DIY Halloween Decorations

I lost track of time this year and was going to put up my Halloween decorations this weekend, but then we got hit with a snowstorm. So instead I'll show you pictures of last year's decorations. We had a very low budget, so most things were handmade. The rest came from the supermarket or the Dollar Store. As usual, click on the pictures to view them full size.

We carved our pumpkins with a simple kit from the supermarket. It came with stencils, but you can find a lot of free templates online too. My husband chose a bird with spooky branches, and I picked a witch stencil. Now that we've had some practice, we hope to get fancier next year and try shading. We used glowsticks or battery-operated tealights for light - much safer than real candles.

We put cobwebs all over the deck out front (see first picture), and I made a ghost out of a garbage bag to hang from a tree. I put a tombstone underneath him, made out of an old cereal box and acrylic paints (I made a triangle out of leftover cardboard and glued it to the back to hold the tombstone up, and put rocks on it to weigh it down). I also turned the front windows into eyes, to make it look like the house was watching you.

Ghost made from a trash bag, cotton stuffing, and a rubber band. Face (not visible here) drawn with sharpie.

Cereal box tombstone

Eyes made from posterboard. Measured, sketched, then cut out.

Inside, I drew a sign for the door, and put up some construction paper bats. I used the leftover paper to make festive magnets. I also made candle holders out of vellum and drew or traced designs with a sharpie (you can also make candle holders by cutting shapes out of brown lunch bags, or by drawing shapes on white ones). Then I put fake branches in vases and strung up pumpkin lights.

Some drawn, some traced, using clipart for inspiration and markers.

Easy to make! Fold paper in half, draw outline, cut

Paper magnets. If I'd had more time, I would've used Shrinky Dinks

Display by the front door

Vellum witch candle holder

Everything lit up at night

Another vellum candle holder

Luna says Happy Halloween! :)

I hope this post is helpful to anyone who thinks they can't afford to decorate. A lot of these decorations were done with existing household items; I hardly bought anything new. Most of them can be done with kids, too. If you want more detailed instructions for any of these projects, let me know. You can also find more inspiration and tutorials online.

I know some people go all out with their decorations, turning their home into a haunted house, but I'm proud of what I accomplished with limited resources. This was our first time handing out candy and decorating (previously lived in an apartment building), so we can always step it up next year...provided it doesn't snow again.

What are all of you doing for Halloween? Any creative decorations, treats, or costumes?