Guest post by By Merri Cvetan
Switch up your Halloween scenery this year. Rather than buy new decorations for every holiday, get creative with Christmas lights. Dig out your tree lights — or shop for new, updated options — and turn them into spooky Halloween decor. The best part? Reusing lights for two different holidays frees up more storage space for you. You won’t need to double up on Halloween and Christmas decor, so you can store twice as much and save money in the process.
Using your Christmas lights and a few household items, you can create unique Halloween decorations that easily transition into the winter season after October has passed. Here are three ways to get started.
1. Family Friendly Halloween Garland
This not-so-scary paper garland will delight even the youngest members of the family. It uses battery-powered lights, so you can hang it anywhere — from the mantle to a display shelf to the front window.
Start with a string of battery-powered LED lights with spherical bulbs.
Cut small holes in the middle of Halloween-themed paper cupcake liners. Use one cupcake liner for every bulb on your string of lights. If you end up with leftover liners, surprise the kids with special Halloween cupcakes!
Push each bulb through the hole in the liner and hold it in place with a bit of transparent tape.
Twist orange-and-black tinsel over the cord until it’s completely covered. Pair with additional Halloween decorations for a “boo-tiful” display. When Christmas comes around, remove the liners and swap the orange-and-black tinsel for green.
2. Spook-tacular Table
Mini icicle lights look great hanging from your eaves each December, but you can also use them to create a glowing ghost for your home in October. All you need is a small table and a white tablecloth or sheet.
Carefully staple a string of icicle lights to the underside of a small, round particleboard table.
Wrap the remaining length of lights around the table legs.
Drape a semisheer tablecloth or sheet over the table and glue on felt eyes and a mouth. Make your ghost scary or friendly — whatever suits your Halloween decorating style. This table is also great for holding holiday snacks and punch at your next Christmas get-together. Simply swap the ghost tablecloth for one with a snowflake or Christmas-themed pattern to make it party-ready.
3. Scaring Up Some Fun
Mini Christmas lights are available in a rainbow of colors. Purple is both a unique option for Christmas and the perfect way to create a creepy atmosphere for Halloween. Surprise trick-or-treaters when they approach your front door with a scary skeleton adorned in purple lights.
Create a place of honor for the skeleton with an old chair draped in black cheesecloth or fake spider webbing.
“Dress” the bones with a string of purple lights, tinsel garland, chains, and skulls.
Beware to those who dare ring the doorbell when the sun goes down! When Halloween is over, keep your purple lights out. Use them to frame your front windows, or string them along your porch at Christmastime. Your house will stand out in a sea of white lights.
Get creative with your Christmas lights and use them to decorate your home for Halloween. You’ll make the transition into the Christmas season that much easier.
Merri Cvetan is an interior designer who loves to create crafts and DIY projects. She writes about her designs for The Home Depot. Merri provides budget-friendly tips on decorating your home for the holidays, such as using string lights for Halloween. Click here for more info on the Christmas lights that Merri used in this article.
This article is editorial content that has been contributed to our site at our request and is published for the benefit of our readers. We have not been compensated for its placement.
