A relatively sane mom would just say that if the outside is decorated, that’s all that matters. That’s all anyone is going to see anyway, right?
Yes, well, you’re not talking to anyone reasonably sane. I have three daughters – it takes a toll on your mental faculties.
Here are a few inexpensive and easy ways to spruce up the inside of your house for Halloween. Look at it this way – the decorations hide the dust and the dirty windows!
Tip #6. Turn the little ones loose with tape!
Notice the couch in front of the bay window, just the right size for little climbers. My beauty girls are always climbing up in this window box anyway, so they might as well have something to do! I picked up a bunch of paper decorations at the party store for under $1 each, and let the kids tape them up. They were excited to contribute to the decorating, and if the sun bleaches them out, I don’t mind tossing them and replacing them. Notice this guy on the floor, trampled and unhung. Well at cheap prices, its bound to happen. Remember to give the kids things they can handle, but if you haven’t spent a fortune on decorations when they handle it too rough (and they will) no one gets yelled at.
Tip #7. Fall broom scented with oils
I love cinnamon brooms, and if you are the creative sort, you can decorate the brooms (available at local craft stores and some supermarkets – I got mine at Wegmans) with ribbon, fall leaves, and pine cones. Or, if you’re too busy to be creative, just place the broom in a corner of the room and let the spicy smell of fall permeate the room. It smells better if the broom gets some sun on it during the day.
Now as wonderful as they make your house smell wonderful from Spetember to January. After Christmas don’t throw them away. At the end of the season, put them in a plastic bag with some cinnamon scented oil and then another plastic bag and seal it up tight. It will be there for you again next fall.
One note, this picture requires you to clean those wonderful hardwood floors. See Tip #1 above for more details on how to make that happen.
Tip #8. Table decorations
Nothing says Halloween like treats. Fill some glass jars with some autumn color wrapped chocolates and candy corn. They look nice clustered on the table with some decorations, and they can help keep the kids (and the husband) out of the candy that you bought for the trick or treaters.
Tip #9 Indian Corn
I only buy this because my dad always bought it. He loved the stuff. And it is a simple, festive way to celebrate the harvest season. You can hang them on a door, use them as a centerpiece (tied with ribbon, which I have but haven’t had time to add), or put them at the end of a banister. That’s probably where mine is going this year.
If you are going to hang the corn outside, use that Tabasco or cayenne pepper on it – the birds will think you’re laying out a buffet!
Tip #10. Save everything.
And I do mean everything including those window clings, left over napkins and plates, and those ghost cookie cutters you used to cut up their sandwhiches every day. Put it all in a giant orange 30 gallon tub and save it for next year. Make a fun game of opening the tubs, and let the kids be suprised all over again at what you have kept from year to year when they are they to open the lids.
Happy Halloween!
