Halloween Wreaths

Long before zombies were the rage, skeletons were tumbling out of closets and scaring people half to dealth. Call me old-fashioned, perhaps a little too loyal, but I'm sticking with the skeltons. On any day I prefer a boney and pristine skeleton to a bloody and dirty corpse.

Luckily there are many skeleton wreaths I can chose from. Their angular construction makes them perfect for Halloween mesh wreaths, spider webs, black leaves and a tangle of bats. Their limbs hang and can even give the wreath a sense of movement. 

The rise in popularity of the Mexican Day of the Dead has given skeletons a whole new look. Of course you can have more than one wreath. They look wonderful on interior doors and even on the staircase wall. I prefer the brighter wreaths inside so the front door stays really spooky. I use cobwebs in a can to extend the wreath to the corner of the door. 

Ghosts are fluid and transparent compared to hard and angular skeleton bones. They too are a classic Halloween spirit. If I choose a ghostly Halloween wreath, then I often put ghosts up in our front yard trees. Ghosts can be menacing or Casper the Ghost friendly. You do have to choose which kinds of ghosts you want. It's hard to combine them.

Most of the kids who will be visiting our house are middle-school aged and above. These guys expect to be a little scared and to earn their Halloween candy. They can take it. So I'm going with evil ghosts hanging all over our front porch. Some will be gossamer thin, while other might be able to sit in the chair. My husband likes to have them drinking beer and misbehaving. It's always good to put a smile on the parents face. 

One year he had skeletons playing pool in our foyer, with ghosts watching in the background. Halloween decorations are what you make of them.

Witches are one of my favorite Halloween characters. They are at their scariest standing over a boiling cauldron creating evil potions. Celebrate their place in Halloween with a witch wreath that has her flying across the moon. Witch hats and boots are often used to decorate wreaths. Don't forget a witch's best friends bats and black cats.

Our neighbors always have a witch wreath, then they put a broom and witch hat on a chair next to the door. Their family has a tradition that they leave out  Halloween cookies so the witch won't put a spell on them. I think it's great, other parents don't want their kids believing in witches they way they do Santa Claus. 

I often have a giant witch's hat that I fill with candy and dare the kids to take it away from the witch. Hey Halloween isn't Easter and it's a time to have a little macabre fun.