Halloween Decorating Tricks For Less

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Halloween is right around the corner, and it’s time to decorate!

Without ado, here are my top four Halloween decorating tips.

1. Color

The orange and black of the season makes me so happy; ya’ll know I bleed orange, right?  Go Pokes!

Halloween can be so black and white, but I love the pops of purple and orange, especially orange, to take things to another level. 

Get your adorable glittery pumpkin here!

2. Consistency

Bats, vampires, ghosts, witches, crows, skeletons, skulls, spiders, jack-lanterns, oh my!  I tend to stick with a limited number of themes around my house.  Personally, I’m not a vampire or ghost fan, but pumpkins are definitely my jam. 

I suggest that you stick with a theme or style around your home for Halloween decorating!

More glittery pumpkins!

3. Not too spooky

Many people love the guts and gore of Halloween, but please leave it at the store for decorating your home.  Halloween décor can classy and fun without grossing everyone out or scaring the children.  I love the cutesy décor that store like Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree stock in droves. 

Stay classy with your Halloween decorating.  No need for blood and guts, friends.

This guy is the closest I've ever come to guts and gore, and honestly, I'm still on the fence about how much I like it.  

4. Height

And finally, my favorite and most importantly, height.  Huh, height?  The biggest challenge I’ve found is that all of my Halloween decorations are fairly close to the same height.  Honestly, it just makes any display look dull and boring. 

Check it out.

And here’s the final dining room display for Halloween!  You can see that varying the height of the pieces makes a huge difference in how attractive the display is.

And a bonus! 

Halloween decorating can get expensive quick (almost as fast as Christmas decorating), but…just say no!  I made this entire display for under $20. 

How?

I started with my own Halloween décor.  The lone witch’s shoe.  Add a trip to Dollar Tree and Goodwill, and we’re done. 

3 wall hangings @ $1/each from Dollar Tree (get your artsy skeleton here)

3 glittery LED-lit pumpkins @ $1/each from Dollar Tree (found here)

2 small lanterns @ $1/each from Dollar Tree 

2 pillar candles @ $1/each from Dollar Tree (found here)

1 witch’s hat @ $1/each from Dollar Tree

1 skull @ $1/each from Dollar Tree (found here)

1 BEWARE yard sign @ $1/each from Dollar Tree (found here)

1 shiney pumpkin @ $1/each from Dollar Tree (found here)

1 creepy cloth @ $1/each from Dollar Tree (found here)

1 candle holder @ $.50/each from Goodwill

3 orange ornaments that look suspiciiouly like pumpkins @ free from my Christmas décor

1 large black lantern @ free from my donate pile

= $15.50! 

My frugal soul loves to see that total!

And my time in Nebraska taught me that I should always have a decoration on my front door, so here we go!  I think these from Dollar Tree are super cute!  

    

I’d love to hear about your decorating tips and “tricks” for Halloween!  Comment below.

Mermaid Princess

Dear Mermaid Princess,

My goodness, darling, you will be two in just five days.  The time has flown by, my little love.

When you were about nine months old, you decided that you were a big girl.  I remember looking at you one day and thinking that it was a just a week or so ago that you were a baby, and suddenly, I was looking at a big girl.

You have been a big girl ever since.

You are fiercely independent and yet, sometimes you will just come over to Mommy or Daddy and cuddle.  Sometimes, you want to hold my hand, even if it's just to walk down the hallway to the kitchen.

When you were 18 months old, you literally picked up the little potty and brought it to me, saying "potty, potty,"  And since then, you have been potty training yourself.  Did I say you were a big girl?

At two, you speak in full sentences and have the vocabulary of most three year olds.

You love to sing made up songs and dance to your own songs.

You love to play cars and blocks and anything your big brother plays.

You love to play with your babydolls, feeding them and putting them to bed.

My Little Viking...the first six months

Dear Little Viking,

Mommy has pretty much failed as a mommy blogger for the past few years, so it's not surprising that I haven't posted much about you, but that doesn't mean I don't love you.  It just means that I'm being present in the lives of four wonderful children (or at least that's what I tell myself).

You were born in July on your Aunt Kelly's birthday.  It was a Saturday morning, and our doctor was supposed to go on vacation, but he put off leaving for a few hours to come in and deliver you.

You weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces.  The smallest of our babies.  Your sister was almost a full two pounds heavier than you, and all I could think was that you were so small and perfectly proportioned, but that I couldn't remember what to do with little, tiny babies.

After waiting in recovery for what seemed like forever, we were taken to our room.  Your Daddy and I marveled at how precious you were (and still are).  Later, Grandma and Grandpa brought your brother and sisters up to see you.  They were all so excited!

Later your Grandad and Mimi came to visit and then a few weeks after that, your Aunt Kiley came all the way from Las Vegas to meet you!

Once we got home, Mommy was blessed to get to teach online and stay home with you for your first six months.  Each day, week, and month you've grown and grown and grown.

You went from being our smallest baby with super skinny legs, to our only baby with super chunky thighs.

You started out as the fussiest baby, but you've grown into a very happy little boy.

  

You are our only baby with blue eyes instead of brown.  At first, I thought your eyes were going to be dark, but it became apparent very quickly that you have blue eyes like Mommy.  Daddy says that they look like a calm ocean on a cloudy day.  He's right.

You love to eat, and started eating baby food on Christmas.  You love bananas, oatmeal, sweet potatoes...well almost everything you've tried.

You learned to smile around seven weeks, and you've been smiling ever since.  Except when you're hungry, or tired, or fussy.

You started out with very little hair, but you've grown some curly wisps of light hair.

You have developed a habit of getting angry when you get tired.  It's okay, though.  I understand.

In January (just like your big brother and sister), your first tooth broke through and the second one is right behind it.

You mastered sitting up a few weeks after your first tooth starting coming in.  That means you sat up first (at the youngest age) of all of your siblings.

Rolling over?  Well, you can do it, but you usually don't unless there's a special reason to, like seeing what your siblings are up to.

You are really close to sleeping through the night.  You actually slept all the way through the night for a few nights in a row, but then you got sick.  :(

Mommy loves you, Little Viking.