7 Fantastic DIY Halloween Decor Ideas

When it comes to decorating, Halloween is a really great holiday.  I like to keep my decorations easy, inexpensive and fun... nothing too scary.  Here is a collection of 7 fantastic DIY Halloween decorating ideas that are guaranteed to make your home SPOOKTACULAR!

1) Pool noodle wreath - This yarn-wrapped pool noodle wreath (with dollar store embellishments) is perfect to hang on your front door for Halloween.  All your trick-or-treaters will be impressed with your style and creativity.  You can find the full tutorial for this dollar store wreath here.

2) Candy corn vases - Add a little candy corn to a vase you already have.  There isn't an easier way to create  fun and festive Halloween decor. 

3) Toilet Paper Holder - This simple Halloween decor project transforms dollar store gloves into a frightfully funny toilet paper holder.  You can find the tutorial for this dollar store glove toilet paper holder here.

4) Water jug pumpkin - Recycle old water jugs into adorable glowing jack-o-lanterns with the help of a marker and some orange glow sticks.  You can find the instructions for making this water jug pumpkin here.

5) Framed spider - Take an 8X10 dollar store frame, add some scrapbook paper and mod podge, and glue on a glittery purple spider.  Easy peasy!  You can find the full step by step tutorial here.

6) Mod Podge signs - Create festive Halloween signs out of dollar store wooden plaques and Mod Podge.  Use your imagination to come up with something unique and fabulous.  You can find the directions for my signs here and here.

7) Spooky pictures and fun frames - Transform your little ones' pictures using Picmonkey.com, and they are sure to be amazed by your creativity.  Then, frame the pictures in cheap frames embellished with glittery dollar store spiders.  You can find the full instructions here. 

Bonus: Pool noodle witch legs -With a few supplies from the dollar store, you can make this adorable and whimsical piece of Halloween decor.  You can find the full instructions here.

I love to decorate with dollar store finds mixed with DIY projects, don't you?

What is your favorite Halloween decor color combination?  As you can tell, I have a weakness for all things glittery and purple.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

10 Halloween Traditions for Kids

Holiday traditions are such an important part of childhood.  The things you do every year as a child are often the things you remember as an adult.  So, today I am sharing 10 of my family's favorite Halloween traditions.

1) Pumpkin Patch - Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch is something my boys really enjoy.  It is always lots of fun to watch the boys pick out the perfect pumpkins... and it's always a great photo op.  You can read about our pumpkin patch adventures here.

2) Booing - "Booing" involves leaving secret treats for the neighbours.  It is a fun tradition that my boys love!  You can download the free signs and instructions here.

3) Carving pumpkins and planting magic pumpkin seeds - Carving pumpkins is always a fun Halloween activity, and planting the "magic" seeds is something my boys have been doing for a couple of years.  You can read all about the magic here.

4) Halloween crafts - My boys love making seasonal crafts, and Halloween is no exception.  You can find tutorials for:  my Countdown to Halloween here and my ghost puppet here.

5) Halloween treats - My boys love to bake... and every year they love making yummy Halloween treats.  You can find 5 ideas for easy Halloween treats here.

6) Decorating for Halloween - Every year, the boys and I dig out our Halloween decorations and make our house spooktacular!  I let the boys pick out a few new things from the dollar store and they make a couple of things too.  If you are looking for a simple decoration for the kids to make, you can find the tutorial for this googly eye vase here.

7) Treats for classmates - Every year, my boys like to bring a special treat to school to share with their friends.  You can find a collection of 10 of our favorite Halloween class treats here.

8) Special lunches - I always pack a special school lunch on Halloween.  I add some cheesecloth and googly eye treats and include fun lunch box notes.  You can download some Halloween joke lunchbox notes here.

These pretzel brooms are cute too!

9) Book fairy - After trick-or-treating, the boys have a "candy draft", and then leave the remaining treats for the "book fairy".  You can read all about it here.

10) Pumpkin pizza for supper - The boys are always in a hurry to get in their costumes and head out the door, so a quick Halloween supper is a must.  This pumpkin pizza is easy... and lots of fun!

These are our 10 favorite Halloween Traditions.  I'd love to hear how you celebrate with your little ones.

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

10 Halloween Class Party Treats

My boys love bringing treats for their classmates.  Sometimes the treats are edible, and sometimes they aren't, but they are always easy, inexpensive and fun.  Here are 10 of our favorite Halloween Class Party Treats.

1)  Mummy wrapped treats - Use cheese cloth and googly eyes to transform boring treats into something spooky and special.

2)  Graham cracker bandaids - Cut up some graham crackers, add some white frosting for gauze, and finished with a smear of red gel icing blood. Simple, fun... and a little gross!

3)  Treat bags with special tags - Make traditional treat bags extra special by adding a customized tag.  Click here to find out how I transformed pictures of my boys to make these tags.

4)  Googly eye glasses - These googly eye glasses make great alternatives to candy.  You can find the full "how to" and a free downloadable bag topper here.

5)  Cookies with candy corn or candy eyeballs - For a simple treat, make your favorite cookie recipe, and add a piece of candy corn to the top.  It doesn't get any easier than this! You can find the recipe for our favorite Halloween cookie here.

6)  Photos with treats - For another candy free treat, try pairing pictures with little toys or pencils.  You can find the full tutorial here.

7)  Ghost Pops - Ghosts are always fun for Halloween, and we have two favorite ghost treats.  To learn how to make our Oreo Ghost Pops, click here.  To make the sucker ghosts: cover a sucker with a piece of tissue paper, secure with an elastic, and add a face with googly eyes and a marker.

8)  Cupcakes with rings - To make these simple cupcakes, just bake mini cupcakes and insert a plastic ring (after washing, of course).

9)  Wormy cupcakes - These are an annual favorite around here.  Bake cupcakes, frost with chocolate icing, dip in dirt (Oreo cookie crumbs), and insert some gummy worms.

10) Cookie pops - To make super-easy cookie pops, just add some sticks to some "ready to bake" cookies.  Isn't everything more fun on a stick?

Bonus.... How about a few "eyeball" treats?  You can find the full instructions for this eyeball cake here and the Halloween candy bark here.

What is your favorite class party treat?  Did it make my list?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

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PS... Don't forget the teacher.  Click HERE for all the cute DIY details of this cute teacher treat!

AND... you can find OVER 50 more Halloween ideas here. I LOVE the mummy door and the pumpkin prize punch!