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Simple tips to make your home Instagram-ready for Halloween
Traditionally, Filipinos flock to their respective home provinces or visit the graves of their departed loved ones during Halloween and the day after: All Saints Day. Some opt to go to Halloween costume parties to make use of the nonworking holidays, while some prefer to stay at home with their family.
During Halloween in the Philippines, people get creative. Some create from scratch their Filipino Halloween costumes from. But only a few Filipinos prep for the said holiday by decorating their homes with Halloween decor; glow-in-the-dark skulls and bones are rarely seen mounted on our walls, while jack-o-lanterns are reserved for tykes who go trick-or-treating. But Halloween need not be blah—here are some tips that might inspire you to make your home Instagram-worthy for Halloween in the Philippines.
Hanging KamBats
ABS-CBN’s ‘Hiwaga ng KamBat’ may be over. However, you can still draw Halloween decoration ideas from this drama series featuring a strange teenager with the physical features of a bat. You can hang bat pieces in pairs outside or use them as wall accents in your bedroom or living area. This easy Halloween home design project requires only a black cartolina, an illustration board, or black craft foam. Find a bat template or a cut-out of the KamBat character and trace it onto your preferred material.
Halloween Mason Jar Lanterns
Turning the lights off and using candles is an outdated method to achieve a ghostly effect. Bring out your creative side by recycling mason jars or old bottles. You may use neatly folded art paper with Halloween faces put inside the jars. Another way is by painting the recycled jars. Depending on the Halloween characters you want to create, you may paint your jars with white, green or orange poster paint and draw faces on them using a black permanent marker. You can buy 16 oz wide-mouth mason jars in some value outlets in Glorietta, Century City, and Rockwell for as low as Php70 each but if you can brave the traffic going to Divisoria, you can find deals as low as Php20 each.
Spider Webs
Spider webs are cool accents for your Halloween theme. Unless you want to wait for real spiders to spin cobwebs on your windows, pre-made spider webs are obviously the better Halloween decoration idea and can be purchased really cheap from department stores. Hang them from your light fixtures or bannisters, stick some on your doors, even on your houseplants. To complete this spooky effect, throw in a couple of plastic spiders or cutout bats.
Faux Pumpkin Fun
It is quite a pity we do not have those pretty, humongous pumpkins that we can carve or decorate for Halloween. But plastic pumpkins are the best substitute for those creepy jack-o-lanterns, and like other decorations, they can also be bought cheaply from bookstores or department stores. You can revamp it with different paint colors that match your theme or sprinkle some glitter if you are into that effect. And if you are scared of your faux pumpkins catching fire from tea light candles, do not fret as flameless battery-powered candles are available from hardware stores and can do just the trick.
Snakes Under a Mat
Literally placing store-bought rubber or plastic snakes under your doormats—simple, but can easily spook anyone who dares enter your Halloween-themed home. Just make sure you use plenty of these critters and that they are poking out of the mat where they can be easily seen.
Eye See You
Another cheap and easy Halloween decoration idea for Filipino homes that will surely make anyone scared out of their wits is to place zombie eyeball jars in different places around your house. To make these, you only need food coloring, several plastic eyeballs, mason jars, and water. Mix food coloring with water, pour into jars and dunk your plastic eyeballs. Voila! Another gruesome surprise for your guests.
Sweets for the Little Ones
Kids all over the world look forward to Halloween as this is one of the few times in the year that they can dress up in whatever costumes they like and ask for candy. Another way to spice up your pseudo-haunted house is by putting up a candy station or a candy buffet beside your door for those cute little trick-or-treaters. Place candies in glass jars of different sizes (you can get these inexpensive containers in Divisoria), in glass bowls, or beside some of your pre-arranged loot bags so you can easily distribute it to the kids.
Hanging Décor
Simple hanging decorations are the simplest and cheapest way to decorate your house for Halloween in the Philippines. You can either draw your cutouts (e.g., use black construction paper for cut out bats) or get printouts from the Internet and then hang them from your ceilings or doorways. Those versatile plastic spiders are perfect for hanging from the ceilings, too. Lastly, you can round up the family for this fun and easy Halloween craft.
