Celebrate fright night in style and transform your space into a scary Halloween spectacle with these creative DIY Halloween ideas. Discover crafty decoration ideas using household items, as well as last-minute Halloween costumes fit for the whole family. Plus, find spook-tacular Halloween recipe ideas, perfect for munching monsters.
01
Set the scene for your haunted house
Dim the lights, pop a creepy track on and transform your home into a spooky Halloween scene. There are plenty of simple ways to up the scare-factor with items you may already have lying around the house.
Drape white sheets over your furniture and sew on plastic spiders to give your home an eerie haunted-house feel, and cut a garbage bag into a spider web for a striking Halloween decoration to hang from the ceiling.
Top off your haunted house with some spooky sign posts made from cardboard. Why not point to the ‘Haunted Highway’, ‘Sleepy Hollow’, or ‘Witch’s Way’? Add to the danger with ‘Beware’, ‘Enter At Your Own Risk’ and ‘Keep Out’ signs.
02
Carve cute 'n' creepy pumpkins
1. Using a marker, outline a circular lid around the stem of a Halloween pumpkin.
2. Point the knife inward, then cut along the lid outline at a 45-degree angle to ensure the lid won’t fall through when you replace it.
3. Scoop out the insides of your pumpkin to hollow it out. Using a stencil or Halloween cookie cutter as a guide, mark out your desired design. You can use Blu Tack or thumb tacks to hold the stencil in place.
4. Make straight cuts into your pumpkin along the lines of your design, removing the dislodged pieces as you go.
5. You can download one of our scary Jack-O-lantern stencils to use as a template.
6. Scrape out any stringy pieces and smooth out any jagged lines to refine the edges of your design.
7. When your design is ready, insert tea lights in the bottom of your pumpkin and carefully light the candle.
8. Replace the lid, then your pumpkin is ready to scare.
03
Create an easy DIY Halloween costume
DIY monster: Cut a black garbage bag up to create bat-like wings and watch the kids pretend to soar around the house, or rustle up other household items such as socks or old stockings that can be stuffed and made into extra monster arms and legs.
DIY ghost or vampire: Throw an old white sheet over the bigger kids to turn them into a ghoulish ghost, or convert a towel or blanket into a vampire’s cloak. Add to the scare factor with Halloween makeup on the face and body.
DIY headless henchman costume: Go the extra mile with a headless henchman costume. Use an old coat hanger to keep a trenchcoat or something similar upright, then have your little one poke their head through the buttons.
Use gloves to make it look like the headless trenchcoat body is holding their head. They’re sure to love this gruesome get-up.
Running short on time to make your DIY Halloween costume? Explore our fun Halloween costume ideas for all the family.
04
How to make spook-tacular Halloween party food
Add a frightening twist to your favourite platter ingredients to make a creepy Halloween spread fit for any monster. Turn chocolate-coated strawberries into ghostly nibbles, pretzels into crunchy chocolate ghosts, and make healthier Halloween treats such as scary boo-nana frozen pops or fruity Jack-O-lanterns.