Too Cute to Spook

By Amanda Kingloff
August 20, 2014
These Halloween Decorations are too cute to spook! Delight even the littlest trick-or-treater with these nine bright and kooky ideas.
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Silly Spiders

Candy feet and eyes make these eight-legged critters more sweet than sinister.

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Funky Frank

Credit: Tara Donne

Create some goofy curb appeal with a mischievous monster door. Use poster board, plastic plates, and painter's tape to craft his face.

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Tricked-Out Treats

Credit: Tara Donne

Creep out the kids with a candy bowl covered in colorful critters. Cover plastic bugs with spray paint (Liquitex spray paint, $13; Michaels stores), let dry, and attach them with poster tack. Plastic bugs, $12 for 96; orientaltrading.com, Wood Wiggly Snakes, $11 for 12; orientaltrading.com

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Eerie Eyeballers

Credit: Tara Donne

Each member of this "family" is made with a Ping-Pong ball, a spool, and chenille stems. Add yarn, beads, and other supplies to give each one its own personal style.

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Tick-er Tape

Credit: Tara Donne

Stamp warnings onto crepe-paper streamers and plaster them over doorways. See & Stamp Jumbo Uppercase Stamps, $20; educationalinsights.com

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Sparkly Squash

Credit: Tara Donne

To create these bejeweled decorations, glue sequin trim to pumpkins in stripes or spirals -- no carving required! Sequin trim, $2 per roll; Michaels stores.

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Painted Pumpkins

Credit: Tara Donne

Dunk miniature pumpkins in bright hues for a modern autumnal display.

What You'll Need

Skewers, shoebox, miniature pumpkins, latex paint, bucket, painter's tape (optional)

Make It

1. Poke four skewers through shoebox to create a place to dry pumpkins.

2. Pour paint into a bucket that's wider than largest pumpkin.

3. Dip pumpkin in either straight down or at an angle and let excess drip off the bottom into bucket.

4. Rest pumpkins on skewers to drip dry. Allow to dry completely (at least 4 hours).

5. For top-dipped pumpkins, mask off stem with painter's tape, so it won't get painted, if desired.

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Glowing Gourds

Credit: Tara Donne

Welcome costumed kids with these faux pumpkins decorated with lights that you can use from year to year.

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Wacky Webs

Credit: Tara Donne

To make vibrant web decals, download a template, print, and slip into a plastic sheet protector. Trace the lines thickly on top of the protector with puffy paint; let dry overnight. Freeze for 20 minutes, peel off, and stick to a mirror. Ta-da: Spooky!

Originally published in the October 2013 issue of Parents magazine.

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