It's almost Halloween! While it's not such a big deal in South Africa, we think it should be! It's a fun, family-oriented holiday that offers the chance for you to get silly with your kids. So this year, instead of switching all the lights off and pretending you're not home on the 31st of October, why don't you get into the spirit of things (pun intended!) and have some fun with it!
We've put together a list of cute Halloween-inspired decor ideas and crafty things for you to do with the kids. They're fun, easy and inexpensive and guaranteed to put a spooky spin on your celebrations.
1. These glow-in-the-dark terrorariums look like loads of fun to make. Everything you need is listed in the step-by-step instructions. If you can't find glow-in-the-dark paint, we suggest using glow sticks. You can cut them open and use the liquid inside.
These are great as table centrepieces for a Halloween party, or you can use them as night lights. So much spooky fun!
Here are some more ideas on what to do with your glass jars and glow sticks. You can paint creepy silhouettes on them, fill them with plastic spiders and cotton ball shreds to make an eerie decoration!
These spiderweb candle holders are great to make with the kids, although a little messy! You can add a flameless LED candle - the flickering type is *perfect* for Halloween. These LED candles are great because you can use them outdoors without worrying about them blowing out, and you can use them indoors without worrying about a potential fire hazard.
Use them to line a window sill or the mantlepiece, or dot them around the garden to set the mood for your Halloween party.
Is there anything freakier than eyes glowing in the bushes? These ones are easy and cheap to make. All you need is some empty toilet roll holders, a craft knife and some glow-sticks.
We can't get enough of these Halloween-inspired glass jar crafts. Ghosts, pumpkins, monsters - the options are endless! Add a little LED candle inside for an eerie glow.
These pumpkin-faced glass jars would look awesome lined on the windowsill, peering out into the night. Or you could wrap some craft wire around the lids, tie on lengths of string and hang them from the trees. Need glow sticks? Find them here.
These milk bottle ghosts are fun, inexpensive Halloween crafty decorations. When you're done with your 2L milk carton, simply wash it well, remove the label and draw on a ghostly face with a black marker and stick a flameless candle or glow stick inside. You might have to cut a hole in the back to fit the candle inside, but no one will notice!
How freaky do these glow-in-the-dark hands look, bobbing in this pond? All you need to do is fill some latex gloves with water and pop a glow stick inside. You can float them in the swimming pool or garden water feature.
It doesn't get any easier than these balloon ghosts! Simply draw spooky faces on illoom balloons and you're good to go! If you already have balloons that you want to use, just put a glow stick inside before you blow them up.
Create a fun, spooky front door by decorating some round paper lanterns with a marker. You can draw Jack o Lantern faces onto some orange lanterns, ghost faces onto white lanterns and monster faces onto any other colour lantern - then string them up around your door. Easy!
For even more Halloween-inspired goodness:
And there you have it!
Happy Halloweeeeeen! From all of us, at Light a Lantern!