Colourful Halloween & Día de los Muertos Decorating Ideas

October is one of my favourite months. The kids are home for a well earned holiday week for half term, there’s excitement in the air, and Halloween gives us a reason to get playful with decorations, crafts, and treats. It’s a time for dressing up, sharing stories, and filling our homes with a little bit of spooky style.

We love Autumn, it's the perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy watching the seasons change

At Cheekymono, I also love weaving in another beautiful celebration that takes place at this time of year: Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Celebrated across Mexico and parts of Latin America, it’s a joyful tradition that honours loved ones who have passed away. Families build colourful altars (ofrendas) decorated with flowers, candles, photos, and treasured objects — transforming remembrance into a vibrant festival of love and connection.

A time to remember loved ones no longer with us. Creating colourful altars (ofrendas) with flowers, candles, photos, and treasured objects brings them back into the family, teaching children the importance of family lineage and celebrating remembrance as a vibrant festival of love and connection.

It’s a reminder that even in the spookiest season, we can bring warmth, meaning, and creativity into our homes — without contributing to plastic waste or disposable décor.

Half term Halloween fun

For families, including ours, Halloween coincides perfectly with half term. Between pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and costume fun, it’s also the perfect week to get the kids involved in crafting and decorating. From pom-pom spiders to homemade garlands, little hands can create big magic — and I’ll be sharing some easy DIY ideas in my next blog to keep your monkeys busy during the holiday!

Half term fun: Picking pumpkins last year and one from the archives of Solomon making recycled cardboard bat bunting

Folk art to set the scene

If you’d like to go beyond cobwebs and plastic skeletons, our handcrafted folk art pieces make for stylish, soulful, and sustainable alternatives. These aren’t disposable decorations — they’re treasures made to last, designed to be cherished and even passed down through your family for years.

Each piece is handmade by artisans in Peru or Mexico, supporting traditional craft, fair trade, and environmentally conscious practices. Choosing these decorations means celebrating Halloween and Día de los Muertos in meaningful style, while caring for the planet and communities who create them. No plastic rubbish here — just vibrant, lasting art with heart.

Here are a few favourites to style your space this season:

• Forever in Love – Bride & Groom Retablo: Handmade in Peru, this matchbox retablo features a Day of the Dead-inspired skeleton couple — a sweet reminder that love never dies.

Forever in Love – Handmade Matchbox Peruvian Retablo

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• Mexican Hand-Painted Skulls: Bold, colourful and full of personality, these ceramic skulls are perfect for mantels, shelves, or altars. A joyful nod to Día de los Muertos tradition.

Mexican Painted Glazed Skull

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• Peruvian Mini Ceramic Crosses: Brightly painted with florals, they add a pop of colour and tradition — lovely hung on walls or propped in displays.

Hand-Painted Peruvian Mini Ceramic Cross

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• Mexican Hand-Painted Crosses: Larger, ornate pieces featuring birds and flowers — ideal for making a statement while celebrating heritage craft.

Mexican Hand Painted Ceramic Cross

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Alternative Halloween styling

I also love to mix in plenty of handmade pom-poms for a playful twist and of course the kids crafts. Think garlands strung across a mantelpiece, gothic candles dressed with pom-poms, or even pom-pom spiders crawling across shelves. Paper plate skulls and handmade recycled sardine can retablos. They’re eco-friendly, reusable, and full of fun — perfect for creating colourful, creative displays alongside your skulls, crosses, and retablos.

Some of our Autumn crafts over the years have included a pom-pom wreath featuring leaves collected from our family autumn walks and spooky black cat candle holders.

Halloween, Día de los Muertos & beyond

Whether you’re carving pumpkins, honouring ancestors, or styling your shelves for spooky season, October is a month of creativity, connection, and thoughtful choices. Handmade folk art pieces bring colour, soul, and sustainability to your home, while engaging in crafting projects with kids can make half term even more magical.

Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I’ll share Halloween craft ideas for kids — from pom-pom spiders to DIY shadow box retablos made from sardine tins or shoeboxes. Perfect for half term afternoons in the lead-up to the big night!

👻💀✨ Browse cheekymono’s Halloween-ready collection [click to shop] and style your own seasonal story — joyful, meaningful, and built to last.

With love,

Sara @ cheekymono

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