Trick or treat! Why we should be embracing autumnal home decorations

One of the things we absolutely loved when we were in Boston were all the autumnal home decorations. People everywhere decorate their porches and front doors with all sorts of beautiful, glowing wreaths, floral displays and, of course, pumpkins. The family houses were swathed with spooky skeletons, witches and spiders, but we noticed that nearly every home had at least a pumpkin and maybe some pretty orange flowers in pots, and some had gone all out with the most gorgeous decoration:

I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful house in Martha’s Vineyard. Look at the window boxes - and the pretty gate decoration!

When I shared these photos, I started chatting with friends about why we don’t celebrate autumn in the same way. I mean, we do Christmas, yes, and we might stick a carved pumpkin outside on Halloween, but with all the beautiful foliage, plants and squashes around, we really should be doing more. And then, my lovely friend @RubbishWife got inspired to decorate her own home, which in turn inspired me to decorate mine!

I have autumned #wreath #seasonal #hygge #wyevalleycottage #home

A photo posted by RubbishWife (@rubbishwife) on Oct 25, 2024 at 9:01am PDT

Happily, we’ve got a fabulous HomeSense near us (anyone else completely obsessed with this shop?) and I knew they’d be a great place to start. I wasn’t disappointed. They’ve actually got ready made wreaths, as well as scary Halloween goodies, all sorts of baking kits and cooking ingredients (look out for my maple leaf pumpkin spice biscuits, coming soon) and even great sweets for trick or treating!

Inspired by the cute ‘pumpkin patch’ sign I picked up in Boston (similar available in HomeSense), I picked up some great pumpkin fairy lights, spooky pumpkin lanterns (also good for filling with treats), deliciously scented sweet pumpkin pie tealights and loads of spooky Halloween chocolates and sweets!

And check out this gorgeous cinnamon and orange candle (no way I’m leaving that outside, it smells too good). Some of these little squashes are fake ones from HomeSense, and others are real ones from Aldi - bet you can’t tell the difference!

In the spirit of hygge - that glorious Danish concept of warmth, cosiness, and homeliness - what better way to welcome guests to your house this weekend than with a display of beautiful autumnal home decorations and some sweet treats? What do you think?!