Procrastination is a very bad habit of mine, and it rears its ugly head each and every time there’s a holiday that calls for indoor or outdoor decorating. I always mean well: I buy the lights, grab a pumpkin, get a kit to dye some eggs... and then all of a sudden it’s the night before and my house is still amazingly un-festive. Oops.
So with Halloween less than a week away and my neighbors officially showing me up with a spectacular display of fake cobwebs, bats, pumpkins, and neon lights on their half of our shared porch, I know I have no chance of out-decorating them. But I’ve still found a couple last-minute ideas for Halloween decorating that you, my fellow procrastinators, may want to steal. Let’s show those trick-or-treaters we mean business!
Decorate a Pumpkin
The pumpkin is the quintessential piece of Halloween (and fall) decor. Pumpkins are inexpensive and easy to find right now, and they make an easy decorating piece both inside and out. But if a plain orange pumpkin isn’t enough and carving isn’t your thing, there are a ton of fast ways you can jazz up this classic piece of decor. You can add colored tape...
image from Real Simple
... paint it chevron (fabulous!) ...
image from feeling lovesome
... throw on some glitter ...
image from HGTV
... or create the chalkboard paint pumpkins we mentioned in our second chalkboard paint ideas post earlier this year. Grab some chalk, write a spooky message on them, and sit them out on the porch. Fabulous!
image from The Old Painted Cottage
You can, of course, leave the pumpkins orange and undecorated. Sometimes simple is best, especially when it’s the last minute.
Make a Mummy Door
This one is perfect for those of you who expect trick-or-treaters. Sarah of Thrifty Decor Chick added some white crepe paper, a pair of eyes, and a jolly mouth to her front door. The result was this friendly looking mummy door:
image from Thrifty Decor Chick
Although Sarah reported that the crepe paper drooped after being wrapped around the door for a while, I think the end result is still adorable! It’s inexpensive, fun, and something the kids can help with.
This actually brings to mind some other door decorating ideas, too. Maybe you could use brown crepe paper, wrap the door up tight, and add some eyes, a mouth, and clawed hands to make a werewolf door. Or you could (temporarily) wrap the door up in an old, discarded white sheet or tablecloth and draw a ghost or a spooky face on it. There’s a lot you can do at the last minute with your front door, which is usually what visitors will be focused on as they arrive.
Craft Up a Table Centerpiece
If you’re planning to have visitors on Halloween that will be inside your house, as opposed to just visiting briefly for the sake of candy, you might be looking around for a decorating idea that’s fun without being childish. My suggestion is this: grab some candy—no, really—and make a table centerpiece!
image from Wants and Wishes
This table centerpiece from Wants and Wishes uses a simple empty container, candy corn and pumpkins, and small branches spray painted black to create something that is totally fun and in the spirit of Halloween. This could be done on a large scale with a tall hurricane jar, or even with a small vase.
If you don’t have branches at your disposal—which is the situation I’m in—you can grab some miniature pumpkins (real or fake) and toss them into a basket like this quick and easy project from The Yellow Cape Cod. Voila!
image from The Yellow Cape Cod
... but I have to admit that I like the candy centerpiece idea better. It’s easier to clean up, because all you need to do is eat it, and I'm not the kind of person to turn down an excuse to eat candy.
image from One Charming Party
These are just a few ideas for last minute Halloween decorating. Have any of your own to share? Be sure to leave it as a comment on this post: it could probably help out a fellow procrastinator in need of a quick decorating fix! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy some pumpkins and ask about borrowing a fog machine...
About the Author
Nicole K. is a passionate writer, creative thinker, and wall decor enthusiast who takes pride in being "in the know" about all things wall decals and is unable to turn down a good decorating project.