Most days, you probably want visitors to feel welcome and secure in your home. But one day a year, it’s fun to scare the dickens out of them – so make the most of Halloween and all the good-natured frights that come along with the spookiest of holidays.

While your neighbors may pull out all the stops decorating outdoors for Christmas, an over-the-top Halloween display can also earn you a place in neighborhood lore. The Halloween decor experts at online retailer SeventhAvenue.com offer some tips to consider as you create a spooky playground to impress the trick-or-treaters:

* Know your audience. It might be a good idea to match the level of scary in your Halloween decorations with the age of the children you expect to come trick-or-treating. For younger children, think fun. Older kids might appreciate a good scare.

* Choose a theme. Halloween is the perfect holiday for creativity, so when it comes to the front yard, don’t limit yourself. Decorations that center around a theme are the most impactful and will delight children when walking to your doorstep. You could choose something as simple as a graveyard theme, leading visitors through a path of gravestones and creaky gates, with zombie decorations for good measure. Or use ideas from your favorite scary movie. If you need ideas, try browsing outdoor Halloween decor at online retailers like www.seventhavenue.com.

* Direct traffic. Now that you’ve chosen a theme, think about how you want your guests to experience it, beginning with the sidewalk and ending with your front door. For example, if you went with a Dracula theme you could lead your visitors to the front door with lights that resemble chandelier candles. Solar lanterns could also be used to light the path, as they won’t leave you burning through batteries or electricity. Well lit signs could also be used to lead visitors through a scavenger hunt through your front yard.

* Dress the part. To make your theme really work for you, wear a costume to the door that goes along with it. It’s a great way to get in touch with your inner child and to thrill the kids in your neighborhood.

* Safety first. While it’s great to create the scariest yard on the block, you should also make sure it’s safe. Walkways and hazards like ponds or stairs should be well lit.

* Get help from nature. The trees in your yard make a great place to hang spooky decorations. Use old grass clippings to give a spookier feel to zombies and gravestones. You can use leaves as stuffing paper for bags and figurines, filling them with life.

* Treats matter. We all know the number one reason kids look forward to Halloween is the bounty they’ll bring home from a long night of trick-or-treating. Considering that everyone else will give out candy, make your house more memorable by giving a toy related to your theme. Or, give glow bracelets that are not only fun but will also keep them safe by making them visible in the dark.

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It’s that spooky time of year again when skeletons, spider webs and gravestones make a style statement! Whether you prefer family-friendly Halloween décor for your home or want to turn your front yard into the scariest place in the neighbourhood, Canadian Tire has everything you need to plan a fun-filled Halloween for your family and friends.

Spooky front yard makeover tips

• Animated rising ghosts or skulls with spooky sounds and LED red flashing eyes are sure to thrill trick-or-treaters.

• A wide assortment of hanging ghouls and friendly fiends from Canadian Tire can give your home and yard the perfect haunted look.

• Decorate trees or plants with string lights featuring spiders or bats for that perfect creepy touch.

• A great addition to your Halloween décor is an indoor projector that allows you to project scary, haunting images on your walls and windows with spooky sound effects.

Family-friendly décor

Halloween doesn’t always have to be about scary and gruesome. Buying family-friendly décor can be a fun activity to do with the kids.

• Plan a trip to your nearest Canadian Tire store and have some fun picking out Disney decor to match your costume!

• Creating a decorative Halloween walkway in your front yard is a great way to add to your outdoor décor while ensuring a safe, well-lit path for trick-or-treating kids.

www.newscanada.com

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Ghostie

If you’re looking for some great Halloween decorating ideas, then check out these cool ideas for decorating your home for Halloween – from ghoulish to autumnal, from cute to creepy, you’ll find it all here!

Halloween Decorating Ideas

At our house we like to make Ghosties to hang in various places.  To make one like the one shown in the picture to the right, simply ball up a tissue, then place another tissue over the ball.  Wrap a pipe cleaner around to make the neck and fold the ends to make the fingers.  Then take a black pen and draw on the eyes and mouth.  Finally, sew a piece of thread through the top and loop at the top of the string so you can hang it up.  

