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Decorating for Halloween

This is my favorite time of year to decorate. It’s fun cobbling things together, letting my creative juices flow.

My 15-year-old son also loves to decorate using over-sized lawn inflatables. Between the two of us, we draw lots of passersby, though with the under five set, my son is the reigning champ.

marcia in the arms of the dragon

My friend Marcia poses with the dragon

That’s Boomdee on her recent visit, checking out the dragon after dark.
kelly with dragon inflatable

Our home office and kitchen both face the street, so part of the fun for me is watching others enjoy the decorations. Neighbors  stop to comment and occasionally pose for pictures with the giant cat or dragon. My next door neighbor runs a daycare, so those children run and play between the inflatables in the late afternoon as they wait for their parents.

Occasionally the inflatables annoy one or two dogs, which makes me smile. It’s hard to imagine what must go through the dog’s head when he sees a towering dragon suddenly appear on his daily walk. Lots of barking ensues, but by Halloween, even the dogs have sorted out real from pretend. In short, it’s a lot of fun outside my window this time of year.

Here’s what we’ve been up to.

Throughout the summer, tree rats feast on our oranges, then drop the hollowed rind to the ground. Most of the fruit decays, but several simply dried leaving a hard shell. One of them reminded me of Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream.  I started collecting the hardened rinds and created a  display.

I used one of my glass vases, some dried moss, old bits of Baby’s Breath flowers and the dried oranges. I topped it with a spooky spider for a “decadent” display. I used a burlap remnant left over from Fran’s bunting project as a table runner. You can read more about that here.

dried orange arrangement

Dried Orange Arrangement inspired by The Scream

Halloween decorations on deck

Rearranged Deck Furniture

Every year I haul out this old, plastic skeleton. The head is long gone, so I improvised with a plush pumpkin, a rain stick and my garden hat. That’s my doppelgänger this year. She has her feet up and an elongated neck from slumping too much on the couch. I seem to need an inordinate amount of sleep lately, so when I sit in the evenings on the couch, it’s not long before I fall asleep.

garden skeleton

Skeleton Gardener

Indoors, I decorated a side table with several of my autumn and Halloween treasures.

My friend Stephanie made the chalk art as a gift for last year’s birthday.

That gorgeous art canvas is the handiwork of Boomdee’s fellow Urban Girl, Lynette. Boomdee convinced her to part with this beauty and brought it all the way from Canada for my birthday.

The Halloween card is also a gift, along with the bewitched cat. It’s pretty cool having a birthday and Halloween in the same month.

indoor Halloween decor

Halloween-ready side table filled with personal treasures

Do you remember this?

dried pumpkin

Last season’s pumpkin shell

When I turned my compost pile, a shell from last year’s pumpkin rolled out in near-perfect shape. The crown is missing but no matter. I brushed away the dirt, wiped the surface with a soft rag, and painted on a bit of sparkle. Good as new. I filled the opening with a handful of green yarn and this toy ring. It’s my pumpkin send up to Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster.

compost pumpkin

The shell of a pumpkin, rescued from the compost pile

This little clay pumpkin is a favorite. My son made this in art class a few years back. He did a nice job reproducing the details of a real pumpkin from memory.

clay pumpkin

My son made this clay pumpkin one year in art class

The clock is ticking. Halloween is just four days away.

Do you like Halloween as much as we do?

33 thoughts on “Decorating for Halloween”

  2. I’m amazed you got anything done at all given what you are dealing with right now – you rock!!
    The skeleton in the chair could well be me on many days recently too! The cookie monster is just perfect and the blow up monsters are wonderful! I think I would place a chair somewhere handy and just enjoy the passing parade! I wonder how Siddy would cope with the big blow ups – there is nothing like that here! He would maybe growl or maybe run away or maybe think ‘Hey, new friends’ and go for it 🙂 If the latter I don’t think the blow ups would survive his loving!!

    Oh, and I like very much your orange nod to ‘The Scream’ Very Halloween! Have a great one xoxo

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    • Thanks for cheering me on, Pauline. I can hardly believe I once hosted a children’s party this time of year, in addition to regularly volunteering for Halloween Fun Night at the boy’s grade school. I just feel slowed down in every way. I’m drinking lots of water and tea (thank you), and sleeping at least 9 – 10 hours a night. I’ve had to defer some dental work, so between my foot and the tooth, I’m sure they are working together to slow me down. I’m looking forward to the new and improved me by the end of this year.

      So you can relate to the skeleton too, eh? Your fingers have been working non-stop on your delightful light-catchers. That, and your new garden and an active puppy would have anyone in need of having their feet up.

