A tour of the fun and exciting Halloween decor downstairs.
I decorate our main living areas for fall every year (my fall decor roundup is coming soon!), but the outside of our house and the downstairs family room are where I enjoy Halloween decor.
I started celebrating Halloween in the basement a few years ago when one of my sisters and I started a Hocus Pocus movie night tradition with our kids. Her kids are younger so I’m crazy about Halloween decorating.
Nothing is too scary, nothing is so perfectly designed. We had a movie night last week, and I thought it would be fun to share with you how I’m decorating this space for October.
The large ceramic ghost was a discovery for Michael earlier this year:
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The little skull and bat wreath have been Michael’s for a few years, and the sparkly wall bats were from Kirklands last year:
I always pick something small for the kids… I found these adorable (as they say) Halloween mugs at Target Dollar:
Our food for movie night is always quick and easy – pizza delivery, candy, Shirley Temple, and of course popcorn!
You can make basic food look festive on a themed plate!:
I’ve seen people making these everywhere, and I was about to do the same when I found this kit. It comes with everything you need – from a boiler to lights and lamps.
I was confused about the purpose of the dried branches until I looked at the directions and saw that it was supposed to look like a cauldron placed on a fire… duh! Very cute! Comes with battery operated lights for both parts.
It’s a lot of fun and I was impressed with what we got for the price.
We’ve been collecting Halloween and Christmas village items for years, and it’s not uncommon to find a new item for both each year. For a long time this was the only Halloween we offered here, but now I go to the family room.
When you come down the stairs, our ghost and Oogie Boogie greet you (holding hands, of course):
Again, it’s all cute and creepy, not scary. 😉
Changing the bulbs is another inexpensive way to give a room a festive feel without spending a lot of money. (I reuse them every year.) We absolutely love the orange and purple lights! They feel calm and definitely create an atmosphere here.
I found some cute Halloween canvas prints but couldn’t get them into frames, so I hung them on the wall with some adhesive:
Speaking of ghosts, I made a window ghost using sticky paper over 15 years ago and it’s still hanging there!:
You can get contact paper from the dollar store and make a batch of these!
I’ve had a bunch of these black crows from the dollar store for years, and I like to put them in fun places, like on top of a lamp:
These are fun projects to do with kids and you can create a collection of them for just a few dollars!
I have the supplies to try a DIY version of it but haven’t had the time to try it out. I’ll tell you how they turn out when I do!
The Halloween and Christmas villages are displayed on the bench you built under your TV. I put the black tulle on the bottom first, then add the pieces on top. When everything is set, I cover the lights around everything:
Do you spy big eyeballs 👀? They are so much fun and I have found all of ours at the dollar store over the years.
We’re basement people (that sounds weird), sure… but the colder months are our absolute favorite. It’s very convenient and fun!:
This is your reminder that not everything has to be perfectly organized, especially if you have kids! Our youngest will be 18 in a few months and still loves it when we get it all out. Who doesn’t?
I’ll still do it when he’s in college (no, I don’t want to talk about that 😂) because it’s fun and festive for all of us. We love the holidays and decorating should be fun, not a chore.