If you’ll be entertaining this Halloween, then consider making these Creepy Halloween Centerpieces or these cute Pumpkin Candy Faces for your next Halloween hoopla.  For more great party ideas, check out 9 Decorating Tips for a Frightful Halloween Party.

Great Halloween parties start with great Halloween invitations, and these Owl Invitations could be the perfect thing to set the mood for your party.  If you want to go for a cute & creepy invitation, check out these Lollipop Ghost Halloween Invitations!

For decorating around the house, consider making these tres creepy Paper Shadows – so spooky!!  In the same vein, try making some of these Spooky Halloween Wall Decals.  You could also decorate the windows with Spidery Sills and Window Webs.

A cute Snowman Pumpkin makes a great fall decorations for indoors or outdoors!  Check out this Silver Swirl Pumpkin and this Sequin Striped Pumpkin for more interesting pumpkin decorating ideas.

For more outdoor decorating, try out some Faux Tombstones or a Spooky Sign for a creepy yard.

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Our Top 3 Spooky Halloween Decorating Ideas in Pictures

1. Illumination is key! Whether it’s Halloween, Christmas, or another holiday or event, nothing screams of festivity as much as lights do. The great thing about Halloween lights is that they’re readily available and typically very affordable – you can usually get a nice string of pumpkins or ghost lights for a few bucks at craft and home stores.

photo credit: bigwibble6

2. Halloween Trees. The latest trend in Halloween decorating is dressing up your very own Halloween tree.  Some people like to decorate the trees in their yards, while others like to get a small tree to bring inside.  Stores like Home Depot often sell Halloween trees for indoors.  

photo credit: Andrew Stawarz

photo credit: kevindooley

photo credit: r3v || cls

3. Homemade Halloween Crafts. Our family loves making Halloween crafts in anticipation of Halloween, and they can really add a unique touch to your home. Check out these awesome Halloween crafts we found on Flickr for ideas:

Decorating Halloween gourds is a fun and easy activity.

photo credit: justgrimes

Paper Halloween crafts are fun for all ages.

photo credit: Franklin Park Library

Knitted or crocheted Halloween plushes are the best!

photo credit: knittingturnip

If you’ve got some Halloween decorating ideas of your own, let us know!

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1. Halloween Tree

Party Favors & Halloween Bags:

• Halloween Grab Bags
• Spider Favor Boxes
• Halloween Candy Box
• Pumpkin Party Favor Bag

Crochet & Quilts

• Happy Halloween Candy Corn Mini Quilt
• Crocheted Ghost and Candy Corn Figurines
• Crocheted Ghost Halloween Bag

Jack o’ Lanterns, Candles & Lights:

• Secrets to a Perfect Jack-o-Lantern
• Easy-to-Make Gourd Candles
• Spooky and Glitzy Candles
• Soda Bottle Luminaries
• Halloween Lanterns

Halloween Birdhouses:

• Haunted Birdhouse
• Pumpkin Harvest Birdhouse

Halloween Treats & Party Ideas:

• Warm & Creamy Halloween Drinks
• Nutella Spiced Sugar Cookies
• Haunted Gingerbread House
• Candy-Speckled Popcorn Cakes
• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Halloween Decor:

• Halloween Tombstone Yard Decorations
• Ghastly Halloween Garland
• Pumpkin Placemat
• Make a Friendly Ghost
• Soft Sculpture Pumpkin
• Ghoulish Gourds
• Spooky Spider
• Bat & Pumpkin Mobile
• Haunted Halloween Tombstones
• Witches Brew Wall Hanging
• Haunted House Centerpiece

More Halloween Craft Projects:

Halloween Crafts – find loads of crafts to do including making a pumpkin tree, a scarecrow, a glass pumpkin candle, hanging ghosts, costumes, games, and more.

Halloween Crafts for Kids – lots of fun and easy crafts for kids of all ages, perfect for school projects or for doing with the family.

