Ready for Halloween?  It’s only a week away, so here are some spook-tacular, not-so-gruesome Halloween ideas! I am the world’s biggest scaredy-cat, so I like “cute” Halloween decor, not the scary stuff. I’ve pulled together some of my favorite Halloween decorating, party and costume ideas for a spook-tacular Halloween! Really, they are boo-tiful! (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)

Because I was a children’s librarian for 20 years, it worked out well that the pre-schoolers I worked with weren’t into scary Halloween stuff, either.  So, first up are my easy Halloween ghost lollipops.

Lollipop ghosts.

These are great for class parties.  I have given out hundreds of these at the end of my Halloween library programs over the last 20 years.  See them in my bowl?  This was in 2006!

*As an aside, I currently work at a college library.  I always have a bowl of lollipops on my desk, and this week I turned them into ghost lollipops.  Guess what?  College students like ghost lollipops, too! 😉

So simple.  A bag of Dum-Dum lollipops, a box of tissues, orange yarn or a lot of twist-ties, and a black Sharpie marker. Easy and cute!  By the way, I always use Dum-Dums because they are very small, so they are easy for pre-schoolers to handle as well.  And since they are solid (unlike Tootsie pops), they are less messy.

Halloween ideas for outdoor decorations.

Make an elegant fall topiary that can do double-duty for Halloween.

For the fall season, they are just pumpkins, but for Halloween turn them around to show off the jack-o-lanterns at the top!

Fall:

Halloween:

Here is how I made it: Elegant fall pumpkin topiary.

This spooky eyeball wreath is so simple to make and very inexpensive, too.

Basic wire frames from the dollar store, yarn, and googly eyes make this an “eye-catching” Halloween wreath! 🙂

Find the full tutorial here: Spooky eyeball Halloween wreath.

Quirky Halloween planter.

Thread inexpensive plastic Halloween buckets on a tall pole to create a fun planter.

From my post:  Fun outdoor decorating ideas.

Halloween ideas for some more scary-good treats.

These are from my post on fun school snacks kids will gobble up.

Owl cupcakes.

Chocolate cupcakes, chocolate frosting, Oreos and M&Ms. Easy and cute!

Screaming pretzels.

Chocolate dipped pretzels and edible sugar eyes make awesome screaming pretzels!

Monster mouths.

Add sugar eyes, strawberry slice tongues and sunflower teeth to apple slices for cute monster mouths!

Quick and easy sibling Halloween costumes.

Wednesday and Pugsley Addams.

Wednesday wears a black dress with white collar and cuffs. Her hair is in braids and she carries a headless doll. Pugsley wears black shorts, socks and shoes, and a striped t-shirt. He has a pet alligator. Easy and fun!

Here is the full post on how we made them: Awesome Wednesday and Pugsley Addams costumes.

I could list pages and pages of great Halloween ideas, but I hope these help you get started!

What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid? I was a Mrs. Beasley doll from the T.V. show Family Affair when I was 5.  This was in the 70’s, so it was dress that tied in the back (one size fits NONE) and a plastic mask with tiny slits for eye holes so you couldn’t see, a tiny slit for the mouth so you couldn’t breathe, and so much condensation formed on the inside of the mask that your face was soaking wet.  Ah, yes, fun times 🙂 Oh well!  At least I didn’t get rocks like Charlie Brown!

Let me know what your favorite costume was and have a safe and happy Halloween!

~ Pam

P.S. Here is what Mrs. Beasley looked like: