How to decorate your home for Halloween on a budget

Halloween is now big in many parts of Australia. Many of us decorate our homes to welcome the neighbourhood kids who come on treat or treat expeditions while others throw Halloween inspired parties.

Whatever your plans for this pumpkin-themed time of the year, we’ve got some tips that will help you celebrate without blowing your budget.  

Transform your home into a spooky wonderland with these low-cost tips to prepare your home for Halloween.

1. Creepy curbside appeal

Let's start by setting the stage outside your home without emptying your wallet. In Australia not every home gets into Halloween so it’s a great idea to let everyone know you’re participating by decorating your front yard (even a week or so in advance). Think of your decorations as a signal that you’re all in for Halloween so all the kids and families will know you’re planning to be part of the action and are open for a visit on the big day (usually evening).

Here are some ideas to get your creativity flowing to mark your place as a Halloween zone.

Creepy cobwebs

Cobwebs and spiders are one of the main Halloween motifs (apart from pumpkins – see below). You can instantly add a Halloween vibe to your front yard by installing some fake cobwebs. Just add some inexpensive toy spiders and you’ve set the perfect Halloween scene for your visitors.

This need not cost a fortune you can make your own display using white garden netting, tulle or old sheets. If you’re short of time, there are plenty of Halloween products available in stores to help you create instant spookiness. 

That will clearly signal to all passers-by that you're Halloween-ready.

Thrifty tombstones

You can easily set the scene in your front yard by creating tombstones from used cardboard boxes. You could take either a 2D or 3D approach.

The fastest way is to simply cut out a tombstone shape and spray paint it grey and then paint and use a black marker on the painted side for example “RIP”. You could then easily prop these up against something solid like a fence, your car or fence.

Taking the more ambitious 3D approach you could cut out the tombstone shape twice then connect them with other smaller pieces of cardboard to create a 3D shape. Put some weights in the centre so it is self-supporting to really make it stand out. If you’re really keen you can cover the whole thing with papier mache for a more realistic and stone-textured effect. Once it’s all properly dried – say a day or two – you can paint it in a way that looks like weathered stone to create a spooky graveyard scene to your front yard.

Spooky lanterns

Another quick way to create an eerie vibe is to grab some old jars and paint them with a Halloween theme like streaky red paint to resemble blood. Add some battery powered tealights and set them around the approaches to your front door.

$2 dollar shop finds

If you’re pressed for time or just not that handy you could always drop into a $2 Dollar shop for affordable Halloween decorations, for those spider webs, plastic skeletons, and spooky signs that scream Halloween. If possible, look for items you can reuse in the future.

2. Decorate your front door

Let the neighbourhood kids know they’ve come to right place for trick or treat by decorating your front door with Halloween decorations.

DIY Halloween wreaths

You could make a Halloween wreath from old toys. Think old dolls (with or without heads), skulls, toy snakes and spiders… you get the idea. It could be as simple as tying the items together with string and hanging them from your door knocker or door handle. If you’re feeling more ambitious you could cut up some cardboard to form a wreath shape. Paint it black or orange then attach anything that strikes you as being spooky including images you’ve sourced online and printed out at home and bran.

Paper cut-outs

You can easily create eerie silhouettes and stick them on your door. All you need is paper, scissors, and creativity. There are lots of resources online that will allow you to download a free pattern for printing at home. You might like to zoom these to a larger size for bigger effect.

3. Pumpkin perfection

Pumpkins and Halloween are forever intertwined in many people’s minds. Apparently settlers from Europe brought Halloween traditions to the US where the native pumpkins replaced the carved turnips used in the old country. Plus, in the northern hemisphere it’s autumn (or fall) in the northern hemisphere  during Halloween - harvest time. That means there are lots of pumpkins around on that side of the world. Here in Australia, you can still buy whole pumpkins to carve but they may not be in season and so may be a bit pricey. You could try to go your city’s main produce market to find a pumpkin large enough to carve as the central feature of your Halloween display or a series of smaller ones you can stack together. There are lots of tips and printable stencils to help you carve your pumpkin. Once you’ve hollowed out your pumpkin you can add some tealights for the fully spooky effect.

4. Screen a scary movie

You can create a quick Halloween backdrop by screening a spooky or scary movie on your TV. Just take care with your movie choice so it’s appropriate for all your guests.

There are some great options on Netflix like the Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween rated G, to the PG-rated movies Monster House and Goosebumps 2 through to Wednesday rate M to some of the over 18 rated movies that will well and truly freak out your guests and too scary to mention here.

Here are some more scary movie suggestions.

5. Create a spooky mood with lighting

Lighting can make all the difference to your Halloween decorating efforts. If you’ve created a feature in your yard why not illuminate it with some inexpensive solar lights, tea lights or even some glo sticks for extra eerie effect. You could also arrange your existing garden lights to focus on your Halloween decorations in your yard to create scary zones.

You could swap out your normal light bulbs for orange or red ones or put out some battery powered candles around your front door and around the backyard.

6. Windows of your spooky home

Think of the windows of your home as a blank canvas for your Halloween decorations. You can create a huge creepy effect by taking the time to decorate your windows. Here are some ideas for economical Halloween window decorations that deliver a big effect without much cost or effort.

Garbage bag ghosts

You can easily make ghostly figures using white garbage bags. Stuff them with newspaper and use a permanent black marker to create a spooky face. Check the internet for a stencil if you don’t want to draw freeform. Then you can hang them in front in your windows for a spooky look.

Printed effects

You can create lots of Halloween-themed images using free clip art. Simply paste them into a document, print them out and stick them on the inside of your windows facing out (also inside if you’re having a party). We’re talking witches’ hats, skulls, bats, spiders and of course pumpkins.

Ghostly sheets

A fast way to create a Halloween effect in your windows is to use old sheets to create ghostly drapes for your windows.

7. Haunted interiors

If you’ve decided to be a trick or treat house, you’ll probably greet your visitors on your front porch. But if you’re holding a Halloween themed party there are lots of ways you can decorate the inside of your home for a quick Halloween makeover.

Quick and spooky transformations

If you’re short of time you could get some black (or white) garbage bin bags and drape them around your home to form an instant spooky base for any Halloween decorations you want to add.

DIY wall art

Set the scene inside your home with some Halloween-themed wall art using free printables from the internet or paint your own spooky scenes on some large pieces of cardboard. It doesn’t have to be perfect it’s all about getting into the ahem, spirit.

This Halloween, you don't need a frightening budget to create a memorable and spine-tingling atmosphere at home. Embrace your inner creativity, recycle decorations from previous years, and explore affordable DIY options. With these budget-friendly ideas, you'll be well-prepared to impress trick-or-treaters and party guests, making your home the spookiest place in the neighbourhood without haunting your finances.

8. Halloween costumes

Possibly the easiest way to set an instant spook-tacular mood is to dress up for the occasion yourself. There are lots of Halloween costume ideas around from DIY to full outfits online. You could add some extra outfits or parts thereof around your place like witches’ hats, skeleton costume or masks for a fast (and creepy) effect.

9. Spook up your dining table

If you’re having a party at your place, you’ll want to carry the Halloween theme through to where you serve the snacks. First up, the tablecloth. You could drape your table in a black sheet or get a length of fabric with a Halloween Pumpkin print. If you’re short of time go with the ready-made Halloween themed tablecloths you can get in the discount shops.

Then the centrepiece – this can be as simple or as crazy-spooky as you want. A pile of mini pumpkins? Why not?

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^{This is an updated article that was first published on 24 October 2023.}