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Since these are becoming more popular, you can now easily find Halloween trees to decorate in most local home/hardware stores. Thinking of decorating your own? Here are five spooky ideas for decorating a Halloween tree:

1. Lights – a must! Nothing makes a holiday tree sparkle as much as twinkling lights, and a Halloween tree is no exception. Most that are for sale already come with lights, but if you find a tree that you want that doesn’t come with lights, fear not, Halloween lights are affordable and abundant in stores. Glowing oranges and purples will set the mood like nothing else!

2. Handmade Halloween decorations. This is what will make your tree unique and special, and you can easily make cute decorations like the following without spending a bundle:

Ghostie

To make this little guy, simply take one tissue and ball it up (for the head), and then cover the ball with another tissue. Then take one white pipe cleaner and bend it around the neck and bend the ends to make hands. Take a black marker for eyes and a mouth, and voila! You now have a ghostie to hang on your tree. Take a needle and thread and sew it through the top to create a loop for hanging.

3. Popcorn/candy corn garland. String together some popcorn and/or candy corn for use as an autumnal garland.

4. More Halloween garlands. There are lots of cool Halloween garlands available in stores that are affordable as well as attractive. Don’t be afraid to wrap one around your tree.

5. Halloween ornaments. You can now find collectible Halloween ornaments for sale at Hallmark and other stores, if you love Halloween, then slowly building a Halloween ornament collection can become a great hobby and make for a beautiful Halloween tree!

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Create a spooky graveyard in your own front yard!

photo credit: Tammra

photo credit: Tammra

A few broomsticks and some Halloween lights and/or trim can really spruce up a driveway:

photo credit: Ben+Sam

And I find that lights work for any holiday!

photo credit: Wonderlane

photo credit: alicia rae

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1. Halloween Pictures of the Week – Jack o Lanterns
2. Halloween Pictures of the Week

Nutella Spiced Sugar Cookies (recipe below)

Swarms of costumed Harry Potters, Powerpuff Girls, Pokémons, ghosts and witches will take to the streets this Halloween, begging for sweet treats from neighbors and friends. Because many parents worry about their child’s safety while trick-or-treating, do-it-yourself Halloween parties are becoming a popular alternative.

The Halloween Association (THA) indicates that Halloween is the third most-celebrated day of the year, and according to the 2000 American Express retail index, two out of three American households celebrate Halloween. Here are tips for everything from the food to the games for Halloween parties without too much fuss:

Make your own invitations
Let the kids help create invitations for the party. Decorate construction paper with colorful cut-outs, add Halloween-themed stickers or use stamps and ink to create clever invitations. Or, send e-mail invitations or online greeting cards.

Create homemade costumes
Work with your children to invent the family’s Halloween attire. This allows their imagination to reach beyond store-bought costumes and gives them a sense of pride when showing off their handiwork at the party. With a little paint and creativity, a cardboard box can become a die, a spaceship or a favorite book. Old clothing boxed-up in the attic is perfect for a retro look. Plus, you can find princess, wizard and farmer accessories in a second-hand shop.

Prepare easy-to-make Halloween-themed treats
While Halloween means candy overload for many kids and parents, hosts are heading to the kitchen to create homemade treats for partygoers. Serve goodies such as Orange Pumpkin Cupcakes (decorate orange frosting-spread cupcakes with brown and green sprinkles to create a pumpkin), Pumpkin Brains (macaroni and cheese served in a hollowed-out pumpkin with a face) and Nutella Spiced Sugar Cookies (recipe following) to add a ghostly touch. Continue the theme by serving treats on orange and black plastic tableware.

Decorate with style
To get your fright-seeking guests in the Halloween spirit, haunt a room in the house by covering windows with towels and adding cobwebs, jack-o-lanterns, black lights, pictures of witches and goblins and eerie sounds. For younger ones who won’t visit the haunted room, decorate the house with hay bundles, pumpkin lights, streamers and ghosts cut out of construction paper by the kids. Show kid-friendly Halloween-themed movies, such as “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown,” “Casper” or “Goosebumps” to add a festive mood to the party.

