Tis the Season to be Spooky! Halloween 2015

Tis that time of year again that I get all excited and bring out the Halloween decorations. It has been a long time coming that Australians embrace the fun of Halloween. I have been embracing Halloween now for about 7 years, but I started seriously decorating my house about 2 years ago.  Last year's decorations looked a little like this.

 You might be able to see just slightly on the right hand side of this picture something glowing in the background. This was my attempt at a packing tape ghost.  These are quite easy to make and not costly, but not as easy in my opinion to set up for its best affect. A bit more planning was needed from my end, and a place to hang them up would have been helpful. Our front yard at the time was under construction as well, so I really couldn't set anything up, like this.

You can kind of see on either side of the window some masks which I had glowing mini torches in, to give them their spooky look. I purchased the masks from the Hot Dollar store and purchased the mini torches online in bulk. The bats and hands are cut out from black cardboard and stuck on the window. You can get free templates online.  The bobbled string is actually knitting wool.

These are solar lights and I scored them from Bunnings on clearance for about $2 a box. They look good and I am using them again this year.

We have two skeletons and both were purchased from Costco. This year, the skeletons were more expensive so I didn't bother getting another, though I do think two skeletons will work just fine this year. To get the glow in the dark liquid affect like this, I just used a liquid glow stick. The chunkier one is best as it's easy to pop the cap and pour on. Be careful when you do this. As you can see the affect is amazing but you need to reapply throughout the night as the glow doesn't last very long.

I picked up these pumpkins from Big W last year for $30. I try not to spend too much on my decorations. If I do spend, it has to be on something that can be reused year after year. This decoration has an adaptor so it inflates and lights up.

This year, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve. We are attempting a paper mache sculpture which we hope will be fun. I will post pics soon. I also made a rather large purchase that I am hoping will have a great affect. I am also attempting a mini haunted house.

The best thing about celebrating Halloween like this in Australia, is not too many houses do. The neighbourhood families love that they know they can send their kids to my house and check out the decorations and get a treat. It also encourages the other neighbours to get into the spirit of family fun and have treats ready for the kids as they come around. We had so many families with children come by our house last year and cars would drive by just to see the decorations. It was a lot of fun and that is why I will keep doing it!

Do you celebrate Halloween?