Last Minute Halloween Decor

I have a 5 year old who is, of course, thrilled by Halloween. And yet I cannot seem to get it together to decorate for the occasion this year. 

In the past, while living in Venice, we would simply hop on our bikes or walk the pups through the canals to get our fill of spooky ghosts in palms, witches riding brooms on balconies, and pumpkins baking themselves in the SoCal sun. Here in the woods, however, I can no longer rely on neighbors for our fall fix. But, between running the business while in a state of limbo as far as our home is concerned (though we’ve made great progress this week — more on that soon!), the baby’s current sleep pattern, and the ongoing realities of life during the pandemic, I’ve felt depleted of the sort of creative energy that fuels festive DIY home projects… at least for the time being. 

Luckily we do have a handful of old metal pumpkin stakes, which we can use on the pumpkins that we’ll get at a patch later this week. (The photos of the stakes in this post are from last year’s Halloween at the Cottage.) 

Other than that, the only thing I’ve managed to muster is a dozen or so paltry paper bats, which we’ve clipped to the playroom / nursery curtains with clothespins, as well as taped to the end of chopsticks to use as shadow puppets.  (These types of paper cutouts are often at craft supply stores, but they’re also easy to make at home with a compact Circuit Joy.) 

Surprisingly the bats have satiated our little one. So much so that he rearranges the paper and pins while making up stories about the animals during the day, before grabbing a flashlight and continuing the activity in shadow puppet form at night. 

All this to say: for those who are too exhausted to magic up a festive stoop or haunted house this Halloween, you’re most definitely not alone. Thankfully, all these wonderful children of ours seem fine with skipping the bags of landfill-bound faux spiderwebs and plastic cauldrons as long as they feel seen, heard, and loved.