Y’all, we’ve entered the Henderson Halloween era (or so I thought…keep reading). This should be no surprise to anyone considering my arguably inappropriate love of Christmas. We’ve never decorated the outside of the house for Halloween mostly because our neighborhood in LA wasn’t a huge trick or trick area and the kids were too little to want to be scared. Well, now they are almost 8 and 10 and I’m getting a lot of pressure/excitement from them (this front door doesn’t really count, fyi, i phoned it in with what I had during lockdown). Message received and mission attempted. I got so excited – ready to do another fun project for work with my kids.
But we weren’t on the same page. They wanted bloody arms, bloody zombies, double-headed terrifying monsters with no legs that shoot out of the earth when you walk by and scream at you. I should have KNOWN what would happen – that if I went that direction they would realize that they are too scared for it to be at their house. So after going super scary on my mood board and getting so excited, I’ve paired it back to just spooky and a little bit creepy and praying that they are on board (I’m showing them things as they arrive and so far so good.)
It will be less farmhouse chic and more spooky with a vintage/creepy farm-y/harvest bent.
We are starting from zero here – we have nothing for the outside and in order to become a Halloween house by October we have to invest and come up with some solid ideas (and buy before all the good stuff sells out). We are also only doing a small portion of the property (you could easily create a Halloween amusement park here every year – creepy barn, creepy tree-lined driveway, but we are taking it slow). So I treated this like a design project – creating a mood board, assessing look and feel, and then choosing products that would work for that. I also want to be clear that I’ll have help executing this – it’s going to be a lot of work and I don’t want other moms to feel the pressure of going big. If I didn’t have Gretchen I’d likely phone it in. So hopefully this gives some fun ideas and inspiration, but without any pressure.
Front Porch Inspiration – Farm-Style
We likely won’t get trick-or-treaters where we are (so set back from the street), but our neighborhood goes off and I still want to decorate the front porch for Dustin (our UPS guy who is so lovely) and of course, any guests that we invite over (and mostly for the kids).
For this, I’m thinking big spider webs (I’ve loved these from Target for years), a skeleton or two, big spiders, pumpkins, and a ton of black spray-painted branches foraged from the wood. I also bought some hanging light-up bats that are big and high-impact. Per usual, I’m not sure what will go where until I start playing.
Creepy Old House + Covered Walkway
The covered walkway is where the kids walk home from every day and it’s what you’ll see the most (far more than the front porch). So this felt like a great opportunity to cover it in spooky cloth or webs, hang ghosts or witches, or maybe zip-tie more black branches to each post. Not sure yet but there is an opportunity there for sure.
The older house on the property (from 1850 – likely a legit haunted house) is RIPE for some boarded-up windows and a cemetery in front of it. We are trying to figure out if A. we really need to do this (it’s so much work) and B. how to do fake boarded-up windows in a way that doesn’t ruin the facade of the house and get disgusting in the rain. But these inspirations are sooooo fun:
I also really wanted to do a cemetery somewhere and found great inspirational images for them. This could be in front of the old farmhouse or even better (but less noticeable) would be the orchard in the roundabout of our driveway. I think if I went all out it would be awesome, but not sure it will have enough impact to be worth the effort.
Spooky Farm Halloween Decor I Love
So I shopped and got some staples that I know I’ve always used and loved (spiders, webs, creepy cloth) and then added even a few animatronics which feels like a stretch for me. (I love the headless Victorian dress so much). Here’s what I’m either thinking of buying or have on its way.
Staked Ghosts with Lights (Set of 3) | Halloween Bats with Flashing Eyes (Set of 3) | Crows (Set of 4)
10‘ White Giant Spiderweb | 36? Black Jumbo Spooky Fabric
50? Plush Spider | 8.5 Ft. Wide Gigantic Spider
Light-Up Ghostly Dress | Scary Animatronic Sitting Scarecrow | Standing Ghost Girl (similar to the one I bought)
FYI I’m going to return that girl – she came and she’s pretty darn awesome, but the kids (AFTER APPROVING IT) said “NO WAY”. But the headless dress is awesome. The scarecrow hasn’t arrived yet so we’ll see (I think we actually got a different one that had no face – just burlap)
Mossy Bat Tombstone | Halloween Tombstones (Set of 5) | Welcome Stay Awhile Gravestone
5pc Skeleton Groundbreaker Set | Severed Plastic Skeleton Hands | Matte Black Skull Sculpture
Pre-lit Twiggy Trees (I got one of each size) | Twig Broomstick
Dewdrop Halloween Fairy String Lights Garland | Halloween String Lights.
I fear/know that it’s going to be a lot of work, but like decorating for Christmas, I’m hoping it’s worth it (now I’m sure de-halloweening can be extreme). We’ll see what we end up executing and if any of you have tips about doing this in the PNW (i.e. with rain) let me know. I’m VERY excited – having these touch-points throughout the year and reasons to celebrate (especially while the kiddos are old enough to help but young enough to still want to help :))
*Opening Image by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: My Spooky (And Super Simple) Kid-Approved Halloween Decor
**Farmhouse Photos by Kalitin Green