Outdoor Halloween Decorating with Skeletons

These gutsy guys don't need to worry about broken bones as they caper from porch to rooftop. Easy to pose and secure with nearly invisible fishing line, the plastic skeletons can withstand the weather and hang out the entire season.

Editor's Tip: How you hang or pose your figures will depend on what types of skeletons you have. Keep in mind plastic skeletons bend more easily, but anatomical model skeletons are more life-like. Be prepared to improvise!

Everybody loves a fall picnic -- just ask the graveyard shift! Dolled up for their outing in hats, scarves, and ties, these perpetual picnickers are propped up with rebar stakes pushed into the ground. Spread a blanket and top it with a woven hamper, faux fruit, and a Thermos. Fill the Thermos with pebbles, and use ground stakes to hold the blanket in place.

Editor's Tip: If you want this sociable scene to stick around, use weather-resistant props.

Poor chaps -- it looks like their dates never arrived! Dressed in simple finery with top hats, silky bow ties, and red carnations, the eerie ensemble of skeletal squires makes guests wonder what kept their dates. Propping up our ethereal escorts is a snap; simply push lengths of rebar through their rib cages and into the ground.

Editor's Tip: Search for inexpensive skeletons at thrift stores, such as Goodwill. Take your search online, too. Medical stores will often discount anatomical models that have slight imperfections.

Caught climbing trees and burrowing in a pile of fall leaves, these scampering skeletons prove you're never too old to play outside. These bad boys are secured in place with lashings of fishing line and they're ready to make merry mayhem.

Editor's Tip: A variety of skeleton types are available online -- some pose, some stand, some bend. Choose the type that meets your decorating needs.

Create the petrified poses of croquet-playing skeletons by tying them with fishing line to long stakes pushed into the ground. Secure the croquet mallets to skeletons with fishing line. Unwinding with a cool glass of lemonade, the jointed old duffer in the lawn chair is simply propped in place.

Editor's Tip: Strike playful poses that are easy to alter and will keep neighbors guessing: one day, your skeleton is playing a lively game of croquet; the next day he's raking leaves.

Some hostesses love handing out sweets to trick-or-treaters so much that they can't give it up -- even after they've passed on. This sophisticated skeleton on a stand makes a spirited first impression at the front door. Her posable arms provide the brace for a sweet-laden tray hot-glued to her hands. She's gussied

Editor's Tip: Extend the skeleton theme in other fun ways. Dangle miniature glow-in-the-dark skeletons from tree branches, or prop fake bones in a dirt-filled wagon or wheelbarrow.

Create a spine-tingling scene sure to entertain guests and passersby with eerie realism. Use slabs of foam, paint, and readily available props to assemble a family plot full of fun.

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