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From painted pumpkins to fake spider webs, easy last-minute Halloween decorations

Celebrate your Halloween night with these simple but eye-catching decorations for your home

Amber Raiken
New York
Friday 27 October 2023 21:27 BST
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Related: Easy Halloween looks

While Halloween is only days away, there’s still some time to get your home – whether big or small – in the spooky spirit.

In the weekend leading up to Halloween, people may opt to attend a house party or small get-together rather than a night out at the bars. Or, Halloween-lovers may have already decorated their front yard with a giant skeleton and inflatable pumpkin, in preparation for the children who are trick-or-treating on Tuesday.

However, when you live in a home that isn’t very spacious and doesn’t have a front or backyard, your opportunities for decor are limited. For example, you may not have anywhere in your apartment to put the three-foot skeleton you saw online, or the viral Lewis, a towering, eight-foot jack o’ lantern sold at Target stores nationwide for $180.

On the other hand, this doesn’t mean that it’s too late to bring decorations that match the theme of the season into your home.

Here are a few easy, last-minute decorations that you can set up in your home just in time for Halloween.

Painted pumpkins

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

For this decoration, you’ll be doing some of your own artwork. You can start off by making your way to your local supermarket to pick out your pumpkin – which can be as big or small as you please. Then, grab a set of acrylic paint, which usually costs about $10, from a nearby craft store.

Whether it’s a small face or a huge black cat, paint whatever you like on your pumpkin, before picking a place for it to reside. While you may not put it at the front of your home – if you live in an apartment building – you could put it on a wide window sill or to the side of your front door.

Painted pumpkins will also last longer in your home than carved pumpkins, which generally tend to go bad within three to five days. Meanwhile, uncarved pumpkins last anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks, so you can keep the painted pumpkin until fall ends.

Garlands

Whether it’s above your front door frame or above your living room windows, inexpensive wall decor can go a long way. For example, you could buy a black garland made out of fake leaves for $17.99 on Amazon. You could also get your money’s worth for the garland by keeping it up in your home all throughout the fall, or at least until Thanksgiving. In addition, there’s also the typical garland made out of tinsel, including one black and purple option on Amazon – being sold for $9.99 – that features LED lights.

Hanging ghosts

With the help of some command strips on your wall, you can decorate any small hallway with a pack of hanging ghosts. More specifically, there’s a pack of three spooky-faced, cloth ghosts  – each of which comes with LED witch hats – being sold on Amazon for $9.99.

Window decals

While they may be a bit small, Halloween-themed gel decals are the perfect addition to any window of your house. Most of them are typically black and orange, with designs including a ghost, haunted house, moon, pumpkin, and even one that reads “Happy Halloween”. Amazon is currently selling a set of 10 stickers for $6.99.

Paper bats

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Similar to window decals, there are other stickers options that can be placed in different rooms of your house. For example, Amazon is selling a pack of 120 paper black bat stickers, and you can even stretch out the wings of the bats before putting them up – to make it look as if they’re flying. The package of bats, which come in different sizes, is currently being sold for $7.99

Fake spider webs

Spider webs made out of cotton are probably one of the easiest ways to decorate your house for the spooky holiday. After taking out a piece of the spider webs, you can simply put it on your kitchen counter, window, top of your bedroom door, or even the back of your couch. Amazon is currently selling 300-ft spider webs – along with 30 plastic spiders – for $4.99.

Orange and black tablecloths

For this one, you don’t necessarily have to buy a product that is Halloween-themed. Any orange, black, or yellow tablecloth will not only fit the aesthetic of Halloween but also of the fall season. Once you’ve set the cloth on your living room table, you can finish the decorating by simply adding a bowl of candy.

However, if you are looking for something more specific, Amazon is selling an orange tablecloth with black spider-web designs on it for $13.99.

Mason jars filled with candy

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

This decor is probably the easiest of them all, as it simply consists of grabbing a mason jar – or any old glass container with a lid – and putting some wrapped-up pieces of candy inside. As Halloween is the best time to have your candy out in the open, you can ultimately decorate your tables or kitchen counters with these jars.

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