350 oven for a few minutes until they just start to turn a golden brown. YUM!
If you really want to go over the top see if one of your local ice cream shops or higher end stores sells dry ice. You'll have to pick it up on Halloween day to keep it from evaporating before you use it. Just before dusk drop a chunk into a pan of hot water on the porch and watch it instantly transform the place into a spooky swamp (use gloves, of course). The down side is that you kind of have to tend to it throughout the evening because the water will start to freeze and the dry ice will evaporate. A high maintenance effect, but also a high "cool" factor as well.
Maybe spend a couple of bucks on a colored light bulb to put in the porch fixture. I would avoid the "black" light because they tend to get really hot. Additionally if it is the only light it makes it hard to see. You can spring for the full florescent fixture to use as an accent light in addition to whatever you put in the porch fixture, but that is definitely a budget blowing item.
Let's see... so far we have spent a grand total of around $50 (assuming you didn't spring for the black light fixture and didn't go nuts with the pumpkins). Put the rest into candy because with that kind of display you are sure to draw a crowd.
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