Every year when Halloween comes around, my kids are constantly creeped out by a lot of the Halloween decor we see in our neighborhood and also when going trick-or-treating on Halloween evening. We end up covering their eyes a lot as we pass by super creepy ghosts and monsters so that it doesn't ruin the rest of the night for them. And it turns out we’re not alone! Our friends at Netflix found that more than two-thirds of moms and dads have kids who are scared of Halloween, so this year, we're working on celebrating Halloween the non-scary way with a few tips for you! My kids and I recently watched the Super Monsters Halloween special where they uncovered all the ways Halloween isn't actually scary, just pretend scary, so taking a little inspiration from Super Monsters, we're sharing 5 tips for things you can make and decorate your home with to welcome friends and neighbors the not-so-spooky way this year…

1. Friendly Ghost Wands — Halloween night can be scary walking around in the dark, so here's a fun light-up wand that can be made the night before or the morning of Halloween. To make them, drop a small LED light (turned on) into a 5" balloon, then fill with air and seal. Tape the balloon onto a wooden dowel and then cover in a light gauze material (a paper napkin also works!). Then tie off the fabric around the bottom of the balloon base with colorful cotton string. Finally use felt to cut face shapes (eyes, mouth, etc) onto the ghost's face. Kids can take these with them on their trick-or-treat walk OR they can even sit on the front steps or in the ground as decor for Halloween evening. The wands light the way and help make the darkness during Halloween less scary!

2. Playful Super Monster Pumpkins — Instead of the traditionally carved pumpkins (which are glowing and sometimes scary … and require knives to carve!!), use paint and felt pieces to make your own not-so-spooky pumpkin monster. We decided to make a Little Frankie, Little Drac, and Little Katya from Super Monsters, picking pumpkins in fun shapes and colors, then painting them (like Frankie) if needed. Then, using colorful felt, draw eyes, hair, and facial expressions to be cut out. All of the pieces can be attached to the pumpkins with hot glue so they'll last throughout the Halloween season.

3. Bat Family – Bats are often hanging everywhere come Halloween - just like Drac (a cute Super Monster who is always hanging upside-down). But they don't have to be dark and scary. Instead, make a rainbow of bats that are fun and personal by making each based on a member of your family! Kids will love helping out by making a bat like Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, etc. You can even make ones for friends as a fun Halloween surprise! Simply cut out bats from various colors of card stock. Then use a variety of materials (pom-poms, pipe cleaners, buttons, gems, and felt) to decorate them! This project allows for interactivity, customization, and helps tone down spookiness by seeing these previously scary creatures as a family just like yours!

4. Silly Monster Parfait — As a fun surprise for breakfast or an after school snack on Halloween, make Silly Monster Parfaits to show kids that not all monsters are scary. Kids will love the silly treat, and for parents it's a healthy option to offset all the candy they'll be enjoying later that evening! To make them, start by layering yogurt, granola, and fruit (we used blueberries here). Then, top it off with teeth (cut from apple slices), eyes (made by using a toothpick to secure a blueberry inside half a grape, and antennae made from pretzel sticks.

5. No Fright, Just Fun! — Tell neighbors and trick-or-treaters that your house isn't a scary one with this printable we made just for you! The colorful Halloween sign can be hung on your front door or left out front with a bowl of treats on the porch if you’re not home for trick-or-treaters on Halloween. We mounted the printable on a colorful piece of card stock to give it extra thickness for display.

The Super Monsters Saves Halloween special on Netflix (streaming October 5th) has even more great ideas to make Halloween super fun for your family. Check it out!

This post was brought to you in collaboration with Netflix.

{Photos by Lily Glass. Styling by Wilmarose Orlanes, crafting and styling assistance by Jess Hong. Printable by Kim Vu for Oh Joy!}