12 Fun Halloween Decorating Ideas

Sunset Magazine

Whip up a happy holiday with pumpkin carving ideas, spooky plants, and tricks the neighborhood will love.


Easy once you know the secret
Easy once you know the secret


Sneaky jack-o'-lantern carving

Show off a traditional Halloween message in a highly unusual way. Jackie Ortega, owner of San Francisco's Craft Gym, says this project is easy to pull off once you know the secret.


A unique jack-o'-lantern
A unique jack-o'-lantern


Free pumpkin stencil

Artist Nikki McClure shares instructions for creating this unique jack-o'-lantern for Halloween.



Light enough to hang with thin wire
Light enough to hang with thin wire


Floating pumpkins

Foam pumpkins are thin enough to carve with a craft knife and light enough to hang with thin wire.

More fun ideas for pumpkins--no carving required!



A surprising twist on the traditional
A surprising twist on the traditional


Pumpkin house numbers

Pumpkin house numbers are a surprising twist on the traditional jack-o'-lantern.



All you need are a few pumpkins in feline shapes
All you need are a few pumpkins in feline shapes


Black cat o'lanterns

Create a spooky trio of glossy black cats to watch over trick-or-treaters at your door. All you need are a few pumpkins in feline shapes--long or pear-shaped for the body, small and round for the face.



Choose a globe that fits over the porch light
Choose a globe that fits over the porch light


Halloween globes

Invert a glass globe that normally goes over an electric ceiling light fixture, tuck a tea light inside, and you've got a glowing Halloween lantern.

Choose a globe that fits over the porch light and you can greet trick-or-treaters in an orange glow.


A proper greeting to the neighborhood goblins
A proper greeting to the neighborhood goblins


Glowing globes

String your Halloween lanterns along your entry for a proper greeting to the neighborhood goblins.

More spooky front-yard ideas


Encircle a few pumpkins with slender carvings
Encircle a few pumpkins with slender carvings


Beautiful, leafy pumpkins

Encircle a few pumpkins with slender carvings to add a subtle glow to your front porch.



Whimsical storybook appeal
Whimsical storybook appeal


Glowing vines

A Sunset favorite: meandering patterns add a whimsical storybook appeal to your arrangement.



Repeat a single leaf shape for a quilted look
Repeat a single leaf shape for a quilted look


Harlequin leaves

Repeat a single leaf shape for a quilted look on hollow pumpkins. (Tip: long, thin grooves at a 45° angle work best.)



No candle or seed scooping required
No candle or seed scooping required


Silhouettes

Create a centerpiece-worthy embossed effect with no candle or seed scooping required. Arrange multiple silhouetted pumpkins along the center of an outdoor table. We added stones and leaves to complete the setting.


The secret is a finishing glaze
The secret is a finishing glaze


Party pumpkins

Tiny pumpkins--or any small gourds--can be colored in minutes with acrylic paints or permanent markers. The secret to their jewel-like sparkle is a finishing glaze applied after the paint or ink has thoroughly dried.