It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
We LOVE Fall/Halloween time in our house. The first day of September, we instantly jump into the Halloween spirit. We are cracking out the pumpkin and ghost decorations and planning our Halloween costumes for the end of October already. Maybe Halloween has always been a fave of mine because I’m an October birthday. Maybe it would have been anyway. We’ll never know! But I am so thankful my husband and kids are more than willing to go along on the fun, spooky, pumpkin-y ride with me every year.
If you are looking to get into the Halloween spirit, look no further! Here are a few Fall inspired ideas that will get you right in a ghoulishly good mood.
Big Pumpkins, Little Pumpkins, and Everything in Between
If you want to go for more of a Halloween vibe, you can add some spooky elements…
Like I mentioned, I am rather fond of Halloween. And my husband loves anything outdoorsy, so he planted a garden this last spring. Which included pumpkins 🙂 So thanks to him and his gardening skills, we got some beautiful pumpkins this year. And also thanks to his skid loader skills, he helped in setting up these pumpkin displays. Does anyone else have something like this outside their house yet? Is it too early? I’d love to get some other ideas for pumpkin displays.
Home Depot and Grim Reapers
Grim Reaper
If you are looking for something new to add to your outdoor Halloween decor this year, are putting together a haunted house, or just want to scare the sh*t out of some trick or treaters, this Grim Reaper decoration is your guy.
The decoration was $179 from Home Depot and says five different phrases while moving his head and jaw and waving the scroll in his hand. The scroll and eyes light up. You can choose to have it cycle through the phrases repeatedly or say one each time it is activated by motion.
*Note that it does not hold up super well to wind, so make sure to bring it indoors on windy days or keep it inside if you have the space for it! Here is the link if you are interested in buying it:
7.5 ft. Grave & Bones Animated LED Fiery Reaper H20
Oh, and did I mention it’s 7 and a half feet tall?!
Skeleton Dogs
The two dog are also sold at Home Depot for $44 each. The eyes light up, the mouth moves, and they howl when activated by sound.
Home Accents Holiday 2.5 ft. Animated LED Skeleton Wolf 21PA30050 – The Home Depot
Have you made any Halloween impulse purchases this year? What have they been?
Witches Brews and Boo(ze)
After all that pumpkin patch worthy decorating, you might be thirsty. I have been in my monster lab crafting up some seriously spooky sips.
Up Your Water Game
Are you tired of boring flat water? I have been stepping up my water game lately with the Soda Maker water carbonator. It takes your water from flat to fab! Ok, enough being cheesy. But, seriously, I add some zero sugar water enhancer to my carbonated water, and it helps me drink so much more water! I use the SimpliSoda carbonator cartridges for the carbon dioxide.
The carbonator and CO2 cartridge are the cheapest ones with the best ratings I could find. I have been using them for almost a year now and they have yet to let me down. Here is where you can find them on Amazon:
Water Carbonator:
CO2 Cartridge:
You can even send in your empty CO2 cartridges for new ones at a cheaper rate!
Spooky Sips
As I said, I have been experimenting in my “lab” with different flavors to make my water drinking even more enjoyable…and festive. I like to consider the two drinks listed above my Halloween drinks. And they are super simple to make.
My go-to water enhancers are the Skittles drink mixes. They have zero sugar, just 5-10 calories per pack, and are DELICIOUS, especially in carbonated water.
To make these yummy drinks, you simple fill up the bottle that comes with the Soda Maker with water to the fill line, attach it to the carbonator, press the button until you hear the sound telling you it is done, and unscrew the bottle.
I like to put my water enhancer packets in my cup first as it is powder and seems to stir in better when added first and then pour the water over top. It also fizzes up in a really cool and refreshing way when done that way.
Magic Spell
For this one, I used about half the packet of each the Berry Punch, Strawberry, and Raspberry all from the Wild Berry collection. You can use more or less of each depending on your flavor strength preferences.
Zombie Juice
For the Zombie Juice, I simply used one Kiwi Lime packet from the Tropical collection. The carbonation really takes the flavor up a notch.
***If you want to make an adult beverage, simply add vodka. It is good in both, but I especially prefer it in the Zombie Juice.
I will be posting a list of all the drink flavors I have come up with so far in the near future.
Make it a Family Affair
Get your family in on the fun and decorate, make treats, whatever you like to do together. We had a little Halloween party for our young kids last year (and then of course had to have a Christmas and Valentine’s Day party to follow since they loved it so much :)). I’m sure we will be doing it again this year 🙂
Including your kids allows them to join in on all the fun leading up to the big day of Trick or Treating, and it is so fun to enjoy holidays from the eyes of a youngster once again. What do you like to do with your kids around Halloween? Do you have any family traditions besides Trick or Treating?
*I am not affiliated with any of the above products I shared about. I am not paid to advertise their products. They are simply products I have found and love.
Looking for some family Halloween costume ideas? Check some out here:
Family Halloween Costume Ideas – Type b-oy mom: honest Parenting and living with Four Boys