Easy Ways to Turn Your Front Yard into a Spooky Graveyard

Halloween will soon be here. If you’re used to decorating your door for those trick or treating, you may be interested in easy ways to turn your front yard into a spooky graveyard this year. Instead of minimal decorations, why not go all out?

You don’t have to break the budget to come up with the decorations for your yard, but you will want to give those decorations some thought, I have seen some messy front yards before. I couldn’t understand the concept they were even going for, don’t let that be you. Here are some ideas you can use to create that spooky graveyard.  Plus getting the kids involved gives them something to do and hey, it’s a great fun family activity.

It is easy to find large cardboard boxes which are being thrown away. Ask any furniture or electronics store if you can have their boxes after taking items from them. These boxes make a great base for the gravestones.

* Think about the size and shape of gravestones. They are often rectangles with rounded corners, cross-shaped or any number of other shapes. How large you make the gravestones will depend upon what size and how many boxes you get. Cut out the gravestones.

* Paint all of the boxes gray or other natural stone colors. You can also use chalk (there is a chalkboard paint btw)in varying colors to create the look of weathered stone.

* With a large, thick marker, write R.I.P. in large letters toward the top of the tombstone. You can write names on each of the cardboard tombstones with varying dates from different time periods. get creative, it doesn’t have to look like all the others. If you have an artist in the house, they can have fun with drawing skulls and other spooky, scary stuff on them.

* Dig down a little ways to place the bottom of the cardboard into the ground. If necessary, place a stick or something behind the cardboard to help it remain standing.

* Mound leaves or maybe some black carnations or roses in front of the cardboard tombstone to make it look like a graveyard with recent additions.

* The more gravestones you add to your yard, the more “real” and spooky it becomes.

Other things you may want to include in your yard to create the spooky graveyard you seek are “ghosts” made from sheets or garbage bags. Don’t forget to put eyes and mouths on them. Hang them from the trees. Spider webbing, it helps make it scary with spiders lingering around or make it look haunted and abandoned.

You may also want to get some large orange garbage bags which are normally sold before Halloween. Real jack-o-lanterns with candles can also be placed around the yard and on the porch to add to the atmosphere.

Spider webs hung from trees and across the entry way would also give the impression of a graveyard. What do you make spider webs from? Gauze-like material and stretchable webbing are available where costumes and party favors are sold.

Find scary Halloween music which can be played during the evening while children trick or treating visit. Strobe lights will give the impression of lightening, and dry ice can create fog which covers the ground. These and the above ideas are some of the easy ways to turn your front yard into a spooky graveyard children will talk about until next year. I found this cool graveyard scavenger hunt, looks like so much fun. And here are some fun Halloween printables too.