How to celebrate Halloween, Martha Stewart style

In the inaugural Halloween episode of “Martha Stewart Living,” Martha Stewart attends a lavish Halloween costume party, dressed as a many-plumed bird, at an equally lavish, albeit eerie, castle in the Hudson River Valley. As clips of Stewart getting ready for the party are shown, she recounts the rich history of the annual celebration, detailing its origins and many global traditions. It’s no surprise why Stewart is so knowledgeable in all things Halloween. After all, the holiday has always held a special place in her heart since childhood, she later reveals.

“When I was growing up, we had the most wonderful tradition at our school, which was right around the corner from where I lived,” Stewart says. “Every child would make a lantern out of a cardboard box. The sides would be cut out in scary faces and [we’d] paste colored tissue in the openings. Then, we’d be given a candle at school and we’d go on a great, big parade around the playing field. At the end, [we’d] throw our lanterns into a great, big pile and have the giant bonfire — which reminds me of Guy Fawkes Day in England.”

Stewart goes on to provide tutorials on how to make those boxed lanterns — along with an array of Halloween-centric treats and decorations: candied apples, homemade costumes, pumpkin-shaped iced cookies and carved pumpkins. It’s no secret that Stewart is the “Queen of Domesticity,” but with it comes another esteemed moniker: “Queen of Halloween.”

In anticipation of this year’s spooky festivities, let Stewart help you celebrate Halloween the right way. From crafts and costumes to foods and beverages, Stewart has got you covered.

Be sure to flaunt your biggest — and scariest — pumpkins

Carved pumpkins are a must on Stewart’s Halloween guidebook. However, she admits that carving a pumpkin from scratch, with nothing but a sharp knife, isn’t an easy feat. Stewart offers several stencils and designs — 41 to be exact! — to help you decorate your porch pumpkins like a pro. A few of her picks include stencils for a fairy house, haunted house and a scaredy cat.

“If a Jack-o’-lantern isn’t your style, use paint, appliqués, and accessories to give your gourds personality,” Stewart suggests.

You can also ditch fresh, whole pumpkins and make fabric pumpkins, which can be displayed indoors on a mantel or as a centerpiece. All you need is any fabric of your choice (Stewart uses an assortment of fabrics, like silk, linen and velvet), needle and thread. To start, you’ll need to cut a fabric rectangle that’s twice as long as it is wide and make a pouch by stitching the short sides together. The pouch is then filled with batting and stitched and cinched to secure. The fabric pumpkins are then finished off with threaded floss and a fabric stem.

What’s so great about fabric pumpkins is that they last year round without ever going bad — and they can be reused for many Halloweens to come.

Get creative with your porch decorations

Pumpkins aren’t the only option for festive decorations. You can go crazy with string lights to create an enchanted tree in your backyard or adorn it with some creepy critters — snakes, bats, spiders…you name it — to amp up the scare factor. Try adding big googly eyes to your outdoor plants and bushes to spookify your outdoor space without the hassle. If you’re looking to go big on your decor, skeletons, gravestones and inflatables are perfect to transform your home into a real-life haunted house.

“The thing not to do? Don’t be insipid. A little jack lantern on the table — that’s not much of a Halloween gesture. I think you have to sort of go all out,” Stewart told Vogue last year when asked about her biggest Halloween no-no.

Play a festive game — or two

If you’re hosting a Halloween party — or just celebrating from the comfort of your own home with loved ones — try DIY-ing a handful of festive games that are guaranteed to keep everyone entertained well into the night. Stewart recommends making pumpkin piñatas, bobbing for apples or nibbling on doughnuts hanging from a string. Got tape and a few prop spiders lying around at home? Make a homemade spider toss game that transforms your living room floor into a huge cobweb.

Don’t be afraid to go all out with your costume

Stewart is no stranger when it comes to outlandish costumes. Just take a look at her many elaborate get-ups over the years: Fairy GrandMartha, Motha (in which she dressed up as a chic moth), Ghostly Equestrienne, Medusa and Black Widow, just to name a few notable looks.

That’s all to say that costumes are a big part of Halloween. Dressing up isn’t something that’s just for the kids — adults can partake in it too. Don’t be afraid to go all out with your costumes. The scarier and more outlandish, the better. Putting together a stellar look doesn’t have to cost a fortune, however. Get creative with it and build a costume using the clothes and accessories you already have in your closet. Got some hair extensions? Try clipping them to the cuff of your shoes to mimic werewolf legs. Got a little black dress? Pair it with black sunglasses, rhinestone earrings and a pearl necklace to become Audrey Hepburn.

Serve up shrunken heads in your homemade cider

Freaky foods are a Halloween necessity for Stewart. It’s what transforms a great celebration into a stellar one, she told Vogue. “I remember going to one party with a lot of CEOs and big, big, big business guys and, the hostess was serving a butternut squash soup,” Stewart recounted. “I just put little plastic cockroaches in everybody’s soup. I saw a man pick it out and look at it, put it back, and then take it out again. He was quite horrified, but then he realized it was Halloween — the more little pranks you can play, I think the better for Halloween.”

Stewart’s recipe for Shrunken Heads in Cider is a great party beverage that’s simple yet horrific. The shrunken heads are made from crisp, firm apples (Stewart suggests Granny Smith) that are carved using a sharp paring knife, melon baller or the end of a chopstick and dehydrated (either in an oven or dehydrator). The ghoulish heads are then combined with store bought cider, lemonade and rum in a large punchbowl.