Place SettingsNo. 1375 · The 2026 edition
Halloween Tablescape ideas!
Spook up your dining space with printable decor and creepy-cute props.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at agirlandagluegun.com.
Transform your table into a Halloween masterpiece with these easy DIY ideas. Use printable placemats, napkin rings, and centerpieces alongside themed props like mini pumpkins and spider webs to create a festive, family-friendly tablescape without breaking the bank.
About this
A Halloween table-decorating idea post built around turning plain paper plates into characters with free printable faces. The author shares printables for four pumpkin faces plus Frankenstein, cat, ghost, skeleton, eyeball, skull, bone, spider, candy corn, witch's hat and witch's hand designs, and shows how to style them into a spooky (or friendlier) tablescape. It also covers sizing and cutting the printables, whether to glue them down, using a witch's hand as a napkin holder, and filling out the table with inexpensive dollar store props.
The plan
- Download and print the free Halloween plate printables (four pumpkin faces plus Frankenstein, cat, ghost, skeleton, eyeball, skull, bone, spider, candy corn, witch's hat and witch's hand designs).
- Print the printables at whatever size suits your plates — the candy corn was printed at 5×7 to make a smaller version for a napkin.
- Cut out all the printables (the author used her favorite Fiskars scissors).
- Decide up front whether to glue the printables onto the plates; if people will eat off the plates, leave them loose so they can be peeled off before serving.
- Match the plate color to each character — a plain white plate for the ghost, and square green plates would have been ideal for Frankenstein.
- Gather inexpensive dollar store props (the author shows a mummy) to round out the table.
- Alternatively, use the decorated plates to make a banner instead of using them as place settings.
- Watch the accompanying video and grab the free printables through the linked file.
Decoration ideas
- Paper plates decorated with four different printable pumpkin faces.
- Plain pumpkin plates with the faces left off — these would also work for Thanksgiving.
- Frankenstein plate; the author wished she had found square green plates for it.
- Eyeball plates in big and small sizes — a whole table of eyes would be funny.
- Black cat plate; the printable includes eyes but the author liked it without, and the whiskers print in black so they can be cut out and flipped over.
- Skull plate.
- Bone printable used alongside the skull or as a place setting/name tag.
- Big spider printables, perfect for setting a cup on or scattering around the table.
- Candy corn plates for a less scary feel — also fine for Thanksgiving.
- Witch's hat plate.
- Witch's hand used as a napkin holder.
- Ghost printable on a plain white paper plate (no photos were taken of this one).
- A banner made out of the decorated plates.
- Skull plate made by putting a white plate and a black plate together.
- Dollar store props styled on plates, including a mummy and plastic fangs.
Activities
- Let kids or guests decorate their own paper plates with the printables as a craft activity.
- Watch the video walk-through of the plate ideas.
More photos
Photos hosted by agirlandagluegun.com.
