Simple and Cute Halloween Porch Decorations

The count down is on and it's time for the Novotny's to decorate their porch for the Halloween festivities. This will actually be the first year I have attempted to go beyond the typical hay bale, corn stalks and scare crow on my porch.

I found TWO adorable little friends we are creating in our home to add to our porch this year.

Super cute and super simple to create.

Little Trick - or Treater

by: Family Fun

For those of you who don't have enough money to hire a professional ghost to haunt your Halloween hideaway, just make this great Little Trick-or-Treater to haunt your porch. Plus, he'll work for free!

Materials

• 2 dowels, each 24 inches long and 1 inch in diameter (or use pieces of an old broom handle--just be sure it's not your best flying broom!)
• 1 pair of old children's sneakers (size 12 or larger)
• Electric drill and drill bit
• Two 3/4-inch screws
• 1 pair of tube socks
• Sand
• Duct tape
• 1 pair of child's pants (size 4 or larger)

• 1 shoe box
• Ribbon (optional)
• Stapler
• 7-inch lightweight ball
• Circle of white material, about 40 inches in diameter. Buy fabric or recycle an old sheet, tablecloth, or ghost. Use a double layer if fabric is see-through.
• Black permanent marker
• Paper bag with handle (for goody bag)
• Binder clip (optional)

Instructions

1. Fit a dowel inside and up against the center back of one sneaker. Drill through the back of the sneaker into the dowel to make a screw hole. Screw the sneaker and the dowel together. Repeat to make the other leg.

2. Fill each tube sock with enough sand to fill the shoe and knot the top. Stuff the sand-filled socks deep into the shoes and tie the shoes tightly. Duct-tape the tops of the socks to the dowel legs.

3. Fit the pants over the tops of the dowel legs and let them rest at the ankles.

4. Tape a shoe box between the dowel legs so that the tops of the legs are about halfway up the sides of the box. Pull up the pants and secure them with staples, tape, or a ribbon strung through the belt loops and knotted.

5. Tape the ball to the top of the shoe box as shown. Drape the circle of white material over the ball and secure it by stapling the cloth to the pants in back.

6. Use the marker to draw black eyes and a mouth on the fabric. Decorate the goody bag if you like, then staple the material around the handle or fasten it with a binder clip so it looks as though the Little Trick-or-Treater is holding the bag.

General Bone E. Part

By: Family Fun

Total Time Needed: Afternoon Or Evening

Made from plastic pipes and jugs, this bigger-than-life skeleton is easy to pose on a porch swing or step, where he can greet, and delight, trick-or-treaters. He's a snap to put together and take apart, for easy storing after the holiday.

Be sure to print out the template to refer while following the step-by-step instructions.

Materials

• PVC PIPES AND FITTINGS:
• 2 (10-foot) lengths of 3/4-inch pipe
• 4 (3/4-inch) crosses (slip style)
• 8 (3/4-inch) 90-degree elbow fittings (slip style)
• 1 (3/4-inch) tee connection (slip style)
• 6 (3/4-inch) caps (slip style)
• 2 (3/4-inch) 90-degree elbows (one end slip style and the other FPT/threaded)
• 2 (3/4-inch) female adapters (straight, with one end slip style and the other FPT/threaded)
• 4 (3/4-inch) clean-out plugs

• OTHER MATERIALS:
• Sheet of 320-grit wet/dry sandpaper
• 1 PVC saw or hacksaw
• 4 white milk jugs
• Washable marker
• Craft knife
• 1 (200-ounce) white plastic detergent jug
• White Con-Tact paper
• Black adhesive craft foam
• White duct tape

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Instructions

1. Lightly sand off any print on the PVC pipes with wet/dry sandpaper and some water. Then dry the pipes and cut them as shown in the template.

2. Fit the torso, arm, and leg pieces together as shown in the template.

3. For each of the skeleton's hands, have a family member place her hand on the flat side of one of the milk jugs with her wrist resting just above the spout. Trace around the fingers, elongating them and adding bulges around the knuckles. Cut out the tracing, including the spout. Wash off the marker lines. Use the same method to create a pair of feet.

4. Attach each hand by inserting a clean-out plug into the spout and then screwing it into the adapter at the end of the arm. Likewise, connect the feet, screwing the plugs into the elbows at the ends of the legs.

5. For the head, cover the printing on the detergent jug with Con-Tact paper (it may take 2 layers). Then cut out eye sockets and a nose from the adhesive craft foam and attach them to the handle side of the jug. Slide the head onto the neck and secure it with white duct tape.