A halloween trick & treat: diy costume and haunted house ideas

This Halloween give your home a quick makeover or make costumes for the children, or yourself, with these easy tricks and treats. Halloween lasts but for one day and night each year and while you may want to get into the spirit of things having décor that can be used and adapted each year makes economical sense. These ideas are easy to achieve and can be stored away for future use.

Jack O Lantern Window:

Denim Drift is a soft gentle colour that looks calm when coordinated with soft white and creams. Bedrooms with white walls can be given an injection of Denim Drift via a patterned bedspread which compliments your decorating style. While pale blue Roman blinds or made to measure curtains will add the on-trend colour without being overly invasive on the rest of your room.

Life size Jack decoration from Nightmare Before Christmas, in front of a window

Party Inspiration:

If you're having a Halloween party give the room an instant theme using black and orange or red voile curtains. Simply hang each colour alternately to get a spooky look that's not too scary. Add some fun orange knitted pouffes that represent pumpkins as seats and if you don't have a black table then cover yours with a black table cloth to set the scene for your spooky food and drinks.

Kids Halloween part with black and orange colour scheme

Ghosts & Ghouls:

It wouldn't be Halloween with some ghosts and ghouls floating around the home or in the garden. Ghosts are probably the easiest Halloween décor to make as you simply need plain white fabric or a white sheets. Use an inflated balloon for the head and drape the fabric or sheet over the top. Use black paper or fabric markers to give your ghost a face.

White ghost decorations stuck onto black metal railings

White towel ghosts hung at a front door porch

If you don't want to decorate your home for Halloween your children are bound to want a costume to wear when Trick or Treating or just for fun. Here's some fun costume ideas for you to make using fabrics.

Pumpkin

Orange fabric or perhaps an orange throw topped with a little green stalk end and you'll have a pumpkin. To make the roundness strap a cushion around the waist and hold in place with a belt. If you want to get more adventurous cut the fabric into a circle to achieve a pumpkin form.

Dracula

Plain black and red fabric can be transformed into a Dracula cape in no time at all. Add extra fun and scariness to the costume via face make-up and of course some false 'fangs'.

Owl

Halloween fun doesn't have to be scary, owls are cute and still have a Halloween vibe. Make an owl costume using pieces of coloured fabrics cut into a shapes to represent feathers. Layer and overlap them to get the look. You can add a hat with owl shaped ears and use leggings or tights for the legs.

Young baby dressed in a cute owl costume

Cream fabric with a cut owl pattern in orange, pink, blue and light green

Ghost

A piece of plain white fabric or a white sheet to make an easy ghost costume. Simply cut a hole to pop over the head and leave the rest of the fabric to fall and drape naturally over the arms.

Light grey fitted bed sheet in its packaging

Bat

Black fabric or curtains are ideal for making bat wings or a bat wing shaped cape. Scallop the edges to get a batty look and use plain black roll-neck sweater and tights for the rest of the costume.