Save Money and Have Fun: DIY Halloween Decorations

Whether you like to go all out and decorate the inside and outside of your home, or just want to welcome trick-or-treaters with a few front porch decorations, these five do-it-yourself (DIY) Halloween decoration ideas will help you put your family and home in the Halloween spirit without spending too much money.

Homemade Halloween Signs

Homemade Halloween signs are a fun and simple way to add a bit of Halloween decor inside and outside of your home. These can be created using poster board, wooden dowels, permanent ink markers, and paint. Use scrapbooking scissors with fun edging on them to cut out the shape of your sign. Make simple, classic signs such as a ghost-shaped sign that says "Boo!" Decorate the path leading to your front door with a sign that says "Trick-or-Treats This Way." The options for this craft are limited only to your imagination.

Halloween Paper Crafts

Children have been creating Halloween-themed paper crafts at school for years. Now you can start the tradition of doing so at home, too. All you need for this craft is colored construction paper, tissue paper, string, scissors, and maybe some markers. Cut out different Halloween-themed shapes, such as pumpkins, ghosts, spiders, and bats. Decorate them as you like with tissue paper and markers, then hang them up with string.

Masked Photo Decorations

Make yourselves part of the decor by creating masked Halloween photos. This fun project is one you can enjoy year after year. Take black and white photos of your family members together or individually, wearing normal everyday clothing and a black face mask that covers only the eyes and nose. These can be purchased at a local party supply store for a few dollars. Place the photos in inexpensive frames you pick up at a craft store or thrift shop.

Halloween Party Table Decor

If you're looking forward to entertaining guests on Halloween, make your food table the focal point of your decorations with Halloween table decor. A black tablecloth can be made from plastic or inexpensive material. Create a spider web effect on the tablecloth by stretching out pieces of cotton and laying them on the table. You can add spiders and other creepy crawlies to the web by using inexpensive plastic insects. Give the food you serve fun Halloween names to complete your simple table decorations, such as calling your punch "Witches Brew."

Jack-o-Lantern Family

One of the simplest and most enjoyable ways to decorate for Halloween as a family is to carve pumpkins. Select a pumpkin or gourd for each family member and let everyone decorate their own. Smaller children can decorate with paint or markers, or you can help them carve the design of their choosing.

While the kids get excited about their costumes for Halloween, you can enjoy the fun, Halloween-themed decorations you create together as a family or alone during some quiet time. Your homemade decorations can stay out for the entire month of October, if you wish, to build the anticipation. Some of them might even be reusable the next year.

Decorating for Halloween doesn't have to be expensive. No matter what your budget is, you can give your home as much or as little Halloween spirit as you like by using these inexpensive do-it-yourself ideas.