Like Valentines Day, I can’t help feeling that Halloween has got a bit commercial these days. When it comes to plastic fangs, rubber rats and glittery skulls (BTW this is possibly the most hilarious ‘crafting idea’ ever from the mighty Martha. Simply dig up a grave…) you can count me out. Having said that, I’m all for a bit of pumpkin soup, some beautiful autumnal leaves scattered on a tablecloth, rustic party decorations, and cute Halloween crafting ideas – just not the whole plastic bat, plastic tat thing.

I love these pretty sweetie cones made from origami paper and tied with rustic twine. Beautiful – and a great idea for wedding confetti, too. Of course, in reality, any children trick-or-treating at my house on Saturday night are more likely to get a fun-size (what’s ‘fun’ about small?) Mars bar thrust into their sticky paws than a carefully crafted country-style cone, the aesthetic beauty of which would probably be wasted on the greedy little monkeys anyway. But it’s nice to dream.

If you’re artistic and clever (not sure if I attempted this that it would be a success!) you could carve lovely leaf shapes into pumpkins – much more classy than an evil face but, I admit, not so much fun lantern-wise. There’s nothing like a spot of apple bobbing to spoil guests’ carefully applied face paints – this idea of turning the bucket into a decoration itself is easy and it looks lovely. Float little candles among rosy apples, and choose a rustic metal pail (as opposed to a plastic washing-up bowl), for a gorgeous look.

Another alternative to a scary face on a pumpkin is to cut small circular holes and create an elegant lantern look. By the way, if you’re having pumpkin trouble, the lovely people at House to Home have created a great ‘how-to carve a pumpkin’ video which might help! Check it out. I like these fab painted pumpkins from American Country Living magazine, too:

So many lovely ideas! And not a plastic bat in sight. I’m going to a Halloween party this weekend, but as the theme is ‘dead celebrities’, I’m not sure it’s going to be a classy, gorgeously-styled affair sadly… – Ellie