Halloween – it’s not just for kids anymore! Check these Halloween decorations ideas to make this Halloween spooktacular!

Scary or not, it’s that time of year when the ghosts, goblins, super-heros, and all sorts of other characters arrive on your doorstep to party or beg for candy. It’s Halloween!

This year it will be bigger than ever. It’s projected that U.S. consumer will spend over 9 billion dollars this year. Spending on Halloween decorations in Canada has reached an all time high. It is estimated that Canadians will spend over one billion dollars this year on Halloween including decorations, costumes and, of course candy and treats. Halloween now ranks as the second most popular holiday in Canada next to Christmas based on how much we spend.

If you are like many Canadians, then you’re already thinking about Halloween decorations ideas and how you are going to decorate your home – inside and outside. Across the country, neighbourhoods have really adopted the fall festival attitude that morphs into Halloween. Whole streets have contests to see who can come up with the scariest, most unique or most beautiful Halloween decorations.

When you’re thinking of Halloween decorations ideas, there are a few things that you might want to consider. Where do you want to decorate? Outside or inside the house – or both!

Your Halloween budget is always important when taking on a decorating project. What will your financial plan look like for Halloween? Based on our experience in event planning, we’ve come up with a few suggestions that might help you out as you plan your Halloween decorations ideas for this October.

Outdoor Halloween Decorations

First impressions are key with outdoor Halloween house decorations. You want to decide on a theme for your presentation. Haunted houses, graveyard, zombie hospital, abandoned warehouse, executioner’s platform, tower of terror, alien spaceship – let your imagination run wild!

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What scary movies or TV shows have really been big this year? There are lots of terrific idea starters out there. Here’s a few outdoor decor ideas…

Big box stores like Canadian Tire, Home Depot and Lowes offer a multitude of great outdoor Halloween decorations ideas from the budget-minded to the Halloween obsessed.

You might think about starting off the fall season with some strategically placed dried grasses, harvest squash, pumpkins and colourful mums. Then, as Halloween approaches add in some ghoulish touches with lighting, touches of black, green and purple, the odd skeleton bone or gravestone. For props you might also think about eerie birds like owls or crows. A dead tree branch makes a great perch.

Here’s a couple of good articles with more Halloween decorations ideas for outside of your house.

Front Door Halloween Decorations

Once you’ve set the stage outside, you need to consider your front door decorations. Halloween door decorations can be lots of fun to create. Transfer your theme into the front door decorations. Remember to use the door to link your inside décor to the outside theme.

Doors can make great coffin lids or stone portals into another world. Add lots of 3D effects to the door and with the battery-powered, mini-lights you can add a variety of lighting effects to different components on the door. Halloween wreaths are popular and you can even include sound effects.

Remember that if you’re decorating for “trick or treat” young visitors under 12, don’t make it too frightening. If you’re planning a real scare fest for a party, then go crazy with sound effects, lighting, and maybe even some live-action, costumed characters.

Zombies continue to be popular as are the more traditional witches and vampires. Volunteers might not be too hard to find even from your teenagers and their friends.

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Indoor Halloween Decorations

Once you pass the threshold into your haunted castle, catacomb or pumpkin maze your imagination can run wild. Keep in mind that you’ll have a budget that might limit your fantasy!

Your Halloween house decorations should reflect the outside theme. If you’re having an adults only party you can ramp up the gore and spookiness factors. However, if children are the focus or if they’ll be present then consider making the event more fun and family friendly.

A can of black spray paint can be a real asset when decorating items for inside. You can recycle old household items by painting them to match your theme or construct cats, skeletons or gravestones from cardboard, foam core, insulation board or light plywood. Use sheers, torn fabric and fuzzy wool to enhance a table setting and create fun backdrops.

Don’t forget the floral arrangements too! Braches spray painted black, feathers, and fall coloured flowers are great indoors. There are loads of great ideas on the Internet for hosting Halloween parties. Here are a few links that might whet your appetite with some indoor Halloween decorations ideas.

When planning indoor parties and decorations it’s wise to consider the potential allergies that your guests might have. Use dry ice instead of smoke machines. Consider peanut free treats or set up treat stations that isolate peanuts from the other offerings.

Also keep areas well lit and use lights, signs or human guides to help people move around the room, house or yard. If it’s too dark, you’re asking for accidents to happen. Remember you want to have fun with your guests!

Halloween Budget Considerations

Once you get some great ideas together for your Halloween festivities, you have to make sure that you can afford to bring it all together. Set out a budget plan before you go shopping and give yourself a general idea of how much you want to spend on each area.

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For example, for a party you should consider the costs for outdoor decorations, indoor decorations, floral arrangements, food or catering, rentals of dishes or décor, costume(s) and clean up. It’s easy to get carried away and then struggle with what you need to cut back.

Locally, you can get some great buys on decorations for next year at the end of this year’s season. Store like Winners and Homesense bring in great pieces of affordable Halloween decorations.

Many budget conscious shoppers scour the thrift stores like the Salvation Army or Value Village for costume ideas. Discount fabric stores and warehouse clearance sales can also provide great products that meet your budget needs.

And don’t forget the on-line resources of Kijiji and Used Calgary – you never know when you might find some great buys on an old stage prop coffin or used decorations!

Spooky Halloween Decorations Ideas

Here’s a few examples we found that should get your imagination going for for this year’s Halloween.

In case you were wondering, there’s such a thing as Halloween catering :). There’s a lot of examples of decorating your tables for a festive Halloween dinner or dinners throughout the season.

There’s no shortage of Halloween decorations ideas and support for making your Halloween special. Halloween decorations in Canada are really taking off and each year just gets better. Have a really spooky time creating your Halloween decorations this year. We hope that we’ve inspired you to try something new and different for your Halloween celebration this year.

Remember that Simply Elegant is a full service event planning company and offers great catering, décor and floral arrangements for your party. Give us a call; we’d be pleased to help you make your Halloween event spooktacular!