Decorating Kids Room for Halloween

When you decorate a kids bedroom for Halloween, don't try and do it all at once - in fact, make sure that you do each step with your child as a craft project to make it more memorable. Be sure to write down stories and take photos to remember all year long. Think pop-up book on this theme. You can create a mural with paint for the background with trees, but you need multiple pieces of plywood (if you prefer) or cardboard and poster board for all of the major features.

Houses can be cut out using easy square and rectangle shapes. Use clear glitter to outline and color in glass windows. Cut out shutters and scrollwork from poster board then glue together. Depending on how tall you want a door to be, you may need 2 pieces. Cut out only the part that will open to fold over to be able to open the door. Old cabinet handles work well for a doorknob.

Be creative on the house scenes for Halloween. Use a poster in the door to show someone passing out candy, or use another tall box in front of the door opening so that a child can hide in it and jump out to scare. Creat ghostly figures in each window, and hang a string of lights around a porch or roof.

1 Give your child a collection of Halloween-themed plastic cups, goblets, bowls, fun straws, etc. to throw pretend feasts with their stuffed animals and/or friends on a small table in their room. Set the table under a cardboard or painted tree - overlooking a paper lantern moon for their relaxation time. It's a great place to read a book or do homework.

2 Glue leaves all over tree branches, or invite your child's friends over to trace their hands out for leaves to make a memorable project together. Make a leaf mobile with clear string and fake leaves to look like they are falling from the ceiling or the trees.

3 Use pet costumes or make smaller costumes for your child's favorite stuffed animals, and fill up a toy box with childrens costumes and props, with enough for all of their friends to dress up to go trick-or-treating in their bedroom. Don't forget the sheets with eye-holes cut out for easy ghosts.

4Purchase a large wicker basket to fill with silk leaves to throw around their room, and then clean up again...and to make projects with later as you find more ideas.

5Many hobby stores carry wooden ornaments with markers that can be colored and decorated, then hung as a mobile or on a mini Halloween tree.

6 Create oversized fun "candy" together. Fabric candy corn, plastic balls for gumballs, black twisted rope for licorice, painted wooden chocolate bars, craft sticks with foam ball lollipops, plastic apples, and so forth...