Who says you need to spend a fortune on Halloween decorations? I have 17+ amazing and cheap Halloween decor that you can DIY or find in stores. Elevate your holiday display this year with these fun ideas.
17+ Cheap Halloween Decor Ideas That Look Like You Spent a Fortune
1. Mirror Mirror on the Wall
If you have an old, cheap mirror, you can make this piece of decor with a spooky printout and some mirror spray. The goal is to create a blurred transition effect, so the face looks like it’s stuck in the mirror.
Related: The Ultimate List of Halloween Party Recipes
2. Cheesecloth Ghosts
These cheesecloth ghosts are so easy to make and cheap! But they look like expensive decor you find in high-end department stores.
You’ll need some cheesecloth, black pipe cleaners, fabric stiffener and balloons.
Blow up a balloon and set it on top of a glass. Dip the cheesecloth in the stiffener solution and drape it over the balloon and glass to create your ghost shape. Allow it to sit for 48 hours, and remove the cloth to reveal your ghost.
The video in this Pin walks you through each step to help you bring these awesome little ghosts to life.
You can use black felt to create eyes and even add fairy lights to your display.
3. Skeleton in a Cage
Cheap Halloween decor doesn’t get any easier than this. With just a handful of supplies, you can create spooky skeletons sitting in “cages” that you can hang from trees or wherever you want.
To make the cage, you’ll use two laundry baskets and spray paint them black. Once dry, set your skeleton inside one basket. Set the other basket upside down on top and use ring clips to hold them together. Voila! You’re ready to hang your baskets to create your Halloween display.
4. Faux Pumpkin Crafts
Charleston Crafted shares four fun crafts that you can make with faux pumpkins, including a flower arrangement, candy holder, floral display and even a Venus fly trap.
To make these crafts, you’ll need faux pumpkins, hot glue, floral sprigs, pillar candle holders, a spiderweb candy dish and a few other small supplies.
5. Skeleton Hand Candle Holders
How cool are these candle holders? You won’t believe how easy and inexpensive they are to make.
You’ll need some wooden blocks, fake skeleton hands, a hand saw and some Command strips. Carefully cut a hole large enough to hold the base of the skeleton’s hand. Fit the hand into the hole, and stick a command strip to the back of the wood block.
Hang your candle holder on the wall and add some LED pillar candles.
6. Tomato Cage and Pool Noodle Ghosts
Create cute and quirky ghosts with just a tomato cage, pool noodle and a foam ball. Tie the ends of the cage together to create a cylinder shape. String a pool noodle through to create arms for your ghost, and string some lights through the cage to illuminate your ghost later.
Place a foam ball on top of the ends you just tied together, and drape a white sheet over the whole thing. Finish up by attaching some black felt eyes and a mouth.
7. Pumpkin Solar Lights
These solar lights set the ambiance for your Halloween display. To make them, start with orange pumpkin pails. Remove the handles, and use a drill to create a hole in the bottom that’s just wide enough to fit around the solar light stick.
Remove the solar light head, and slip the cylinder base through the bottom of the pumpkin. Reattach the top, and you’re ready to put your lamps on display.
8. Burning Bones
I love cheap Halloween decor like this because it’s so creative. If you have a fire pit in your yard and a fake skeleton, you’re well on your way to making this cool decoration.
Start by tracing the lid of your fire pit onto a piece of cardboard to make your display fit inside. Add a layer of Loctite foam to the cardboard. Then, add a string of lights, some bones and a skeleton hand. Add another layer of foam, and then the rest of the skeleton’s bones (including the skull). Spray paint the foam red and black.
Once dried, place your display inside your fire pit and plug in your lights.
9. Ghost Tea Light Covers
These little tea light covers are so adorable and look like something you’d buy at Pottery Barn. The best part? You can make them with just some air dry clay.
You’ll also need some tea light holders to help shape your ghost and make it the right size. Cut out a piece of clay, drape it over the candle holder and start shaping your ghost. Cut out some eyes in the clay and allow it to dry.
It’s that easy and cheap to make this neat craft.
