Minimal Halloween Decor
When I look back at the way my family celebrated Halloween when I was growing up, I have strong (and positive) memories of the events, the costumes and the decor at home and in school. But in this time of climate crisis, and with a child who is fascinated but clearly unsettled by certain settings and setups, I’ve found that opting for less during the holidays in general is currently the best fit for our lil’ home and family. (See our Tiny House Halloween post from last year, here.)
If we had piles of picturesque fall leaves here, I imagine would gather some to string into garlands to drape around our home. But, despite the fact that it’s mid-October, Venice is still in late-summer mode— plus we don’t have an abundance of trees here to begin with. I’ll admit that I found myself searching for real leaves online before I realized how silly that was. I closed the computer, annoyed with myself for even considering purchasing leaves (the Florida girl in me is still shaking her head), and then having them packaged and shipped to our house— a completely unnecessary expense and add-on to our carbon footprint.
We chose instead to do the following:
Buy pumpkins to decorate them with borrowed and existing accessories
Take daily strolls and rides around our neighborhood to scout out the decor set up by the businesses and members of our community
Borrow fall and Halloween themed children’s books from our local libraries
We found the pumpkins at long-standing nearby garden center that is a member of the Master Nursery Garden Centers— a co-op of independent garden centers throughout the country.
We carved a small pumpkin with West. It was his first time creating a jack-o-lantern, and he clearly enjoyed it.
We borrowed the carving tools from our neighbor, so we didn’t have to buy one of those cheap sets that often breaks and ends up in the trash. We dressed up another pumpkin as “Scary Potter,” which has been a tradition of ours for several years. (I purchased the glasses from an Etsy maker long ago, and they’re one of the only pieces of holiday decor of any sort that I own.)
Adam later baked the seeds with oil, cinnamon and sugar. (The cottage smelled fantastic.)
Multiple times per day, we stroll, bike or take the wagon through the neighborhood to visit West’s favorite yard installations, and to discover newly situated decor.
This little activity gets us outside, prevents us from spending money we don’t need to spend, and ensures that we don’t have bulky decorations to store in our tiny home for 11 months out of the year.
Shoes: Garnet Hill. Bike: Virtue.
While we’re out, I’ll sometimes clip some fall-like branches from the nearby alleyways for an extra pop of warmth in the house.
The main reason that West wanted to carve a pumpkin and is so excited to see (most) decor is that we borrow fall and Halloween books from our local library, starting in late September. After reading a few titles about harvesting pumpkins, he asked that we grow our own next year.
As West gets older, we’ll see how his interests evolve. But for now, pumpkins, some pops of autumnal toned florals or clippings, and the creativity of our neighbors is all we need to make it feel like Halloween here... even when it’s 80 degrees under the palm trees.
