HELPING YOU GET HALLOWEEN READY

Pumpkin spice latte season is upon us.

As someone who burns easily in the Summer sun, the onset of Autumn is like an early Christmas present to me. Not only does it stop me from having to hide from the sun, but some of my favourite things are in Autumn and Winter. It becomes social acceptable to drink hot chocolate at any convenient time, as well as the weather permitting you to wear the cosiest oversized jumpers and trench coats.

Additionally, Halloween is the first celebration that kicks of these colder seasons for me, only to be followed up by our all-time favourite holiday, Christmas.

However, it is not always easy to go and buy a bunch of new decorations and transform your entire home into an autumnal haven. Personally, I prefer more subtle decorations, which are quick and easy to put up and eventually take down.

Therefore, I have created a small guide to Halloween. Initially, I have detailed some small and homemade decoration ideas, some of which are more autumnal than Halloween-themed, and so can be kept up all Autumn. Then I have added a short list of Halloween night activities.

Even if you want easy to set-up Halloween and autumnal decorations, there is more that you can do than light a few pumpkin-spiced candles (although I do love a pumpkin-spiced candle).

- SMALL DECORATION IDEAS -

O Little trinket dishes

I recently bought a trinket dish with a pumpkin design and it adds a little autumnal feel to my room, without taking up too much space. These dishes can also be washed and used for Charcuterie boards (see my Charcuterie board recipe).

O A few pumpkin corners

Buy a few little stuffed pumpkins or make them yourself (see later in the article about how to make pumpkins from socks) and place them in small corners to create little autumnal 'nooks'.

O Themed cushions for the centre of the bed

Invest in an autumn themed cushion to place on your made bed. This adds an instant autumnal feel, without needing to decorate very much. Additionally, you could purchase some themed bedding and make even more of a statement.

O Autumnal candles

It's the pumpkin-spiced candles' time to shine. This is a simple and effective way of giving your home that cosy and warm feeling.

- HOMEMADE DECORATIONS -

O Pumpkin bunting

How to create your own:

1. Cut out the template that I have designed and included at the end of this article.

2. Cut along the solid lines, fold along the dotted lines.

3. Fold the paper inwards and bring up so that the points marker with an 'x' meet together at the top.

4. Cut a long piece of string.

5. Tie these top points together with your string and tie the pumpkin along, about 20cm apart.

6. Now that the paper pumpkins are firmly tied along the string, draw little faces with a pencil or pen (If you are using coloured card, a pen would work best. For tissue paper, the pen may spread and so try using a pencil).

O Classic pumpkin carving

Although this should be done closer to Halloween, so that it lasts until Halloween.

O Sock pumpkins

How to create your own: see my blog post on DIY Sock Pumpkins.

O Ghost balloons

How to create your own:

1. Take a white balloon and blow it up.

2. Place the balloon inside the end of a pillowcase, leaving the end of the pillowcase open.

3. Now to create the floating part of the 'ghost', you will need to tie the pillowcase (roughly the centre of the pillowcase) to the base of the balloon. This will make the pillowcase around the balloon tight, and leave the rest floating loosely beneath the balloon.

4. For an additional step, you could stitch a thread through the top of the pillowcase (be careful not to catch the balloon as you stitch) and then use this thread to hand the decoration around your home.

- WHAT TO DO ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT -

O Halloween pizzas

I have been seeing a lot of Halloween-themed pizzas on my feed, and my favourites have to be the ghost shaped pizzas and the pumpkin shaped pizzas. These are incredibly easy to achieve, and you can simply shape the dough and then add your chosen toppings.

O Halloween cookies using Halloween shape cookie cutters

(check out my short and easy recipe for orange zest or lemon cookies)

O Halloween movie night

Collect all of your favourite horror or comfort movies and binge-watch them with a hot chocolate and snacks.

O Apple-bobbing

An old-school favourite Halloween activity.

O Make your own candy store for the night

Create your own candy store by picking all of your favourite chocolates and sweets, placing them in lots of little bowls, and having a make-shift pick and mix.

I look forward to knowing if you gave any of these ideas a go, and any ideas that you had - Happy Halloween!