Decorating Outside Your Home For Halloween (A Spooky Theme)

by Nicola Kennedy

The traditional pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns make great additions when you decorate the outside of your home for Halloween. The light that these decorations give off will help your guest to see their way around and add the perfect lighting to create scary shadows that surround the other decorations. Ghost and goblins are an old favorite that can still make your guest look over their shoulder twice. Don't be afraid to get very creative with these items. Some of the newer designs are now being made inflatable to help give them an even more lifelike appearance.

The use of a fog machine can create an illusion that can make your yard the spookiest of all. This is especially true when you litter the lawn with fake body parts and fake blood splattered all about the area. The fog just intensifies the whole spooky theme. Don't forget about a special door bell ring that alerts you of the incoming guest with screams, howling or some other unique Halloween greeting. You can even have a host that is decked out in one of the scariest costumes around to stand outside your door to personally welcome each and every one of you Halloween guest.

Add special sound effects that will begin whenever your guest walks past a certain area. You can also use props that are programmed on a timer to go off at specific intervals. Spider webs are also a great decorating idea that will help you to create a spooky outdoor theme. Make sure that you don't forget the customary black cat and maybe a witch or two sitting in the trees watching the guest wondering by. It's just not Halloween without a few traditional items.

About the Author
Nicola always enjoys Halloween parties. Visit her Halloween site for tips and information about Halloween Outdoor Decorations at http://Halloween-Decorations.Best-Halloween.com

This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. Copyright Best-Halloween.com

Home Safety and Home Security Tips for Homeowners at Halloween

by Karen Fritscher-Porter
Safety in the home at Halloween calls for some special care since holidays often present atypical circumstances to year-round living. Here are several home safety and home security tips for you to heed at home at Halloween. Share these Halloween safety tips with your children too.

Clear debris and items like garden hoses from your yard, driveway and walkway to create a clear, safe walking path to your door. You don't want anyone to accidentally injure himself (or sue you later).

Secure loose items you want to keep like bikes. While you should secure these anyway year-round, you wouldn't want to lose these items to theft on Halloween. And you wouldn't want someone to come back later to collect these items because they notice you don't secure them.

Test your outside porch lights to make sure they work. Add lighting as necessary to create a path for trick or treaters to see clearly when walking to your door. A well-lit clear path also should keep these visitors from tripping and trudging through your flower beds and other garden areas. Plus a working outside light helps you to see who is at your door.

If you decorate with candles, place them in spots in your home or outside where pets and people won't brush against them. You don't want pets, people or your home to catch on fire.

If you have a skittish dog or cat, put him in another room with a television on low to keep him from getting spooked everytime your doorbell rings. Also, you don't want the dog snapping at or scaring trick-or-treaters (no matter how well-trained or nice YOU think your pet is). And cats have been known to hiss and scratch when frightened by strangers. So don't allow your pets to answer the door with you. That includes your pet birds, which not only scare non-bird lovers but could fly the coop due to all the chaos it's not used to being around.

Don't feel you have to answer the door after the typical trick-or-treater rush is over. Many people open their doors freely on Halloween because they expect to see trick or treaters. Once the rush dies down, you may want to turn off your outside light to indicate you're done answering the door for the night.

Do not allow any child or adult to come into your home. Hand treats out with the door propped open or on your porch. If an adult or child says they'd like to come inside to use your phone for an emergency, do not allow these strangers to enter your home. If you feel it's necessary you can offer to make a phone call to the number they give you while they wait outside on your doorstep. Lock your door when you leave them there to enter another portion of your home. If someone asks to use your bathroom, give them directions to the nearest public restroom.

You do not want strangers following you into your home for any reason---no matter how nice, big, little, desperate or stressed they seem. Likewise, the average person who doesn't know you does not want to come into your home anyway since you are a stranger to him too. So if a stranger is asking for access to your home, be wary and do not accomodate him. If they are trick-or-treaters from the neighborhood (as they should be technically), they can return to their own home for these needs.

Practice these home and Halloween safety tips every year and teach them to your children. Home security is an important topic year-round, but holidays present special holiday safety circumstances.

About the Author
Karen Fritscher-Porter publishes http://www.easy-home-security.com --- an informational site where you can read more about holiday safety and home safety tips. Plus learn about where to buy products that aid safety in the home.