10 Great DIY Halloween Ideas
Updated: Sep 24, 2020
Halloween is only a couple of months away, so I thought I'd share some great DIY ideas you can do on a budget. My boys get incredibly excited as the anticipation for Holloween builds and it's a great time to entertain family & friends. It offers all the fun ingredients like costumes, pretend play, decorations and of course the social element of getting everyone together. Whether you and your family are trick or treating or throwing a party, Halloween decorations and costumes do not need to cost a lot of money. Creating your own decorations and costumes can be almost as fun as the celebration itself. I've rounded up 10 of the best DIY ideas to make your Halloween spooktacular!
Repurpose Your Summer Lanterns
If you have some fabulous summer lanterns hanging around, you can repurpose them by adding sweets to them. You can place them on a spooky decorated table for a fun accent piece. If your table is primarily black, adding white lanterns will add a bit of color. Try darker lanterns for another effect. House Beautiful does it with a primarily white table and faux spiderwebs. This decoration is probably one of the easiest, and you can even put different sweets in each one.
Concrete Pumpkins
Decorate your garden with concrete pumpkins. The elements will not bother these pumpkins whether you live in warm or cold climates, and you can reuse them year after year. To create this pumpkin, you need cement mix, a plastic jack-o-lantern treat bucket and embellishments. You can decorate the pumpkin with whatever outdoor paint if you choose. Originally posted on Bob Vila.
Bottle Mummies
You can make an adorable mummy out of a water bottle or plastic container. Simply cut the top of the container so that it is level and wide enough for a hand. Wrap the bottle with gauze and add googly eyes and a mouth from construction paper if you choose. If you are having a Halloween party, these can be used for silverware holders, sweets or take-home treats for kids!
Gravestones
With summer ending, many retailers are marking their swim gear down on clearance. Pick up a few kickboards for spooky gravestones. Cover the kickboard with stone spray paint to hide any summer pictures. Draw cracks on the surface with black paint. Woman’s Day suggests using a skewer to achieve the small line. Then place large black stickers on the headstones with spooky phrases. If you want them to stand up, Woman’s day suggests using a dowel inserted in the bottom.
Spooky Tin Can Lanterns
Paint cans with black paint. Old fruit and soup cans can be used. Just two or three cans should do the trick. Once the paint dries, poke holes in the can to form words like Trick or Treat or Halloween. Originally seen on House Beautiful for great décor ideas. You can then place a tealight inside the can for a beautiful luminary.
Glow in the Dark Jack-o-Lantern Jars
Break open an activated glow stick so that you can pour the contents in the jar. Draw Jack-o-Lantern faces on the jar before you begin for a ghostly glow. You can choose as many colours as you like. Once they lose their glow, you could wash them and reuse them again the following year. Careful for broken glass! Credit to Crafts by Amanda for this idea.
Upcycle Old Trick or Treat Buckets
Spraypaint old trick or treat buckets with silver or gold paint to create beautiful planters or use them as Halloween centerpieces. These look so elegant that no one will know they are plastic trick or treat buckets. You could also combine this and the concrete pumpkins, mentioned earlier for a medley of pumpkins. First seen on Hip2Save.
Monster Sweet Jars
Make these ghoulish sweet jars from glass bowls and candlesticks you can pick up from the Pound Store. Add some faces using black vinyl (or even sharpies). These sweet jars can be used year after year, so be sure to carefully store them. Found on the Celebration Shoppe.
Crystal Ball Candlesticks
This craft is a little more time consuming but it looks amazing if you can bother to put in the effort and you must follow safety guidelines. They will look like skulls, brains, or objects are floating in your crystal balls! Discovered on Flamingotoes.
Cheesecloth Ghosts
For a fantastic decoration that will leave your guests wondering how you did it, these cheesecloth ghosts are hauntingly good. You can decorate with these ghosts indoors, but I wouldn’t suggest taking them outside. Found on Country Living.