As Halloween lovers, we all aspire to be one thing. THAT house on the block. You know which one I’m talking about: the one with the killer Halloween yard display.
Or the one with their own haunt set up in their garage. Or the one that throws a massive Halloween party on October 31st.
The Halloween house.
I'm pretty sure we all had one of those growing up. For me, it was in my friends' neighborhood. One house in their section of suburbia that went all out. The homeowner dressed as Dracula each year, and their garage turned into a spooky space full of scares and Halloween fun. Only the brave stepped foot in the garage and most ran out screaming.
It was awesome.
Someday I hope to be that house: the one with a crazy yard display and maybe a little haunt hidden in the garage for only the bravest of trick-or-treaters to wander through.
Until then, I have to dream about decorating other people's outdoor spaces, so that's exactly what we're doing today as I share some killer outdoor Halloween decorating ideas.
11 Outdoor Halloween Decorating Ideas
1. Use outdoor Halloween lighting
Lights have always been one of my favorite ways to decorate, period. The Spooky Little Apartment is full of light strings. So, naturally, this is one of my favorite ways to decorate for Halloween too.
From House to Home did a beautiful job with her yard and teaches you ALL her tricks to making it happen right here.
2. Decorate your porch or patio
Have a front porch large enough to include seating area? Or maybe you have a backyard patio where you hang out. Why not make it homey by decorating for Halloween? Add some seasonal throw pillows, lots of pumpkins and bit of spook fabric for insta-Halloween. (See more here.)
3. Create a window scene
This could be as simple as cutting out silhouettes from black construction paper and backlighting it to creating a full window display. Lots more ideas here.
4. Carve pumpkin luminaries
Luminaries were a Christmas tradition in my family growing up, but I've adopted them for Halloween too. (I used them for last year's party.) I love the idea of carving small pumpkins and hanging them along your walkway to guide party guests or trick-or-treaters to your front door.
5. Build your own cemetery gate
I fell in love with this idea for my 2016 Halloween party and ended up building my own for under $10. Yup, really. And one of these days I swear I'll put it on the blog...for now, get inspired by this one from Halloween Forum.
6. Turn your yard...into a graveyard
Or, better yet, make your entire yard a creepy cemetery! Twelve on Main has a great tutorial for how she did this using pallets. I love how rustic it looks.
7. Give your front door a theme
Like this witch door! This is such a great approach if you're totally stuck on what to do or decorating an outdoor space for the first time ever. Get even more inspiration from my villain lair front door from last Halloween.
8. Put out a spooky jack-o-lantern scarecrow
Scarecrows are creepy on their own, but I find jack-o-lantern-headed ones to be even more sinister. Perhaps because they remind me a bit of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"? This one from Pumpkin Rot is awesome.
9. Go monochromatic
Have a lot of outdoor decorations that don't necessarily go together? Using a single color light to bring it all together like this house.
10. Create a killer entrance
I love this one using purple pumpkin pails and lights for a gorgeous glowing effect.
11. Do whatever you want!
When all else fails, trust your instincts and just decorate however you want! After all, it's Halloween - any decor is awesome.
Do you decorate your yard for Halloween?
I'd love to see your photos! Share them with me on Instagram and Facebook.
Looking for more outdoor ideas? You'll love my ideas for Springoween, especially if you love gardening! You can also follow my outdoor Halloween decor board on Pinterest.