Related: 25 Halloween Party Food Ideas That’ll Totally Steal The Show
10. Dollar Store Skull Planter
How cool are these planters? You can make them yourself with:
- A plastic skull from the dollar store or Amazon
- A candlestick
- Exacto knife and hot glue gun
- Floral foam
- Faux succulents
Cut a hole in the bottom and top of the skull and glue the candlestick to the bottom. Spray paint the skull and candlestick. Cut the floral foam to fit your skull and add your faux succulents.
You now have a fun display that will take your Halloween decor to the next level.
11. DIY Pottery Barn Pumpkins
These adorable pumpkins look just like the expensive ones from Pottery Barn, but cost way less to make.
You’ll need plastic pumpkin pails and some spray paint (gold for the inside and black for the outside). Carefully, use a craft knife to cut out the eyes and mouth of the pumpkin. Place LED candles inside the pumpkin to illuminate it.
12. Pumpkin Flower Pots
A cheap Halloween decor yet fun idea is to use your outdoor flower pots to make them into large pumpkin trees. You can do this by filling the bottom with dirt or sand and before you hit the top, place a large pumpkin.
And on the large pumpkin, hot glue a medium one, and then add a smaller one on top.
Fake pumpkins work best for this idea.
13. Rose Eyeballs
Roses in a vase are always beautiful. Let’s make them spooky with these deep purple roses and fake eyeballs. Your fake eyeballs really make this idea come to life. Simply place the eyeball in the middle of the rose or attach it with glue.
14. Creepy Halloween Wreath
You can do some damage with a hot glue gun and fake crows. You’ll create a wreath circle out of the crows and place a large crow in the middle. Behind the circle, add some white cardboard paper and add the words “BEWARE!”
Add an orange Halloween bow at the top and your large, centerpiece crow for good measure.
15. Cute Halloween Table Wreath
I’m so used to seeing spooky Halloween decor ideas that I forgot just how cute some of these decorations can be. You can watch the Pin for the exact steps to take, but the idea is simple:
- Place a circular platter on the table
- Put a fake slice of a tree on it
- Wrap an autumn garland in the middle
- Place a white smiling pumpkin on the tree slice
- Add flameless candles on the side
- Put fun blinking lights inside of the pumpkin
16. Bloody Candle Centerpieces
One of the easiest ideas on this list is these bloody candle pieces. If you have white candles, you’re halfway to completing this idea. What you’ll do next is pick up your red candle and drip red wax all over the white candle to make it look like it’s bleeding.
You can do this with all different sizes of candles and even use a Halloween candle holder or pedestal, like this one.
17. Dollar Tree Chandelier
What a fun idea. If you have a Dollar Tree or Dollar Store near you, it’s easy to make this chandelier. You’ll need some plastic chains and a circular decor item, like the skull one in the Pin.
Browse your local store for them and then use a glue gun to attach everything.
Put LED Halloween lights in the middle and wrap the entire thing in fake spiderwebs.
Related: How to Throw a Killer Halloween Party on a Budget
18. Black Candles Out of Pool Noodles
I’m blown away by this cheap Halloween decor idea. You’ll need pool noodles and rubber bands for this idea. A fake skull and some black netting will also help complete the look. You can follow the instructions in the Pin above, but it’s this simple:
- Cut your pool noodles.
- Use a hot glue gun to make it look like wax is dripping from the candles.
- Place the noodles on a piece of foam board and attach with the hot glue gun.
- Spray paint everything black.
- Add the tea lights to the holes in the pool noodles.
- Place the black netting on the ground underneath the piece.
- Place the fake skull on the side.
19. Zombie Baby
A zombie baby is an easy decorative item to make, and you don’t need to make the doll itself. You can buy a doll or use one that you already have and then:
- Paint the doll white
- Add fireplace ash or black paint
- Cover the baby in the ash to make him or her look like a zombie
You can put a small skill onesie on the doll and then have it coming out of the dirt outside of your home. It’s a spooky surprise and one that people will appreciate when they see it. If you want to take this idea even further, you can add fake brain erasers in the child’s hands.
