Amanda Seyfried got everyone's attention when she welcomed Architectural Digest into her fresh, farmhouse-inspired New York City apartment in early 2023. Now that she's settled in, the actor is catering her interior decorating talents to a younger audience: her 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Thomas.
The Mean Girls alumna took to Instagram to show off the adorable haunted house she crafted for her little goblin, and we're absolutely swooning. Sure, it might not be as horrifying as let's say the Amityville Horror House, but what it lacks in creepiness it makes up for in cuteness.
Those getting into the season with tots in tow will definitely want to take Halloween decorating tips from the mom of two.
Check out Amanda Seyfried's "haunted" house for her toddler
Considering Seyfried is keeping busy on stage and behind the camera, you probably weren't aware that she has tackled a side project: creating playhouses for little ones alongside her childhood best friends, Anne Hoehn and Maureen North. Together, the dream team founded Make It Cute playhouses, durable, adorable, and sustainable toys.
"Anne was building these giant playhouses out of whatever big boxes would come to her house, and we were like, how do we build that? How do we build something like that for all of us, where we can store toys and give our kids that playhouse that they want," the actor told People.
She used one of her homes as the base for her project and found cute Halloween decor buys to accentuate the teeny, tiny play place: a skeleton on the front door (much like the ones we have hanging over our boo-tiful Halloween doormats), a mixture of real and fake pumpkins, bat stickers, and perhaps our favorite addition, a stuffed animal Jack Skellington. Is there room for us in this spooky space fit for a pumpkin king?
How to recreate the look
As much as we can't resist the season of shrieks and screams—we're still swooning over Vanessa Hudgens' Halloween entryway decor, btw—when li'l ghosts are involved, it's important to dial things down and turn up the cute factor, according to interior stylist, Vivianne Chow.
"To decorate a kid-friendly Halloween home, string up fun Halloween-themed string lights with shapes like bats, ghosts, or pumpkins," she says. "You can also hang some friendly ghost decorations, bats, and spider webs around your home, including the playroom."
Designer Chantelle Hartman Malarkey says, "cute and friendly is the answer."
"Make the decorations realistic and interesting, incorporate well-known characters and themes from their favorite films, TV series, or novels," she suggests. "Include tasty treats to balance out the spooky elements to make it fun and enjoyable."
Vivianne Chow is an interior stylist and founder of the home decor blog, VivandTimHome.com. She's passionate about sharing the best modern home decor to buy and recently built a dream custom home with her husband Tim. Together they're tackling decorating room by room and sharing design tips and ideas along the way!
Chantelle Hartman Malarkey, a.k.a. the Lifestyle Alchemist, is an interior designer, photographer, home chef, hosting expert, and blogger who shares ideas about family travel hacks, beauty must-haves, delicious recipes, among other topics, with her followers.
Emphasis on "friendly" here, folks. We're thinking more Casper, less Pennywise. And you can use this opportunity to showcase your child's artistry when playing with designs, according to Siobhan Alvarez-Borland, lifestyle expert, and founder of She Shines Media.
"I love to incorporate crafts into our decor, this is fun for kids to see their own artwork and crafts," Alvarez-Borland says. "You can paint paper plates and turn them into pumpkins, I love to trace little hands on green paper and turning them into little zombies."
(Note Seyfried's kitten pumpkin front and center.) And of course, above all, you'll want to make sure you're not putting anything near your child's setup that could potentially be a hazard.
"You can have so much fun decorating for Halloween with kids, but you always want to keep safety in mind with any decor and the younger crowd," Alvarez-Borland adds.
Siobhan Alvarez-Borland is the founder of She Shines Media, the parent company behind the websites Mimosas & Motherhood (a family and lifestyle blog focusing on pregnancy, postpartum and parenting through the little years); Fun Family Meals (focused on easy, affordable recipes for families); and Budget Baby Budget (focused on empowering families towards financial freedom). Additionally, she is a postpartum doula at Fresh Starts Registry.
Shop the look
Ready to get spooky with your little ones? It's go time.
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In need of more ways to celebrate the spookiest time of year? A few creative pumpkin painting ideas will do the trick.
