This year I finally decorated the house for Halloween early enough to share the whole thing—hallelujah! My mom always had fun with holiday decorating, and now that I’m a mom, I love it too.
Every day I added something new, and when Arlo came home from school he would absolutely lose it with excitement. “WOAH! Bats, mama!!” “Woah! Pumpkins, mama!” His favorite dramatic reaction is still, “I scared!” (He’s not, of course.)
I worked with Command™ Brand on this post—one of my go-to brands for hanging banners and art throughout the house. They recently launched Command® Adjustables™ products, which are hugely helpful for holiday decor and parties. The new hooks and clips can be repositioned up to three times within the first 20 minutes after hanging, so you can get everything placed just right. If you’re anything like me and measure obsessively, these have been life changing.
Below I’ll show how I used them along with the rest of our Halloween decorations. Enjoy the tour!
Because our fireplace is non-functioning, I started a pumpkin fireplace tradition last year and it’s my favorite display. If you want to try it, watch for clearance pumpkins at craft stores and other retailers—you can score a bunch at great prices.
This year I added a tassel garland and turned one tassel into a ghost by making a white yarn tassel and hot-gluing a felt face on it.
Command® Adjustables™ Clips and Hooks hold items up to 1/2 lb, making them ideal for garlands, banners, string lights, and in our case, spider web decor.
Using them is simple: remove the purple liner from the adhesive strip, attach the hook or clip, peel it off the sheet, and press it to the wall. If the placement isn’t right, you can reposition up to three times within 20 minutes. Once it’s settled, press firmly for five seconds to secure it.
When the season is over, remove hooks by peeling them slowly upward from the wall. They come off cleanly without damage or sticky residue. Each pack includes enough adhesive strips to use the hooks twice, so you can pack them away for next year. Refill packs are available as well.
I even moved a rattan spider web I’d made after hanging it too low the first time—super easy to adjust.
In the dining room I draped spider web material across the shelving and secured it with Command® Adjustables™ Clips attached to the shelf sides. It worked perfectly to anchor the webbing.
Arlo’s favorite decorations are his “spooky houses” because he loves flipping their lights on and off. I’m partial to the yoga skeletons and the bats on the chandelier.
The bat theme continued into the kitchen. I hung paper bats from Command® Adjustables™ Clips on the tile backsplash and shelves, and added foam bats directly to the tile for dimension. Next year I’m thinking of mixing in a wider variety of sizes for a fuller effect.
Arlo’s room was the most fun to decorate. I made a jack-o’-lantern wall hanging from a linen napkin and felt, attaching it with bulldog clips that slip over two hooks.
We’ve been singing goodnight songs by the warm glow of the pumpkin lights, and the whole room has been glowing orange. Baby Karl—Arlo’s beloved skeleton—regularly joins in the bedtime music too.
Last year I made a bunch of tiny witches’ hats to tuck onto stuffed animals and our lion rocking horse—such an easy, playful touch.
The rest of the house gets small seasonal touches mixed into everyday decor, like my growing collection of ceramic pumpkins and the sequin spiders Arlo picked out.
Photos by Jeff Mindell
And there you have it—our cheerful Halloween home.
Do you decorate your home for Halloween? I love adding a few new pieces to my collection each year.
This post was created in partnership with Command™ Brand. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep Studio DIY going.