I think we all need to have a bit of fun this year don’t we? We may not be able to go trick or treating (I think there’s quite a few people breathing a sigh of relief about that) or have Halloween parties but we can still have some fun getting creative and doing a bit of Halloween DIY.

Every year it seems to get bigger and more extravagant doesn’t it? No, not my ever-expanding waistline… Halloween!

I remember celebrating it as a child, we’d dress up as witches by putting a black bin liner over our heads and an old witches hat that had been passed down through the generations to go and knock on our neighbours doors, whilst Dad would be at home trying his very best to carve a swede (or turnip, probably the most inappropriate vegetable to carve!).

But why Pumpkins? Or turnips for that matter?

Halloween has always been huge in the U.S. with the most amazing displays of Halloween décor making its way over the pond and putting our turnip efforts to shame.

In fact, Halloween originated in northern Europe, mainly Ireland, United Kingdom and Northern France, and was originally called All Hallows Eve (later shortened to Halloween).

Carving turnips came from an Irish myth about Stingy Jack who tricked the devil and was sentenced to roam earth for eternity. People started to carve demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away Jack’s wandering soul and this is where the term Jack-O-Lantern originated from.

When Irish immigrants went to the U.S., they carved pumpkins instead as these were native to the region they moved too.

I feel that this year Halloween will not be the huge occasion that it has been in recent years. We may not see many people rushing out to buy a small countries GDP in pumpkins so they can create elaborate displays on their doorsteps.

Frankly, who can be bothered when there are no house parties or trick or treating?

But, we can still have a bit of fun indoors and help us take our minds off 2020 for a little while.

Here are a few of my favourite displays from last year

A Halloween Mantel

I’ve seen some superb fireplace Halloween decorations on Instagram and I think it’s a wonderful way to add some autumnal cheer to your living room as the nights get cosier.

It doesn’t have to be all ghosts and ghouls, a beautiful floral arrangement in autumnal colours with candles lit can do just the trick.

Bat out of Hell

If you want a quick and easy idea just to get in the mood for Halloween, how about adding some bat stickers, card cut-outs or make your own bat silhouettes and put them up your wall, over your fireplace or even on your front door.

Smashing Faux Pumpkins

Don’t fancy a “fun” afternoon of turning your dining table into a pumpkin seed factory complete with orange slime dripping off your table and your kids wielding a pumpkin knife like Michael Myers? Yeah, I didn’t fancy it this year either. So, go faux!!

I bought some foam pumpkins from amazon.co.uk and decorated them in different colours to pop on the mantel and around the house. All you need is some foam pumpkins, a few pots of tester paints and a paintbrush!

You can also buy fake pumpkins from many home stores, supermarkets and online shops and the best bit? You can keep them to use over and over again. Very sustainable. Here are a few of my favourites. 

Smashing Pumpkins

Now, I love having real pumpkins in the house (apart from having to carve them of course). But, the one thing I’m not so keen on is traipsing out onto a cold, damp, dark field in the middle of nowhere with the kids, finding massively overpriced pumpkins whilst the kids moan that they are *insert whingeing sort of noise here*.

I tell myself every year, why didn’t I just go up to Tesco and buy the ginormous ones for £2? Mainly because, we’re only going to try and keep up with the Jones’s and paint them anyway!

Either keep your Pumpkins as is (like normal people) or get creative and paint them!

Make a Wreath

A wreath is for all seasons, not just for Christmas! Instagram has totally opened my eyes to the wreath making scene and now we’re all at it (ok, not all of us. Probably about 0.1% of us that can be bothered).

You can buy wreath making supplies from places like Hobbycraft and swap out seasonal peonies for foam pumpkins (see above!) I wrote a blog post on how to create a wreath here.

The thing is, if you don’t fancy getting crafty or are just plain shit at it there are plenty of wreaths to buy online.

Create a hauntingly Halloween dinner setting

I do love a good table setting and I think autumn and Halloween is one of the best times to dress your table. Think pumpkins, autumn foliage, warming soup, candles and a few spider webs thrown in.

Halloween does seem to be getting bigger and better every year. Turnips are being replaced with pumpkins, pumpkins are being painted all the colours of the rainbow and turning up on our tables and even pets are being given the Halloween treatment with black cats taking centre stage.

I wonder what the big trend will be next year? What do you think?

Mel x