Happy spooky season, witches! Decorating for Halloween is one of my favorite traditions to do with my little girls. This year, Nova helped me decorate and it made it even more magical.
It’s our first year in our new house, which for me is my “no pressure” year. I give myself the first year to not care too much and just use what I already have to decorate. And then in a few years, when we’re more settled in I will go “FULL HAM” as Emma likes to call it and will take it up a few notches. But for this year (maybe even the first few) I’m just kind of getting to know the spaces and having fun decorating with stuff we already have from our last house. OK … let’s jump in!
Kids Sweatshirts/Etsy
My Sweater/Kiel James Patrick
Sticking bats on every possible surface is such a FUN and high impact Halloween trick. I love it! I will forever love covering my pink door with bats!
Here’s my DIY garland along with a painting our girls made! I’m so proud of them for making such a big painting.
When in doubt, add bats to everything. Easiest and cutest decor for Halloween! 🙂
So, funny story. On the day our house was being finished painted, we shot these photos and so it was like they were still painting the side of the house and we were already hanging spiders to the front … we couldn’t wait!
Boo! Our cuties like to help me with my work every once in a while, and decorating their home spooky is a good job for them. I should have taken photos of some of Nova’s decor, but it keeps changing every day. I let her go crazy with a tub of decorations, so there is basically a spider or a pumpkin in every nook of our home.
Here’s a link to Goldie’s bat hoodie.
My favorite Halloween DIY ever. 🙂
Our book collections are something I have been building up for years. Every year, I add a few more spooky and fall season books to our shelves.. I do the same thing for Christmas and also Lunar New Year. I have found it’s a really special tradition for little kids to have these seasonal book collections. Traditions are EVERYTHING.
Pick a Pumpkin, Vampire Bite, The Little Kitten, Vampirina Ballerina Hosts a Sleepover, Swep, How To Make Friends With a Ghost, You’re My Litle Pumpkin Pie, The Scariest Book Ever, Oscar Seeks a Friend, Leif and The Fall, Fiv Little Pumpkins Came Back, Trick Or Treat in Tennessee, Ghost Afraid of The Dark.
Here’s a painting by my mom, Elizabeth Chapman, in our entryway.
OK … that’s it for now! We are definitely still unpacking boxes and getting settled in, but I am glad I took an afternoon to decorate anyway! I am definitely someone who struggles with wanting everything to be done now, and I remember this feeling from when we moved five years ago.
Most of our home feels miles from where I want it to be, but it’s important to zoom out and remember that those changes take time. Childhood magic and holiday magic does NOT require a fully renovated home to take place … you can do it in a house that still has lots of unpacked boxes. Just in case someone else needed to hear that. XX! Elsie
I was looking for direction for the glitter witches shoes? Would you share them with me? The ones I saw on Pinterest
Thank you in advance.
Hi! We don’t have a tutorial for witch shoes, but here is our glitter shoes tutorial— https://abeautifulmess.com/how-to-make-glitter-shoes/
Very cute! Your girls are adorable, they did a great job with the painting! I love how you decorated the mantel and the bookshelf. Great job! This makes me want to decorate even though it is last minute lol. Happy Halloween ladies!
Setitra @ www.setitraymccain.com
Thanks for those wonderfull pictures.
How did you attach the spiders on the exterior of your house??????
Hi! We used nails that were already in the brick for most of these. But generally I think fishing line is your best bet! For my brick tape and command strips do not stick (like at all). xx!
Our favorite Halloween book is Teeny Tiny Ghost! It’s just one that I picked up at our local grocery store on a whim last year and it turned out to be so cute!
Another request for best ways to hang those spiders! Also – is the quality such that you anticipate being able to use them for multiple years? A lot of the decorations you see at big retailers looks not great (I love a bargain but dollar bin stuff doesn’t last long around here) and I think we’re ready to spend a little more in stuff that will hopefully last longer.
I love the decor you have chosen, your house looks so festive for Halloween! I bet it was so fun decorating your house. I don’t get into Halloween, but this totally makes me want to. I so need to start collecting Halloween books for my niece!
So cute and spooky! Also, your mom’s painting is so gorgeous and perfect for your home!
I love that you chose to decorate even though the rest of the house isn’t where you want it to be yet!!!! My kids are 5 & 2, and I want the holidays to be as magical for them as I remember them being for me, and I know that the decor and special traditions are a big part of that magic!
We are obsessed with Halloween around here too! I love seeing what you’ve done and the book recommendations. We love the Little Book Truck Halloween book unsure if your girls have it. 🙂
Don’t tell your mom, but her painting and the painting your little ones made kind of resemble each other… Or maybe do tell, she’ll probably love it!
Love it!! I’ve been doing a big backyard renovation but need to take some time out this week to finally hang up Halloween decorations! Your little helpers are the CUTEST! 🙂
I love the seasonal children’s books. I did the same thing when my kids were younger. Just the other day my 15 year old was asking me the name of one of the Halloween books I use to put out. He retold the story and said it was his favorite. Warms my heart!
So so so fun!!! What a great point about childhood and holiday magic. We don’t have kids but in the midst of a challenging COVID season it’s such a great reminder that magic can be very easy to make.
My parents had seasonal books for me as a child. When I moved in with my husband my parents gifted me the boxes of all our family Halloween decorations from my childhood including our books! We don’t have kids, but my little nephew comes over frequently and I’ve been able to share these books with him recently and it’s been so so special? Keep buying the girls books and gift the books to them as adults. It’s the best.
I love it all, Elsie!! So much fun ??
Do you have a link for the bookshelves? We’re they a DIY or did you buy them?
Thanks!
Thank you for sharing such sweet decorations. I remember back to the days when I always decorated for my kids and I really miss it now that they’re grown. But I’m starting to think I need to do it again just for myself and my husband.
Hi! What did you use to hang the bats and spiders? Thanks!
Absolutely beautiful! Would you be able to share your tips on hanging those Halloween spiders on brick surface? Thank you!
Your spooky house looks great!! I also appreciated what you said at the end about still enjoying the holiday magic and not needing a fully renovated home to do so. We just moved too and the to do list seems endless but we spent some time decorating for halloween yesterday and it was like instant coziness. Thanks for the gentle reminder. I am also someone who just wants all the things done NOW! 🙂
-Andrea