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This is how to have a nostalgic Halloween, the Halloween season you are nostalgic for. Some of us are nostalgic for a Halloween we can barely remember.
Here is the thing. The Halloween you are nostalgic for was not expensive. Somebody was paying attention.
Lighting, sound and smell do more than anything you can buy. And all three are free.
In July we built the house you are homesick for. Five senses that make a home feel like something: sound, smell, light, surprises and rhythm. Today we decorate it. This is the Halloween edition. Same five, new fillings.
And this is not about October 31. Halloween is a whole season. It gets the whole month.
Still need a costume? I rented mine. Here are 9 Rent the Runway Halloween costumes made with real outfits and a few cheap accessories.
About the Instagram post
This started as an Instagram carousel: how to have the Halloween season you are nostalgic for. On Monday we talked about October. This is the how.
A sound. A smell. The lighting. Little things hidden for yourself. And a rhythm your house keeps all month.
None of this is expensive Halloween decor. The lighting is free. The sound is free. The smell is probably already in your cabinet.
How to have a nostalgic Halloween
1. Give it a sound
A show you have seen enough times you do not have to watch it. The Great Pumpkin soundtrack. The decoration that clicks when you walk past.
Sound is the fastest way back to a moment. Pick one that takes you somewhere good.
2. Pick one smell and save it
One candle you only burn in October. Pumpkin and cinnamon if you are starting fresh. A simmer pot every so often.
Do it every year and it stops being a candle. It turns into a memory.
3. Let the lighting do the work
Big light off. Every lit up decoration on. A battery tea light in the jack o lantern.
Light them on a Tuesday when nobody is coming. They were never for the trick or treaters.
4. Hide things for yourself
A Halloween dish towel. A trinket in the bathroom. Little things you come across on a normal day.
You are not decorating for company. You are decorating for the kid who never stopped wanting the magic and the mischief.
5. Dress up what you already do
Everyday mugs away, fall mugs out, and use one every day. A Halloween show at night. A Halloween book. The overheads off and the jack o lanterns on at the same hour every night.
You do not need new habits in October. Just the same ones in costume.
That is the whole job
The Halloween you are nostalgic for was somebody’s work. Somebody lit the pumpkins and picked the candle and put the movie on.
That is you now. That is the whole job.
Want every find in one place?
Comment SPOOKY COZY on the Instagram post and I will send my favorite finds for every one of these straight to you. The candle, the lit up decorations, the mugs, the little trinkets.
Or shop my whole October list here.
And for the Amazon girls: my Amazon storefront Halloween roundup has even more.
Nostalgic Halloween: your questions
How do you make your house feel like Halloween without buying a lot?
Start with the free stuff. Sound, smell and lighting do more than anything you can buy. Big light off, one October candle, and a show you know by heart.
What makes Halloween decor feel nostalgic?
Doing the same things every year. The same candle, the same show, the same lights on at the same hour. That is what turns cozy Halloween decor into a memory.
How do you get that 1990s Halloween feeling back?
Put on the Great Pumpkin. Turn the big light off and the lit up decorations on. Burn one candle you save for October. Then do it again tomorrow.
When should you start decorating for Halloween?
October 1. Halloween is a month long season, not one night.
Keep exploring
- New England in October: what to do and what to buy
- Witch broom tiered tray: 3 magical ways to style it
- Halloween decor under $50: my cozy witchy finds
- 5 things that make a house feel like fall
Shop with me
If you’re a New England girl, you already know. Come find me here:
