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Nov 02, 2024

The 25 Best Halloween Decorations We’ve Found of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Dorie Chevlen Dorie Chevlen is a writer covering home design. Her subjects have included scented candles, makeup mirrors, and—her favorite—popcorn makers. We’ve added several new items, including:

By Dorie Chevlen

Dorie Chevlen is a writer covering home design. Her subjects have included scented candles, makeup mirrors, and—her favorite—popcorn makers.

We’ve added several new items, including: West Elm’s Dapper Animal Halloween Plates, Studio Arhoj’s Ghost Light, Anthropologie’s Pumpkin Beverage Dispenser, and John Derian For Target's Black Cat Pillow. We also added this champagne-colored version of our skeleton pick.

When I was a child, my mom let me start decorating for Halloween right after Labor Day. This was mostly a consolation prize for not having a Christmas tree (my family is Jewish), but also, it was my favorite holiday even then, so I wanted to celebrate it for as long as possible.

Now, as a respectable and sane adult, I’ve typically waited until at least October to break out anything pumpkin shaped or scented—but with retailers releasing their Halloween collections earlier and earlier each year, I started decorating my apartment in August for this guide. Childhood me would have been thrilled. To be honest, grown-up me was thrilled, too.

Below, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite items to make the season feel special; all of which have been tested and vetted by me and my Wirecutter colleagues, so they should last well beyond the holiday (and even year after year).

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Beautiful and delicate, these light-up pumpkins are a sophisticated decoration for Halloween season all the way through Thanksgiving.

Made from speckled glass with a twisty aluminum stem, this pair of light-up Grandin Road Antiqued Glass Pumpkins is so beautiful they deserve to sit out for longer than just one holiday. (I’m keeping mine out from Labor Day through Thanksgiving.) Each pumpkin (the larger is 8.5 inches in diameter; the smaller is 7 inches in diameter) is lit from within by a strand of LED lights to give it a soft, uniform glow that’s subtle enough to use as a table centerpiece. They run on three AA batteries each.

Back at Target after its debut four years ago, this cat pillow is a little cute, a little creepy, and entirely eye-catching.

Decoupage artist John Derian’s first Halloween Target collaboration dropped in 2020, and much of it sold out so quickly that it’s still the stuff of legend at the Wirecutter office. We expect the same outcome for Derian’s return to Target this year, a rerelease of many items from the original collab, featuring spooky-chic themes applied to tableware, linens, and serving pieces. Of the collection, one of our favorites is this three-dimensional Black Cat Novelty Plush Pillow with a real red ribbon and a bell around its neck. Made from 100%-cotton fabric with a polyester filling, it looks handsome on a couch (or a rocking chair, or by the hearth, where two Wirecutter staffers keep theirs).

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This pretty tablecloth features bats, Venus flytraps, and thistles for an elevated, spooky look. It also comes in red, green, or purple and has matching napkins.

Throwing a pretty linen onto a table is one of the simplest ways to transform a dining area, and this all-cotton tablecloth is both affordable and machine-washable. Sin in Linen’s Elysian Fields Tablecloth has a botanical-goth look that could be used year-round, and it also comes in red, green, or purple and other spooky designs like spider webs and the moody Darker Academia print, featuring ravens and magic potions. It looks best ironed flat, but if you load your table with enough treats, no one will notice the wrinkles anyway.

Like something out of a fever dream, four animals pose in their finest eerie wear.

West Elm’s salad plate collaboration with artist Rachel Kozlowski features four portraits of animals embracing mortality in elegantly macabre getups, like a sphynx cat wearing the bones of a boa around her neck. Joshua, my colleague on the home decor team, scooped these up in-store, where a floor manager told him they’d sold almost their entire stock in a single week. As of this writing, you can still get all four designs, but we've noticed stock keeps fluctuating. If you can't find them online, try a local West Elm store.

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These cute speckled juice glasses feel great nestled in your hand. They come in several Halloween designs, including spooky skulls, bats, and festive candy.

May be out of stock

Anthropologie has offered a holiday-themed Icon Juice Glass collection for years, and based on its Mystic Halloween offerings alone, it’s obvious why the line sells out frequently: Made with hand-blown spotted glass, each design features different hand-pressed glass bead icons, like ghosts, skulls, and bats. The cups have a satisfying heft, which makes drinking from them a visceral and visual pleasure. Although they’re hand-wash only and not suitable for hot beverages, I don’t mind (then again, I don’t have a dishwasher anyway). Each glass holds 17.25 ounces and is sold individually.

This wiggly candelabra deserves a place on your mantel year-round. It’s so gorgeous, you can even display it without candles.

The Virginia Sin Wyat Candelabra is not technically a Halloween item—and it would certainly be too beautiful to only display one month of the year—but its squiggle shape and dark black glaze make it an excellent addition to the spooky season. It holds three taper candles but, if you want even more drama, the larger Weylyn Candelabra holds double that (you can also get smaller versions). Depending on the size of your candles, you may have to gently twist, or slightly whittle, the base to place it securely. Virginia Sin also sells taper candles that fit all its candle holders perfectly.

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Made from burnt-orange-colored soda glass, this beverage dispenser is certainly the prettiest way to serve a batch cocktail, or even just lots of water, for your next fall festivity.

A pumpkin-shaped beverage dispenser is certainly not a requirement of the season, but serving drinks in it will make any Halloween party feel all the more special. Made from lightweight but sturdy soda glass, the dispenser can hold about 2 gallons of liquid—more than enough apple cider punch to keep the party going. It’s not dishwasher-safe, but it’s large enough that you’d likely need to hand-wash it anyway. The wide opening makes washing it simple but, in my tiny apartment sink, its size made the task a bit cumbersome.

This matte black pillar candle doesn’t have a real flame, but it does have a real glamour.

May be out of stock

Regular candles are beautiful, but you can’t leave them unattended, which is why the matte Terrain Flameless Black Outdoor Pillar Candle makes such a smart replacement. Designed for indoor and outdoor use, its warm LED flame can “burn” all night long, on your porch or on your mantel, without any safety risk. It runs on two C batteries and comes in 7- or 9-inch heights. If you’re thinking to yourself, “$34 for a stupid candle? What do I look like, a Rockefeller?” I’d assure you that, first of all, I don’t know what you look like. And moreover: This candle is an investment, and it will last a lot longer than several wax candles combined.

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A light lift financially but a big statement aesthetically, these webby place mats look beautiful under plates, flower vases, and of course, spooky candelabras.

The web-like Threshold Faux Leather Charger Placemat is faux gold leather polyurethane, and its soft underside is made of polyester. But it is a genuinely cute addition to a table at an extremely reasonable price. Several together can serve as place mats for a spooky dinner party, or just one under a centerpiece also looks festive.

Burning this spicy-sweet candle evokes the familiar coziness of brisk fall walks with a pumpkin spiced latte in hand.

May be out of stock

Our panel loved Voluspa’s hand-poured amber-scented candle, which I tested for our guide to scented candles. And like the amber Voluspa candle, this 18-ounce Spiced Pumpkin Latte Large Jar Candle comes in an ornate glass container and has a clean and even burn. It also has a strong fragrance throw (lasting about 100 hours). Unlike with some pumpkin-scented candles, the aroma is sweet without being cloying and has just a bit of cinnamon spiciness. Voluspa makes a wide range of size options; so if you’re pumpkin-skeptical, you can test the waters with its 4-ounce mini tin, or if you know you love the smell of a PSL, you can take the plunge with a colossal five-wick, 123-ounce version. This candle is also available in some Nordstrom and Anthropologie stores.

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This porcelain ghost emits a soft glow, providing a heartwarming rather than bone-chilling presence.

These half-foot-tall porcelain Ghost Light lanterns are cast by hand at Studio Arhoj’s design studio in Copenhagen and pay homage to their popular ghost sculptures. Thanks to the translucence of the porcelain, they emit a soft flickering glow throughout their slim bodies, with two bright spots left open for their eyes. As the company warns, these lights do get very hot around the top when using a tea-light candle; make sure to hold them around the base if you have to move them, or opt for an LED tea light instead to avoid burns.

Available in spider, cat, ghost, or mummy designs, this small, affordable tea-light holder is an easy, spooky upgrade.

The IKEA Kustfyr Spider Tealight Lanterns are probably the most affordable way to add some seasonal whimsy to your home with the smallest possible footprint. They cost less than a cup of coffee and take up less real estate than one; my lantern is currently resting on my windowsill, but it would look cute on a side table, mantel, or countertop, too. I have the spider design at my home, but they’re also available with a cutout cat, ghost, or mummy face.

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Made from powder-coated aluminum, these candlesticks are simple yet elegant and can be used all year-round.

While not part of IKEA’s official Kustfyr Halloween line, the Fulltalig Candlestick holders look equally spooky—especially if you pair them with black tapered candles. But they’re also perfect for a date night or dinner party at home any month of the year—simply swap out the tapered candles to suit whatever vibe you’re going for. The candlesticks have a nice heft and each one reaches a different height (4, 5.75, and 8 inches), offering more visual intrigue than a typical set.

These orange, white, and yellow candy-like candles are cute without being corny.

Whether you’re firmly on Team Candy Corn, or you’re someone who (wrongly!) derides them, the Bonjour Fête Candy Corn Taper Candles bring all the fun of the treat with none of the toothache. At 10 inches tall, they should burn for about seven hours, enough time for a Halloween party or just a cozy horror-movie marathon. Depending on your candle holder, these may be a little wide at the bottom; I had to whittle them down slightly with a knife to fit into my standard-sized holder (you could also gently melt them). They come in black-and-white stripes or pumpkin shapes, too.

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These soft but durable cotton dish towels come in several colors and prints; for Halloween, we especially like the orange cat print.

Kei & Molly’s community-minded studio meticulously screenprints its cotton Flour Sack Dish Towels by hand at its Albuquerque, New Mexico, studio, and the quality shows: Its towels are soft and bright, even after years of use and washing. I have the pink version of this cat towel in my kitchen, but the orange or gray option keeps the spirit of Halloween alive long after the last of the pumpkin-shaped Reese’s cups have been eaten. I use mine for drying my hands, dishes, and even herbs—it’s my go-to, thanks to its soft feel and impressive absorbability. And it still looks the same as the day I bought it, even after four years of use.

Our top-pick LED Smart Bulb can transform any room into a terrible fright just by selecting the right color setting.

The WiZ 60W A19 Color LED Smart Bulb is our recommended LED smart bulb. For every other day of the year, it’s a great option for easy-to-set-up, easy-to-control lighting, compatible with most light fixtures and smart-home devices. But it’s also the simplest way to transform your home into a holiday spectacular, especially in rooms like the bathroom or kitchen, which don’t naturally lend themselves to adornment. I like to set my bathroom’s WiZ lights to orange, purple, and green for a cheery nod to tradition, and if I had a porch of my own, I’d set them to blood red for the creepiest possible guest entry.

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Lightweight and easy to store, these hanging paper Halloween decorations are a low-stakes seasonal upgrade.

Meri Meri is best known for its kids birthday party supplies, but its trio of Vintage Halloween Honeycomb Decorations adorns my adult apartment every Halloween. Obviously they’re very cute—the cat, pumpkin, and skeleton share the same happy smile and dangly honeycomb paper limbs—but what makes them even better is that on November 1, you can just fold them back up, paper-clip them together, and shove them back into an envelope. Mine spend the other 11 months of the year under my couch. Meri Meri also sells a happy skeleton family and vintage-inspired party skeletons.

If you or your kids want to squeeze every drop of Halloween spirit from October, this hanging advent calendar is a sweet way to add a festive flair to a bare wall.

Why should Christmas get all the fun? This Pottery Barn Kids Glow-in-the-Dark Ghostly Countdown Calendar makes all of October special, with an attached spider that tucks into each day’s pocket until you finally reach Halloween. I recognize that roughly $70 is a lot to pay for an advent that doesn’t even come with candy, but the treats that do come in most other advent calendars are pretty lackluster to begin with. And because this pick is not disposable like other paper advents, you can reuse it year after year and get your money’s worth. The biggest pockets can fit a fun-size chocolate bar, while the smaller ones are suited to more diminutive sweets—a Starburst, for instance, or a lollipop with the top peeking out. This calendar can also be monogrammed for an extra $15 (and added time for delivery).

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This iconic 1928 reproduction from Beistle is a classic. It has moveable legs and a tail, and it’s printed on both sides, so you can position it any way you like.

For a classic, campy Halloween vibe, senior staff writer on the home decor team (and fellow horror enthusiast) Joshua Lyon spread the gospel of Beistle’s iconic vintage Halloween decor line. Josh’s favorites are the iconic 1928 jointed scratch cat (above), the jointed goblin, and the jointed tango witch and cat. We also like the centerpieces (in the top photo) for setting up a table full of treats.

This retro Halloween night-light, filled with clear liquid and silver flecks, starts bubbling when warm and casts a festive orange glow.

My home-decor colleague Joshua says he busts out The Vermont Country Store Pumpkin And Cat Bubble-Light Night-Light every October. A classic, old-school bubble light, it emits a warm glittery glow in a hallway or bathroom all season long. The Vermont Country Store also makes a ghost and jack-o’-lantern version.

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Soft and plush, this machine-washable throw blanket is printed on both sides for twice as much snuggling power.

The 100% cotton IKEA Kustfyr Ghost Throw is lightweight and soft, perfect for throwing over a couch or wrapping around your shoulders on a chilly night greeting trick or treaters. Gray with white ghosts on one side and white with gray ghosts on the other, this fringed blanket exudes a luxurious feel in spite of its reasonable cost. And if you fear the inevitable spilling of popcorn, ice cream, or candy during a horror marathon, don’t: This throw can also go in the washer and dryer.

With autumnal stripes on one side and a skeleton on the other, this pillow easily transitions from early fall to Halloween.

A themed throw pillow is a two-second way to get your home into the Halloween spirit, even if that Halloween spirit has you mostly on the couch rewatching your favorite comfort show. This Hyde & Eek Boutique Reversible Skeleton Throw Pillow does double duty with orange, white, beige, and black stripes on one side, which you can bust out as soon as Starbucks releases its pumpkin spice lattes, and a skeleton on the other, which you can show off before your Halloween guests arrive. This pillow features a 16-inch-square cotton-blend cover with polyester fill. You can also choose from cute ghosts, a velvety hanging bat or spider, and a haunted house.

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Glow-in-the-dark eyes greet trick-or-treaters, while sturdy coir bristles effectively remove dirt from the shoes of those who dare to enter.

May be out of stock

Whether your doorway gets ample trick-or-treat traffic, or it’s just you coming and going with your own Halloween spirit, a spooky mat makes your home a joy to enter. This West Elm Ed Emberley Glow-in-the-Dark Eyes Doormat not only readily removes dirt and debris from shoes with its rough coir surface—its cute, mischievous eyes glow in the dark. You can also choose from a glow-in-the-dark bat doormat and an adorable pumpkins and cat option (which doesn’t glow).

This surprisingly durable skeleton can sit on a bench, lean against your entryway, or be suspended by his head vertically for a classic fright.

If you don’t have the front yard space (or $300 of expendable cash) to invest in a gigantic Skelly, the much smaller Hyde & Eek Boutique 60″ Posable Champagne Skeleton is a suitably creepy and glam alternative. My colleague Joshua placed his inside, but you can also prop it outside, either sitting on a bench on your porch or leaning against a tree (it cannot stand on its own, but a small loop on the top of its head makes hanging easy). Not that anyone would (or should) put their decorative skeleton through this level of trauma, but I sprayed the white version I tested with a hose and also shoved it down a flight of stairs multiple times, with nary a broken bone. For several weeks after testing, this skeleton sat in the passenger seat of my car and scared plenty of drivers waiting next to me at red lights. Besides metallic champagne, it also comes in traditional off-white, hot pink, and with a pumpkin-shaped head.

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A gourmet gift for your backyard birds, this seed skull is as beautiful as any Día de los Muertos sugar ornament, but a lot healthier for wildlife.

May be out of stock

May be out of stock

A traditional Día de los Muertos sugar skull is probably not advisable snacking for your backyard critters (they can’t brush their teeth, after all). But this Terrain Bird Seed Sugar Skull Ornament achieves a similar look, and it’s packed full of sunflower hearts, safflower seeds, and dried fruit bits that your birds will love noshing on (and let’s be honest, probably some squirrels, too). It comes attached to a jute rope to easily hang from a tree branch or your feeding hanger.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Joanne Chen.

Dorie Chevlen

I cover home decor, but I'm rarely stuck inside. I also write frequently about outdoor gear, personal technology, and health products for Wirecutter.

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