Witch's Candy House from Hansel & Gretel

Instead of a Halloween party this year, we decided to decorate our yard and home's exterior to bring some cheer to the neighborhood during the pandemic.

Since our house was under renovation for the better part of a year, I didn't want to make the house look abandoned or scary (we'd had enough of that!) And so, I chose to decorate the house as the Witch's Candy House from Hansel & Gretel. It's cute, but a child-eating witch is certainly scary and Halloween enough!

Much of the decorations are painted cardboard (we live in California where it doesn't usually rain until November). Old house paints and some bright spray paints combined with various colors of painters tape created:

• Giant cardboard cupcakes

• Eclair fence posts

• Gingerbread men railings

• Candy corn porch trim

• Beware of the witch signs, signed Hansel & Gretel

I wrapped shipping boxes in paper, cellophane, and colors tapes to create different kinds of candies. Additional candies were made from wrapped styrofoam in colored cellophane, foam rollers, and silver insulated grocery delivery bags were shaped into Hersey's Kisses with KISS flags coming out the top. Lollipops were created using extra PVC pipe, shopping bags stuffed with paper, wrapped in colored cellophane. Cotton candy was created using bamboo sticks, pillow stuffing sprayed with pink hued spray dye. Gumdrops were also cardboard, painted and stapled to stiff corner-protecting packaging material.

Light-up candies were strung up on the porch, created from paper lanterns wrapped in clear cellophane. Wide red ribbon was wrapped around the porch pillars. Candy cane yard ornaments were purchased from Lowes.

Spotlights lit up the yard into the night and uplit the witch on the front porch. A mask from Amazon.com was hung up on a garden trellis staked into an empty planter, and wrapped in scrap fabrics from past parties, scarfs, and black trash bags to create her loose gown.