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Thursday, 18 October 2018

A Monster Mash Of Decorations For Halloween **GUEST POST**


A monster mash of decorations – Happy Halloween!
I might write a property blog but Halloween is my most favourite time of year. As a family, someone always has a Halloween party which means decorations are very important.

Parties of yesteryear were very much a horror affair with my sister taking inspiration from The Exorcist and trying to do everything she could to scare the hell out of our friends and family, yet over recent years, we have had to tone things down a bit due to the arrival of nieces and nephews.
But scaring kids is what’s Halloween is all about right? 

Looking back over parties we’ve had, I have pulled together a handful of ideas to make your Halloween party a spooktastic affair. Since a load of highstreet shops have got on board with our generation’s enthusiasm for the scariest day of the year, there’s so many places to get decorations from – my personal preference is The Range.
I am lucky that there is a Range down the road from me and for the last two years, as soon as it’s Halloween season, I have to take my now three year old to see the monsters. Their Halloween display is brilliant! Witches, zombies coming out of graves, ghosts and ghouls, flashing pumpkins and killer clowns, if you can think of it they sell it.
As a parent you don’t want the kids having nightmares for weeks but there’s nothing wrong with a gentle scare. It’s a balancing act and you need to get the balance right with the décor. Here’s my top five tips:
1. Go retro
If you can find them, some retro decorations make a really good theme for a Halloween party. Think more traditional than retro, stereotypical witches, full moons, black cats and pumpkins galore. To get your juices flowing, I love this garland that you can get on Amazon. Just click here. 


2.   Make an entrance
This is my most favourite part of decorating the house ready for Halloween. I use everything I have available to decorate the front of the house as it’s the first thing people see. It also lets little trick or treaters know that you’re taking part in the season.


I even made a wreath for the door. This was so easy thanks to Hobbycraft. I bought a polystyrene wreath, a polystyrene skull and lots of other embellishments. Go wild!

I started by painting the wreath black and then stuck the skull to it. I then attached some spiders webbing to the back – you can get this in most shops at this time of year – and then filled the middle with spiders. I then stuck some Halloween tinsel (yes it’s a thing – thanks to The Range) around the circumference of the wreath, some ribbon on the back to tie to the door knocker and voila! You have yourself a Halloween wreath.

3.  Puking pumpkins?
This is so easy and a great addition to the Halloween banquet you will prepare for your party. Every table needs a centrepiece and in my opinion, this is the perfect one.
Simply get a pumpkin, draw a scary face on the front but make the mouth pretty big. Carve it out and pop it on a plate. Make a load of guacamole – here’s a fab recipe.


Then put the guacamole into and coming out of the pumpkin’s mouth so it looks like vom – brilliant isn’t it. Surround it with tortilla chips for guests to dip into.


4.   Chomp into an edible graveyard
Another food-based decoration but a party isn’t a party without food. This is really easy to make too. Simply make a tray bake of chocolate brownies recipe here

It’s a recipe that I swear by. Buy a load of Nice biscuits and some milk chocolate, some writing icing to decorate and any other small Halloween decorations. I went for a Smarties pumpkin and some stretchy men as bodies for my exhumed grave yard. Use the tray of brownies as your base, decorate the biscuits as graves and stick them into the brownies. So simple and looks great – a grave yard decoration that you can eat!



5.       Trunk or treat
This is such a good idea if you’re not a fan of your kids going door to door. Invite your friends to decorate their car boots and the kids can go car to car. If you’re hosting a party you could man this at the front of the house when your guests are leaving so they can take some Halloween loot home. 


That’s your lot! I hope you all have a happy Halloween. It’s one of the most fun holidays of the year and a great excuse to get together with friends and family. 


These tips have been brought to you by Emma Brereton. I am the author of Building with the Breretons which is a property blog. I am based in Bolton in Greater Manchester and live with my husband and three year old little girl Brontё. We have both been in the property industry for just over a decade and property is our passion as well as family life. My blog is all about making money in the residential property industry and how to do that. We take Brontё with us to everything and it’s usually down to her that property development has become so entertaining.

Instagram: buildingwiththebreretons

xXx

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