Want to throw a Halloween party on a budget, but don’t know where to start? I know how intimidating it can be to plan a party when you’re limited on funds, but you don’t have to spend a fortune to create a memorable experience. I’m going to share my top tips for throwing a killer party without breaking the bank.
How to Throw a Killer Halloween Party on a Budget
When planning your party, there are a few main things to focus on: the decorations, the food, the invites and the entertainment. There are awesome budget-friendly options in each of these categories.
Here are some ideas to inspire you.
Related: 25 Halloween Party Food Ideas That’ll Totally Steal The Show
Get Creative With Your Decorations
With a little creativity and some basic supplies, you can create the perfect atmosphere for your party without spending a lot of money.
Try these creative ideas:
Milk Jug Skulls
How cool are these skulls? If you have some gallon milk or iced tea jugs, you can make as many as you want to add some spooky vibes to your tables, mantles or anywhere else you want.
You will need one skull decoration, which you’ll use as a mold to make more. You can snag one on Amazon for less than $20. If you already have one, then you can make these for almost nothing.
Just follow the tutorial on Instructables to start creating skull decorations for your party.
Ghosts with Tomato Cages
Repurpose the tomato cages from your garden to create fun ghosts for your porch or even inside your home.
You’ll need just a few supplies for this decoration:
- Tomato cages
- A styrofoam ball for the head
- Fairy lights (optional) to light up the ghost
- White fabric or sheets
- Peel and stick felt for the eyes and mouth
Once you have everything you need, you can start by securing the top three prongs of the cage together with a rubber band. Push the styrofoam ball over the point of the cage, and add your fairy lights if you want. Drape your white sheet over the cage, and add your felt eyes and mouth.
Voila! You can get creative with your ghosts by adding props or even choosing different colors for the sheets if you want.
Self-Stirring Cauldrons
Here’s a really fun decoration you can make for your party. It looks so expensive, but in reality, it takes just a few supplies to make:
- LED color lights
- Stuffing
- Scissors and masking tape
- Wooden spoons
- Cauldron decorations
- 360-degree rotating display stand
Watch and follow the tutorial on this Pin to bring this cool idea to life.
DIY Bats
Here’s one of the simplest and least expensive decor ideas on this list. The best part? It’s so versatile! All you need is some black construction paper and scissors to make these adorable bats.
A little creative cutting work will help you create the right shape, and you can make bats of different sizes to add some depth to your display.
DIY Spiderweb
If you have some black garbage bags on hand, you can make some really fun spiderwebs to hang on your walls or add to your decor displays.
Follow the tutorial on this Pin to see how to cut each bag and make intricate spiderwebs.
Paper Bag Lights
These paper bag lights are perfect for any Halloween party on a budget. They’re easy to make, and you can place them around your house or even outside to create a spooky atmosphere.
You can use lunch bags or even large grocery bags for bigger light displays.
Use stencils to carefully cut out spooky designs or use stamps if you have them. Add LED tea lights or candles to your bags to light them up safely.
Fill Your Table with Awesome Spooky Foods
You can’t have a party without food! And you can make some awesome, spooky foods while still staying on budget.
Here are some fun ideas.
Charcuterie Hands
How cool (and kind of gross) is this appetizer idea? All you need is some prosciutto, string cheese, cream cheese and crackers.
Use the string cheese to make the fingers and wrap some prosciutto around each one. Use cream cheese to build the hand and arm, and wrap prosciutto around those as well.
Serve with crackers or pretzels, and don’t forget the knife to make it easy to cut pieces of the arm off.
Related: 21 Halloween Treats That’ll Make You the Favorite House on the Block
Spellbook Brownies
Brownies are always a good fit for any party. The spellbook design is adorable and easier than you think to make.
To save time, you can use a boxed brownie mix to make these. Then, get some candy eyes and squeezable chocolate sauce to make the book’s design.
Mummy Jalapeno Poppers
Spice up your menu with these adorable mummy jalapeno poppers. You’ll need some fresh jalapenos (slice in half and remove the seeds), cheddar cheese, cream cheese, green onions, and crescent dough.