Play horrifically fun games
Add a Halloween twist to traditional games to keep kids occupied and make your party a hit with adults, too. Do the limbo to “Monster Mash,” conduct Halloween-themed scavenger hunts and have costume contests to add to the hair-raising experience. For even more fun, offer guests rolls of toilet paper and let them transform each other into paper-wrapped mummies or give kids markers, paper and other materials and let them decorate their own pumpkin.

Nutella Spiced Sugar Cookies
2/3 cup shortening
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Nutella
2 1/2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, sifted

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar with a hand mixer on high speed for two minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for one minute. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients on low speed just until combined. Divide the dough in half and press each piece into a disk. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Divide the dough in half and roll out each piece on wax paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes (bats, pumpkins, headstones) and bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Make the Glaze:
Heat Nutella, milk and confectioner’s sugar in a small pot over low heat until combined and slightly warm. Spread each cookie with the glaze and decorate as desired with jimmies, sprinkles, mini chips or Halloween candy. Allow to set on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. Makes 24 cookies

These cookies can be baked ahead of time and frozen, unglazed, for up to 6 weeks, if stored in an airtight container.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 210
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 22g
Fat: 12g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Sodium: 100mg
About the Author:

For additional easy-to-prepare recipes using Nutella, a chocolaty hazelnut spread from Europe, visit www.nutellausa.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com, e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

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Deck out your home with stylish Halloween decorations and accessories, call some of your favorite grown-up ghosts and goblins and have a frightening, yet grown-up, good time.

This Halloween, why let kids have all the fun? Deck out your home with stylish Halloween decorations and accessories, call some of your favorite grown-up ghosts and goblins and have a frightening, yet grown-up, good time.

If you’re going for sophistication, chances are this won’t be a your average costume party. Just make sure all your guests know they don’t have to dress like superheroes. Likewise, your decorations should reflect the holiday without sacrificing style. So out with the plastic pumpkins and cardboard skeletons.

In with the sophisticated — yet scary — accessories.

“Halloween has become the second most popular holiday in terms of decorating,” said Chris Tennyson, director of visual merchandising for Bombay. “But most of the Halloween décor is geared toward kids — it’s cartoony and silly.”

Tennyson has some advice on how to incorporate Halloween accents into your overall decorating scheme to set the scene for your party.

Make A Grand Entrance

Set the tone for the evening by greeting your guests with painted yard stakes and a Halloween wreath. Display the stakes lining the sidewalk up to the front door. Once at the door, the wreath, crafted of natural corn husks and sprinkled with orange glitter will ensure an enthusiastic entrance.

Fill your foyer with Halloween atmosphere with a collection of silver jack-o’-lanterns glowing with the light of votive candles.

“These jack-o’-lanterns are an instant show-stopper when displayed in multiples in a dark room,” Tennyson said.

Greet your guests with a glass of champagne or sparkling apple cider. Pour the bubbly from a beaker to simulate something from a mad man’s experiment.

Set A Boo-tiful Buffet

Serving buffet style makes for easy entertaining. Guests can help themselves and you can spend more time mingling and less time in the kitchen. Your food can be as simple as chips with dip, a vegetable platter and an assortment of cheeses, all from the local grocery store. Remember, presentation is everything, so display your food artfully on spider web platters or embellish the area with decorative spider webs from your local craft store. If you’d like to offer guests something more substantial, consider a soup or stew served in hollowed out miniature pumpkins instead of bowls.

A spooky spider web tablecloth is the perfect backdrop for its pumpkin punch bowl. Crafted of silver-plated brass, the punch bowl comes with a serving ladle and includes four silver pumpkin-shaped cups with handles. Add a block of dry ice to your punch bowl to easily create an eerie fog effect.

Don’t Forget The Rest Of The House

You can add a touch of Halloween to every room in the house. In the powder room, swap your everyday towels for something with a holiday theme. Light a pumpkin spice scented candle to invoke the smells of the season.

Candlelight always helps set the mood for a party, and is especially appropriate at Halloween. When the candles are lit, they cast a subtle purple glow across the room.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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