Our Family-Friendly Halloween Yard Decor on the Homestead
Creating spooky magic, sustainable style, and sweet memories — one pumpkin at a time.
There’s something about Halloween on the homestead that just hits differently. Maybe it’s the crisp fall air, the crunch of leaves under little feet, or the way the kids’ laughter carries across the yard as we hang spider webs and stake our ghosts into the ground. However it happens, every year I find myself caught between wanting to go full “haunted house” and keeping things simple, sustainable, and family-friendly.
This year, we struck the perfect balance — a little spooky, a little silly, and a whole lot of homestead magic.
Planning a Spooktacular Yet Simple Setup
As much as I love a good Halloween Pinterest board, I didn’t want our yard to feel like something out of a Halloween store catalog. I wanted it to feel like us. So, I leaned into things we already had on hand — tomato cages, garden stakes, leftover fabric, and even a few twinkle lights from summer evenings on the porch.
We reused, repurposed, and got creative (because homesteading life is all about working with what you’ve got, right?).
My favorite project of all might just be our tomato cage ghosts — tall, glowing, and surprisingly easy to make! We flipped our garden tomato cages upside down, added a string of white lights, and draped a thrifted sheer curtain over the top. A little black HTV for the face completed the look, and just like that, we had a couple of ghostly guards watching over the yard.
And of course, no Halloween at our place would be complete without our two larger-than-life inflatables: a giant spider and a giant snake! The spider especially shines thanks to the massive DIY web it rests on — a project I actually shared on YouTube a few years back. We made it using simple materials and have reused it every Halloween since.
Between the glowing ghosts, giant web, and those fun inflatables, our yard has this magical mix of whimsy and wow — and I love that nearly everything ties back to reusing what we already had.
Keeping It Eco-Friendly and Kid-Approved
Halloween can get wasteful fast — plastic décor, disposable costumes, candy wrappers everywhere. So this year, we made it a point to use what we already had and get the kids involved in making decorations.
Some suggestions:
Painted old jars into glowing pumpkin lanterns using solar tea lights
Stuffed “ghosts” with old grocery bags instead of new stuffing
Repurposed our garden stakes for yard signs
Used real pumpkins from our garden and local farms for décor (and composted them afterward!)
Our girls had a blast crafting “boo signs,” helping hang spider webs on the porch, and finding sticks to create broomsticks for our pretend witch’s corner. It wasn’t just decorating — it was a full-on sensory experience.
And I love that our yard tells a story. It’s not just about scaring — it’s about creating joy, wonder, and connection.
Family Traditions That Grow With Us
What I love most about this season is how it reminds us to play together. The kids don’t care if our ghosts are perfectly symmetrical — they care that we made them together.
After the decorating was done, we celebrated with a little outdoor movie night under the stars — cozy blankets, popcorn, and my new favorite Halloween snack: BOOnanas (frozen bananas dipped in white chocolate and dotted with mini chocolate chip eyes 👻). Simple, healthy, and adorable.
Those little moments — sticky fingers, giggles, and ghostly snacks — are what make homesteading life so rich.
Halloween Fun Beyond the Homestead
While our yard has been glowing with spooky charm all week, we also carried that Halloween spirit with us on a special family adventure this season — one filled with pumpkins, pixie dust, and a little extra magic. Let’s just say it involved a certain famous mouse and some not-so-spooky fun!
You’ll get to see it all soon in our next YouTube vlog, where we share how we bring our same homestead values — creativity, sustainability, and family-first fun — wherever we go.
Stay tuned for that magical look behind the scenes, coming next week!
👻 Want to Try Our DIYs?
Check out these fun projects featured in this post:
From our homestead to yours — wishing you a happy, safe, and spooky Halloween filled with love, laughter, and a little bit of ghostly glow.
With pumpkins and love,
Tiayonna