Spirited Style: Halloween décor trends for 2025
Halloween décor is evolving in new ways for 2025, blending nostalgia, elegance and even a touch of summer fun.
As consumers look for fresh ways to celebrate the spooky holiday, retailers have the opportunity to embrace emerging trends that extend the season, inspire creativity and capture the spirit of Halloween in new and unexpected ways.
From bold statement pieces to timeless classics, this year’s décor is all about setting the scene for a stylish fête.
‘SUMMERWEEN’
Customers are celebrating Halloween earlier than ever before.
“Summerween” is a rising phenomenon, where Halloween loyalists no longer wait until temperatures drop to begin engaging in spooky activities. The general idea is to combine traditional late-summer festivities — think pool and backyard parties — with Halloween décor, iconography and traditions. Activities include carving “jack-o’-melons” out of watermelons, topping grilled hamburgers with jack-o’-lantern-shaped cheese and watching scary movies.
This presents retailers a fun, unique opportunity to bring out their Halloween merchandise earlier than before and display it in an all-new way while extending its sales period.
“By starting with ‘Summerween’ themes in early September [and late summer] — featuring bright, playful Halloween elements blended with summer décor — they can ease customers into the spooky spirit while extending the selling window,” said Kiersten Marshall, director of marketing at C&F Brands. “As the season progresses, retailers can gradually shift their displays to incorporate deeper, richer tones, gothic glam textures and traditional Halloween motifs. This phased approach keeps the shopping experience fresh, encourages repeat visits and allows for multiple waves of seasonal sales.”
MOODY & GOTHIC
The ever-stylish Dark Academia aesthetic continues to captivate Halloween enthusiasts.
“This sophisticated take on modern gothic décor blends eerie and intellectual elements — think realistic skulls, mystical moth motifs, palmistry diagrams, flickering taper candles and aged spellbooks,” said Colleen Hall, senior vice president of marketing at C&F Brands.
The aesthetic is trending across home décor in general as people embrace a moody, refined look, so many of these pieces need not be specific to Halloween and can transition into fall and even winter décor for fans of an overall Gothic décor style.
“It can even be adapted for spring with lighter accents for a more biophilic décor style,” Hall said.
Foreside Home & Garden, a C&F Enterprise brand, offers black terra cotta finishes that work well in this décor style for Halloween. The Lachlan Terracotta Vase in particular features an urn shape that nods to a cauldron but can also be styled for an everyday look. Primitives by Kathy concurs that gothic products are slated to do well in 2025 — but sees a mystical twist on the trend.
“Icons include apothecary bottles, celestial moon/ stars, moths, crows and more,” said Kendra Gerwig, art director at Primitives by Kathy.
The company offers a variety of Gothic-inspired items with embellishments such as embossed tin, figural items and apothecary iconography.
Wholesaler Danica Brands witnesses a similar shift toward spooky for Halloween 2025.
“We are seeing a moodier, more Gothic approach to Halloween,” said Caitlin Bauman, senior product design manager at Danica Brands.
The company anticipates simple black-and-white ghost shapes, black cats and pattern pumpkins performing well for the season, and its Halloween offerings are designed to not just be top-selling standalone products but also complement each other.
“We designed a charming ghost story for Halloween 2025 with our Danica Jubilee Kindred Spirits collection, featuring ghosts and their pet ghost cats,” said Erin Gibbs, senior design and trend development lead at Danica Brands. “A sweet and simple wax-resist ghost mug and plate set pull this trend into an elevated Halloween tabletop moment. Our Black Cat felted trivet and Boo Crew pumpkin felted coasters round out the festive décor and pair beautifully with our embroidered Hallows’ Eve cocktail napkins featuring patterned pumpkins and a sneaky black cat.”
VINTAGE & TRADITIONAL REVIVAL
Classic vintage holiday is strong across the retail market, as seen in both the Halloween and Christmas subsectors.
“This nostalgic aesthetic can take on two distinct moods: a charming, cartoonish take reminiscent of mid-century designs or a more haunting, antique-inspired approach,” Hall said. “Expect handdrawn illustrations, handcrafted details and timeless motifs like ravens and aged skull sketches, some of which overlap beautifully with the Dark Academia trend.”
C&F Home embraces this across several collections in 2025. For example, its Halloween Pets collection showcases sketch-style illustrations of dogs and cats dressed in nostalgic costumes.
Also, its Gathered Traditions Art Dolls have “long embodied vintage appeal, with hand-painted faces that exude old-world charm — Gareth Ghost, a perennial bestseller, features a delightfully classic smirk,” Hall said, with Zombinaland drawing inspiration from Hollywood’s golden age. Halloween isn’t complete without a party, and Primitives by Kathy leaned into the nostalgia trend for its spooky partyware line. “Consumers are still gravitating toward items that offer a sense of nostalgia,” Gerwig said. “We’ve incorporated a variety of classic tabletop items and textiles, along with a selection of new, vintage-inspired paper goods — ideal for hosting the perfect Halloween party.”
‘BOO BUCKET’ ESSENTIALS
Timeless toy company Wikki Stix launched its brand-new Halloween Activity Kit for 2025.
Wikki Stix are colorful, bendable and unbreakable fidget sticks that stick without glue and don’t leave residue or mess. The Halloween packet comes with seasonally colored Stix and includes five jumbo paper cutouts, including a black cat, jack-o’- lantern, bat, ghost and witch hat.
Within the kit are instructions for creating spooky designs such as a spider web, black spider and Halloween faces. The possibilities of creations are seemingly endless, explained Kem Clark, president of Wikki Stix, from banners to Halloween décor to mobiles for a child’s bedroom.
“They’re easy for little hands to work with, so that there are more activities going along with Halloween than just going door to door to collect candy and buying a costume that you’re only going to wear one year and outgrow for next Halloween,” she said. “That’s what we were coming up with — something to augment the one day all about candy. Let’s give it some additional fun things that kids can do and enjoy making and being part of the Halloween experience.”
Additionally as “Boo Buckets” take the retail industry by storm, the Halloween Activity Kit from Wikki Stix presents an ideal gift or impulse buy opportunity for customers.
“Halloween is second only to Christmas right now, which I found absolutely staggering,” Clark said. “As kids are getting excited and anticipating trick or treating, Wikki Stix offers some things that can keep them occupied and still in the Halloween mindset a bit in advance.”