Stuff the pepper halves with the cream cheese and cheddar filling, and then wrap strips of the dough around each one.
Bake and finish them off by adding candy eyes.
Graveyard Taco Dip
Here’s a tasty dish that’s perfect for any Halloween party on a budget and can easily serve a crowd.
It’s a five-layer dip consisting of refried beans, sour cream, creamy avocado, salsa and green onions.
To make the tombstones and tree, cut the shapes you want out of large tortillas.
Pizza Pumpkins
These adorable pizza pumpkins will satisfy everyone, and they only require a few affordable ingredients: pizza dough (look for premade options in the grocery store if you’re short on time), pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, kitchen twine, and pepper stems.
Follow the tutorial in this Pin to make this tasty finger food.
Mummy Dogs
Quick, easy and tasty. These mummy dogs will be loved by kids and adults alike. All you need are three ingredients: hot dogs, crescent dough and candy eyes.
Wrap strips of the dough around each hot dog and bake. Finish off with the candy eyes. You can serve these with ketchup, mustard or even relish.
Make Your Own Halloween Invites
You have the decorations and food planned. What’s next? The invites. You don’t have to buy fancy invitations from the store. You can easily create your own without skimping on creativity and fun.
Menu-Style Invitations
How cute are these invites? You can make them with poster board, a printed design with your party details, and some tulle.
The V Spot Blog walks you through every step of making these invites, which are sure to impress your guests.
VooDoo Doll Invites
Want to get really creative with your invites? You can find most of the supplies for this idea at your local craft store, like Michael’s.
Start with a little wooden box, and place a voodoo doll inside. Add a piece of paper with your party details, and hand them out to your invitees.
Raven Coffin Invites
Coffin invites are so much fun. I wish someone would send me one. You can make your own with black cardboard paper or use these candy coffin paper boxes. Inside, create your own little rolled up scroll invite that you can design online and print out.
Keep Everyone Entertained
If you’re throwing a Halloween party on a budget, there are still so many fun activities that your guests will love. You can use these ideas as-is or make them your own by adapting them – the choice is 100% your own.
Creepy Conversations
Start conversations (more for an adult crowd) with the help of these creepy conversations. You’ll need a large vase or jar that you likely have in your house already.
Fill it with pieces of paper that have questions on them, which can be:
- Creepy
- Spooky
- Weird
- Silly
Guest will take turns pulling questions out of the vase or jar and will need to answer them.
Gross Guessing Game
Touch and feel the grossness with this gross guessing game. You’ll need 32-ounce jars, various colors of scrapbook paper, scissors, double-sided tape and labels for the jars. The idea is to measure the scrapbook paper and use it to cover the jars so that no one knows what’s in them.
Fill the jars with items that resemble spooky parts:
- Boiled brains (cauliflower)
- Bat ears (apricots)
- Cat claws (almond slivers)
- Eerie eyeballs (grapes)
- Goblin guts (cooked spaghetti)
People will feel inside the jars without looking and guess what’s inside of each. You can give them the basics, such as boiled brains or goblin guts, but they’ll need to identify each jar by touch.
Related: 25 Mini Halloween Desserts That’ll Creep Out Your Guests
Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are always fun. Add in some murder and you’re off to a good start. Queen of Theme Party Games has a free printable for a game with:
- Full instructions
- No scripts or complicated set-ups
- Options to play with up to 52 people
Glow Necklace Pumpkin Ring Toss
You know the pumpkins that you’ll just be throwing out in a few days or weeks? Turn them into the perfect ring toss game (as long as they have large enough stems). All you need are glow sticks and you’re good to go.
Cornhole
Cornhole is a perfect choice when you swap wooden boards with tombstones. While the same basic concepts of the game exist, it’s still fun when you’re throwing little skulls or ghost bags in the hole.
You can find a kit on Amazon, but it’s just as easy to recreate this one with cardboard, fake spiderwebs and your own little ghost bags.
You can throw a Halloween party on a budget if you don’t mind thinking outside of the box and using some of the recommendations above. If you have friends who will pitch in, it can lower costs even more and help you plan a night of spooky events for your attendees.
