It's no secret that Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday. I love the opportunity to transform myself into a costumed alter ego, adorn our home with creepy accessories, and throw a huge bash for our friends and neighbors. While many of my tried and true decorations have come out of the attic for another year of display, I have a couple new additions this year that I'm particularly excited about.

I've long been smitten with paper lanterns, as they're a cheap, whimsical, and impactful way to liven up a party. Earlier this year when I saw a set go on clearance from Victorian Trading Company, I knew I had to snatch them up. 

Using orange ribbon from a local craft store and 3M easy release tape, I hung these vintage-inspired black cat globes in the doorway between our living and dining rooms. The dining room is where we set up our buffet, and the look should create a dramatic entrance to the party and to the food serving area.

All in all, it took less than ten minutes to assemble and hang this new decor. While it looks like these particular lantern are now sold out, a similar look could be created using plain paper lantern in alternating orange and black, and a little craft paint if you're feeling ambitious. They're really inexpensive (like this 10-pack for just over $1 per lantern), and the key to maximum impact is to use them in groupings. More is more! They'd be fun hung above a buffet table, from a tree, or from a porch ceiling. You can even buy LED light kits so the globes are illuminated for additional ambiance.

My other new addition this year is a black glitter garland which I've hung below our dining room mantle. With its simple "spooky" message, I though it was a fun addition and I really like the fact that it doesn't take up a lot of storage space. The sad truth is that we have nearly ten large plastic storage containers in our attic for our Halloween decor, and I'm trying to maintain my hoard rather than grow it.

Here's a look at some of the other Halloween decorations we already had on hand, and make their way into our annual decorating efforts. Like our metal bell spiders descending from their webs encasing our dining room chandelier.

I don't know what it is but there's just something about the paper mache witches and other creatures that I find delightfully creepy. 

I feel like they really add a certain amount of Victorian charm to our home for Halloween.

Our annual costume party will be on Halloween night this year. Alex and I have settled on a good couples costume for this year, but we're still a long way from feeling truly prepared for this year's party. With just two days to go, we'd better get our acts together. I think last year's Orange is the New Black or 2011's Alfred Hitchcock inspired "The Birds" costumes will be hard to top. If you want to see some of our older costumes, including such classics as Alex going as a Shriner, here's a look back at a costume recap. If you're still looking for inspiration for Halloween 2014, we hope we can provide a good idea or two.