I got this question from three of my friends who moved into more “trick or treat” friendly neighborhoods. If you aren’t used to this fun neighborhood pressure you might not know what to do. I personally think that our front porch last year NAILED IT, despite very few people seeing in (besides Dustin our UPS guy) since we are very set back off the road. A few of my favorite tips are: 

1. Cemetery – High impact, low cost (or if you want to get the more high quality then you can build the “cemetery collection” over time. Here’s ours from last year🙂

2. Orange and/or purple lights – String lights, bulbs for your porch sconces, up light – at night time these make A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE. 

3. Big sprayed branches  – I know your city dwellers don’t easily find this, but it’s my favorite almost zero cost/high impact Halloween decor. Throw orange string lights or spider webs on it and you have instant impact. 

4. Creepy black stuff in your style – No, you don’t have to put a dead 100-year-old baby doll in a bird cage like I did, but look for anything that could read “creepy” and if it is black it is easier (think side tables to put pumpkins on, candelabras with black candles, spray paint an old doll house black and put faux candles in it).

5. If you are up for it (and it’s in your budget) splurge on 1-2 life-size creepy figures – Skip the animatronics that jump out at you (SO CREEPY but a witch, a ghoul, some big yard ghosts – these go a long way) 

6. Spiders, webs, and bats – These are easy to hang with command strips and make a huge impact at very little cost. 

As far as where to get this stuff? Here are some of my favorite places with varying styles and prices. 

Grandin Road

Halloween Bats with Flashing Eyes (Set of 3) | Corner Spider Web | Black Crows (Set of 4)

Pre-lit Twiggy Trees | Vintage Flicker Light Strand | Towering Reaper

Grandin Road might be my favorite place to shop for outdoor Halloween decorations. The quality is awesome and the style is elevated but still playful. I bought a bunch from them last year (including those pre-lit twiggy trees) and plan on having everything for a very long time.

Halloween.com

Giant 8 Foot Animated Skeleton Decoration | 4 Foot Inflatable Black Cat with Turning Head Decoration | 5 Piece Buried Alive Skeleton Halloween Decoration Kit

5.5FT Life-Size Venetian Victoria Ghost Girl Halloween Prop | Creepy 12 Piece Cemetery Decoration Kit | 6FT Animated Ghostly Go Round with 3 Dolls Halloween Prop

Let’s just say this is a very fun site to scroll through because they have soooo much. Personally, I love all the creepy Victorian-inspired things (those swinging dolls are WILD). But they have it all, especially in the oversized department if you have a big yard.

Target

10′ Giant Spiderweb | 10″ Lit Metal Twig Lantern | Champagne 36″ Posable Skeleton

18.6″ Wood ‘RIP’ Tombstone | 25 Light LED Black Faux Leaves Garland | 17″ Fern Artificial Wreath

My tried and true! As Target’s home style expert for 8 years, I pretty much exclusively decorated with their products during that time but I was never bummed about it. It’s always been good. Their decor understandably skews more festive and cute rather than creepy or scary, but it’s perfect to at least mix in with those other elements. I’ve used those giant spiderwebs for YEARS because they are the best!

Anthropologie/Terrain

BOO Pumpkin Stake Set | Flying Bat Wreath Hanger | Crescent Moon + Bat Iron Stake

If you want to go more “chic Halloween” then Anthro/Terrain is never a bad choice. I just did a little partnership and was so happy with all the pieces I got to choose. Good quality and awesome style. And how cute is that “BOO” pumpkin decoration??

Amazon

Halloween Crow Decorations (set of 6) | Bendable Pumpkin Arms and Legs | 8-inch Floating Candles with Wand Remote

Orange LED Flood Light Bulbs | Outdoor Hanging Grim Reaper | Black Scary Giant Fake Hairy Spider (set of 2)

This is probably an obvious one, but Amazing is such a great resource too. Especially with lighting! Those orange bulbs were the biggest hit last year because at night they totally transform your porch (or wherever you choose to put them). 10000/10. Otherwise, they also kinda have it all but it does take some scrolling:)

Hope this was helpful and that maybe you got a little inspired to decorate this weekend. To see what we did last year go here for the front porch and here for the graveyard. It’s crazy that October is basically here! xx

Opening Image Credits: Styled by Emily Henderson | Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: Our Front Porch Decorated For Halloween (+ How It Looks Spooky At Night For Trick-Or-Treaters)