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DESIGN 101
Decorate Your Front Door for Halloween
You probably remember the thrill of walking up to a house decked out for Halloween. Maybe your neighbors covered their front door with creepy spiderwebs or used a fog machine to set an eerie mood. You may have even gotten spooked by an animatronic decoration or tiptoed past a scarecrow on your way to the candy bowl.
Decorating your front door for Halloween can help you create memorable experiences like these for your guests and neighbors. It’s also the perfect excuse to unleash your creativity and experiment with outdoor decor. Explore our Halloween front door decoration ideas for spooky inspiration.
When To Decorate for Halloween?
You can start decorating your home for Halloween as early as the last week of September. During this week, you may notice the leaves fading and a slight nip in the evening air as autumn approaches. This transitional period is an excellent time to begin setting up festive decorations.
Or you can always wait until the calendar officially changes to October to break out the holiday decor. Styling your front door closer to Halloween can help you get in a festive mood and build anticipation. Some people even wait until a day or two before Halloween for the biggest impact.
Halloween Decoration Ideas for Your Front Door
The front door is among the most important areas to focus on when styling your home for Halloween. After all, it’s one of the first things trick-or-treaters and visitors will see as they approach your home. Here are our top front door Halloween decorations to help you get started.
1. Mummify your fall planters
Flank your door with mummy-inspired fall planters. Start by filling containers with fall plants. We recommend using mums for a pun-tastic Halloween design.
Next, wrap the pots in rope or toilet paper to imitate a mummy’s bandages. Complete the look by adding googly eyes.
2. Add a spooky doormat
Greet your visitors with a Halloween-themed door mat featuring candy, ghosts, pumpkins, and other holiday symbols. You can also choose a doormat with a Halloween slogan, such as “Trick or treat!” or “Stay spooky.” This practical decoration adds a dash of festiveness with minimal effort.
3. Hang a Halloween garland
Adorn your front door with a cute Halloween garland. Many retailers sell ready-made chains with ghosts, pumpkins, or witch hats. You can also make a DIY garland by cutting bats and pumpkins from construction paper and hanging them on a string or wire.
4. Decorate with balloons
Balloons are an inexpensive and festive way to decorate your entryway for Halloween. Inflate orange and black balloons and tie them together to create a partial or complete arch over your doorway. The balloons will deflate within a day or two, so wait to set these decorations up until Halloween evening.
5. Assemble a natural wreath
Head outside to gather natural materials for a DIY wreath. Look for colorful items associated with autumn, such as:
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Beautiful fall leaves
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Cornstalks
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Dried grasses
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Gourds
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Pine cones
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Seasonal flowers like mums and sunflowers
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Twigs
Attach these materials to a wire wreath form for an environmentally friendly decoration that will last for weeks.
6. Write messages in chalk
Hang a chalkboard on your front door or set one up on an easel. Use orange and white chalk to write a Halloween message like “Boo!” or “Welcome to our haunted manor.” Add ghost and pumpkin doodles to complete the look, or leave out chalk so visitors can contribute to the design.
7. Surround your front door with eerie fog
Buy a portable fog machine and set it up on your porch. When night falls, turn it on to wreath your front door in tendrils of fog. This special effect will enhance your other decorations and create the perfect spooky atmosphere.
8. Create a jack-o-lantern face
You don’t need to spend hours carving a pumpkin to decorate your home with a jack-o'-lantern. Recreate the look by covering your front door with orange paper. Next, cut up black or silver paper into triangle-shaped eyes and a jagged mouth and glue the pieces to the paper. Your guests will feel like a giant pumpkin is watching them as they walk up to your home.
9. Build a scary spider web
Drape your front door with cheesecloth or stretched gauze to imitate an enormous spider web. Add realistic-looking spiders to send chills down your guests’ spines.
10. Charm visitors with a cute monster wreath
Create a playful Halloween aesthetic with an adorable monster wreath. You can repurpose an existing wreath in minutes by adding googly eyes, sharp teeth made from paper, and a bright bowtie. This simple decoration will inspire giggles instead of screams and make your guests feel welcome.
11. Greet guests with a spooky friend
Many retailers sell scarecrow and skeleton door signs made from paper or wood. Hang these decorations from your front door to welcome visitors with a cheerful friend. You can also buy a plastic skeleton to prop up in the corner next to your door for a slightly more realistic decoration.
Transition From Halloween To Thanksgiving Decor
You don’t need to abandon your front door decor entirely as soon as Halloween ends. Here are a few ways to adapt your design for Thanksgiving:
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Erase your chalkboard and draw a cornucopia.
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Frame your front door with dried corn stalks or a garland made from colorful fall leaves.
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Remove the eyes from your fall planters and wreath.
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Replace the skeletons at your entranceway with brightly colored scarecrows or pumpkins.
Design the Perfect Halloween Entryway
Decorating your front door will help you get into the spirit of Halloween. There are countless ways to style your entranceway to fit your goals and aesthetic preferences. If you want to create a playful and welcoming atmosphere, choose adorable decorations like silly monster wreaths and mummy planters. If you’re eager to spook the neighborhood kids, you can go all out with spiderwebs and a creepy fog machine.
Browse our fall home decor for more inspiration for the inside and outside of your house. You can also explore our spring front door decorating ideas so you can keep your front door decorated all year long.