Frightfully fun Halloween decorations

Make your home look boo-tiful with these spooktacular Halloween decorations! Donna Erickson, author and host of the TV show “Donna's Day,” shares her simple and easy steps to making them, as well as how you can make it a ghoulish good time for the entire family!

Halloween ghost

Tools and materials
Cheesecloth
1 balloon
1 empty 2-liter plastic bottle filled with some sand for weight
Masking tape
Sturdy wire or old wire hanger (optional)
1/2 cup liquid laundry starch
Plastic drinking cups
Black markers or self-sticking black felt
Fishing line, string or wire

Steps

1. Cut cheesecloth into a 36-inch square. Set aside.
   
2. Blow up a balloon to approximately 5 inches in diameter, knot and place on top of the 2-liter bottle. Tape the balloon securely in place with masking tape. Twist and extend wire from each side of bottle to form arm shapes if desired.
   
3. Pour 1/2 cup of liquid laundry starch in a bowl in the kitchen sink.
   
4. Immerse the cheesecloth in the starch, then squeeze out any excess. Open the cheesecloth and drape the center over the balloon and wire. If not using the wire, arrange plastic drinking cups in a circle around the bottle and extend the cheesecloth edges over the cups to create a ghost shape.
   
5. Let dry.
   
6. Use a black marker to draw eyes and a mouth on the cheesecloth while it is on the balloon or cut out eyes and mouth shapes from felt and attach to ghost. Carefully remove ghost from balloon.
   
7. To hang, make a hole at the top of the head of the ghost and thread fishing line, string or wire through the hole. Make several to display indoors or out.

Tip: Two layers of cheesecloth will give it added strength.

Talking pumpkin

Tools and materials
Large carved pumpkin
Baby monitor set or 2 walkie-talkies
Plastic to line pumpkin

Steps
Set a baby monitor or small walkie-talkie inside a carved jack-o’-lantern lined with plastic. Say spooky words in the transmitter from another room to surprise your kids when they walk by the pumpkin. Or, let your kids create the voices in a pumpkin set on your porch to greet Halloween party guests.


Ghost notes in a pumpkin tree

Tools and materials
Bare branches
Medium-size pumpkin
Markers
Floral moss or fake spiderweb
Halloween trinkets
Small metal flip-top breath-mint container
Self-stick Velcro

Steps
Poke the tree branches into the top of the pumpkin. Drape the floral moss or spiderweb on the branches. Hang small spooky trinkets such as spiders and bats from the limbs. Think of the pumpkin as the ghosts’ entrance to their haunted tree residence. Make a special door where the messages will be exchanged. Paint the front of the metal container to look like a door and attach Velcro to the back of the box. Attach the corresponding piece of Velcro to the pumpkin. Draw windows and other details directly onto the pumpkin, or make them out of paper and attach with glue. Cut small pieces of white paper for the ghost notes. Let the kids write messages, fold the paper and place it in the “door.” An adult “ghost assistant” can respond to the messages using white crayon on the back of the message. Tuck the note back in the door and when the kids retrieve it, they can paint watercolor paint over the paper to reveal the invisible note


Flashlight goblins

Tools and materials
Colorful paper lunch bags
Craft materials such as foam sheets, construction paper, pipe cleaners, fur, pom-poms
Glue
Scissors, hole punch, craft knife (adult or teen use only)
Flashlight
Rubber band

Steps
Use your imagination and think about your favorite Halloween creatures. Cut out craft materials to create a face and glue onto the paper bag, open end down. Open the bag and cut holes into the eyes, mouth and nose (this will allow light to shine through). Add more personality with fur, pom-poms, etc. Place the flashlight into the open end of the bag so switch is still visible. Gather open end of bag around flashlight and tighten with rubber band. Turn on flashlight and see your goblin glow.

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