Hey, girls! Even though Halloween isn’t here yet, I just couldn’t wait to dig out all my Halloween decorations! Today, I really want to share my favorite part with you: using lanterns to create that “spooky yet cute” Halloween vibe. These ideas are super simple—you can find all the supplies at Walmart or Michael’s, and most of them are perfect for DIYing with the kids!
My front porch is my main “decor battle zone”! This year, I picked vintage metal lanterns and put battery-powered LED candle lights inside (safety first, always!). I drew ghost faces or spider webs on each one with a marker, then wrapped some fake spider webs around them—and the effect is chef’s kiss! Our delivery driver even said every time he drops off packages, it feels like walking into a Halloween theme park!
The driveway and path are key decor spots too. The solar-powered skull lanterns I bought from JHY-DESIGN are the coolest thing ever! They light up automatically at dusk, with green glowing eye sockets—like little helpers crawling out of a graveyard. A trick-or-treater last year screamed in surprise when they saw them, but then ran back right away to get a better look—that’s the magic of Halloween, right?
For indoor decor, I lean more into modern-style lanterns. I hung a few homemade “witch’s cauldron” lanterns in the dining room—made from black construction paper shaped like cauldrons, with glowing green LED lights inside. When we only turn these lanterns on during dinner, even plain spaghetti looks like the witch’s secret potion! The kids are obsessed with this spooky little atmosphere.
The most fun part is our DIY time! My kids and I made Frankenstein lanterns using glass jars: we stuffed green LED light strings inside the jars and glued on stitched lines cut from construction paper. We put these on the windowsill, and from the outside, they look just like a mad scientist’s lab! The neighbor’s kids count how many new ones we’ve added every time they walk by.
Here’s my little hack: I put scented sachets in some of the lanterns—pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon scents. They not only look and smell great, but they also mask the smell of Halloween makeup! At our party last year, Uncle Tom even asked if I’d bought special Halloween candles, but they were just cheap scented sachets from Dollar Tree!
The best part, though, is the fun of prepping together as a family. The kids handle drawing ghost faces, my husband installs the solar panels, and I’m in charge of “mixing up the spooky lighting”—taping colored cellophane inside each lantern to make the light look eerie yet charming. All that laughter lights up our Halloween more than any fancy decoration ever could.
Now, every night after dark, when I look out at all those glowing little monsters in the yard, I know all this prep was totally worth it. These lanterns don’t just light up our home—they bring that unique Halloween magic and joy that only this holiday has. Hope you all get to create your own Halloween magic too!