      What’s funny about the dogs and the inflatable is that the dogs that find it stressful are huge. One is a German Shepherd and the other a Grand Pyrenees. The little dogs don’t notice or don’t mind (or they’ve stayed home entirely ;-))

      I keep a container of dog treats in our garage and offer moral support. They’re only turned on in the evening so not too much to worry those pooches.

      Here’s a funny description of the GP: http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/great-pyrenees

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  4. You’ve done a wonderful job as usual. I LOVE the inflatables. You can make magic with nothing. I’m so impressed. I’m starting to like Halloween more every year thanks to you. We’ve decorated a bit here too. I have a plastic man and he needs to be dressed up somehow. Now I’ll give it more thought. I’m sorry you are having so much fatigue but I understand it. It will take time after the pain is gone. Pain is exhausting. Chronic pain, depleting. Giant hugs. Happy Halloweenee.

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  6. What FUN! I would dearly love to experience an all-out-proper-fall-Halloween. Being in Spring there is no natural flow with it, the colours are just all wrong!
    At some stage I am going to visit America and I WILL be diving right into the spirit of all things Halloween……
    Adore your spirit surrounding this holiday.
    I wish you plenty of good and loving healing wishes for your upcoming operation.
    You will be up and at’em in no time!

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    • Danella, thanks so much for your good wishes.

      It would be lovely to host you in America, any time of year. It’s a vast country, with much to see. Halloween is a great time to visit. There is a sparkle in the air, a certain energy that I love.

      It’s interesting for me imaging your spring and summer coinciding with Halloween and Christmas. It was strange for me to first celebrate in California have spent my first six Christmases in Ontario Canada where we always had snow on the ground and a tobagen made a nice gift. We adapted but it was different.

      I hope life is well.

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  10. LOL, I don’t remember posing for that photo! ((( You ))) Thanks for getting me with my chin up…almost imperative these days, Ha!

    I’m a bit amazed at how big those Halloween Props really are and that they’ve lasted as long as they have. I’ve marvelled at them here on your blog and it was a treat to see your yard all done up. It’s fun that M is still fond of them and set it all up too, especially while I was there. Your boys are both so tall, it’s easy to forget they’re still young.

    BTW, it seems like ions ago and it was only THIS month. Gah, I’m not going to last well for almost a year 😦 I’ll spend everyday in Maui looking around corners and perusing crowded restaurants. You done and spoiled me by ‘popping’ into San Diego, ha! I have this scenario going in my head that you’d walk out of the surf with a snorkel on like Halle Barry in James Bond. Geez, that surprise was so awesome ❤ ❤ xo

    "Fairytales can come true, it can happen to you, if you're young at heart"…… and you, my dear, are always young at heart. I love your sense of playfulness. My porch is very lame this year. A giant cob web, some glittery window decals and a big orange pumpkin, soon to be Jack-lantern. Mr B's on his own this year as I will be haunting the Urban Halloween Crop 😀 We plan for 200 kids, hopefully he'll get thru the evening.

    We had a good frost the other day that pretty much wiped out the basket flowers. Everything but the Alyssum. It just keeps going and going, not unlike your cookie monster pumpkin. LOL, a true trash to treasure moment. I can't wait to see Sharon's costume all together either. How's that wig going? She's too cute, I'm too lucky, you're too gorgeous, we're two peas in a pod…..LOL, I could go on, but up early to finish a project and off I go. Love you dearly xoxox, mwaaaaaa

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    • Oh yes! Chin up is a must, eh? [snicker] I think you’re adorable, today and always.

      M loves his inflatables. When he was two it was all about balloons, then it transferred to yard inflatables. They last about five to seven years, but we lost one this year; just too many tears in the bottom to hold the air anymore. Mike and I tried to repair it, but it was obvious it was an uphill battle (the arch). What’s great about the inflatables is that they store in a small box. Maximum effect, minimal storage space. We bought all but one off-season, too, so half off.

      It does seem like ions ago. And I agree, a year seems an eternity.

      Oh what fun it would be to surprise you in Maui. Sigh. San Diego was a blast!!! What a wonderful time we had. We maximized that 24 hours, didn’t we?

      Like Halle Barry, eh? Yep, that’s me, the age progression, really loves her chocolate, Halle Barry. Snork! You’re so cute.

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  11. you are so creative and festive!! come and dec out my house. I just love that stained glass painted sunflower on your deck. Makes me want to make one RIGHT NOW! Stunning! Glad to see you are enjoying your favourite time of year!!!

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