Personally I have found that in the Halloween Holiday I use fake pumpkins to decorate the outside of my house. When this holiday is over I am able to recycle them and use them to decorate Halloween. All I do is add more to the pumpkin such as maybe glue some leaves and brown colored flowers to it to make a nice Thanksgiving themed arrangement.
Yes, you can make non-toxic Halloween decorations. Be sure to purchase non-toxic paints. Look into Crayola washable. Also look for items that are made in the USA. They are required to follow strict regulations.
You can go to different web site to find information on how to make homemade Halloween decorations. One of them is http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/halloween-crafts/
There are many decorations that you can make together as a family for Halloween. These including carving pumpking, making cookies, and cutting out shapes from colored paper.
Many websites provide information about making Halloween decorations with children. Here is a link to one website: www.squidoo.com ... Halloween Halloween Crafts
Target.com has a wide variety of door decorations for Halloween. You will also find Halloween decor at Walmart.com, K-Mart, and Pottery Barn at affordable prices to make your Halloween memorable.
You can find information making your own Halloween decorations and crafts for your house at http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/halloween-decorating. You can also try http://halloweenalliance.com/howto.
The use of outdoor flag decorations make the option of incorporating Christmas and Halloween decorations into one device. Simply change the flag to appropriate Holiday decoration. Seasonal colored lights are another way to celebrate multiple holidays with the same decorations.
You can get some great ideas for scary Halloween decorations from a book called, "Extreme Halloween: The Ultimate Guide to Making Halloween Scary Again," by Tom Nardone. Inside the book are ideas for creatures to make and other ideas such as pumpkin carving.
Crafty halloween decorations are really fun to make with your kids. Try making popcorn hands or popcorn balls. Anything edible always seems to be a kid favorite.
You cannot purchase DIY halloween decorations. DIY stands for "do it yourself", which means you make your own decorations and/or crafts. You can find fun crafts at http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/halloween/.
You can make some of your own decorations such as ghosts hanging from your trees with some sheets. For other cool but cheap decorations you can try halloweensuperstore.us for a wonderfully scary selection of all types of Halloween decor offered at a great discount.
There are several websites out there which offer teaching videos. I would highly suggest checking youtube.com as they have a great selection that teach you how to make your own holiday decorations and have a great selection on Halloween.