Looking for some scary cheap and easy ways to decorate outdoors this Halloween? We’ve got some simple, creative, and creepy Halloween decoration ideas for you!
Crime Scene
If you have a concrete driveway, all you need is some chalk and a willing volunteer to turn it into a crime scene. Have the person lie down and trace their body with the chalk. Make it look official with this crime scene decorating kit from Party City that includes evidence number markers, a splotch of fake blood, and caution tape.
Front Door Mummy
All you need is some gauze and googly eyes and you can mummify all the things, even your front door!
DIY Graveyard
Make some tombstones out of cardboard or foam. “RIP” is always an acceptable gravestone epitaph, or you can get creative. Here are a few cute ideas:
- Died from not forwarding that chain email
- Ima Goner
- I’ll Be Back
- Here Lies
- Last Words “Hold My Beer”
Eye Yoga Ball
Eye’ve never seen outdoor decor like this. If you happen to have a yoga ball lying around, give it an optical transformation. With a little paint, some tape, and some newspaper, you can turn it into a creepy peeper!
Scary Scarecrow
Scarecrows can be cute fall decor or spooky strawmen. Start with this scarecrow tutorial from the Home Depot and choose your own adventure. This same concept could be used to create a Grim Reaper. Here are some spooky scarecrow stories for inspo:
- In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan (compiled in the year 712), a scarecrow known as Kuebiko appears as a deity who cannot walk, yet knows everything about the world.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story Feathertop is about a scarecrow created and brought to life in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, by a witch in league with the devil.
Skeleton in a Wheelbarrow
File this under “lazybones” Halloween decor. Buy some bones and throw them in a wheelbarrow with mulch or leaves and your work here is done.
Pumpkin Planters
Real or plastic pumpkins make perfect planters for autumnal chrysanthemums.
Stacked Pumpkin Topiary
We like this black and white take on the stacked squash totem pole trend.
Watercolor Pumpkin
This one may take some artistic talent. To create her Midnight Sky Watercolor Pumpkin, DIY decor artist Hannah Hathaway primes a plastic pumpkin with Amy Howard’s One-Step chalk-finish paint in white. After it dries, she layers on watercolors to create the night sky backdrop, then adds trees, stars, and a moon. Finally, the painted pumpkin must be sealed with clear wax, clear spray paint, or Mod Podge.
Trick-or-Treat Signs
Flank your front door with cute and easy-to-make trick-or-treat sidelight signs. All you need is a couple of cuts of plywood, a little black paint, white craft paint, and a paintbrush. A vinyl cutter makes stenciling a cinch, but if you don’t have one, you can print the letters out on cardstock, cut them out with an X-Acto knife, and arrange them on the boards with masking or packing tape to paint.
Skull Flowers
Cute meets creepy in these skeleton sunflowers by artist Beejay Oslon. To make your own sunflower skulls, you’ll need skulls, long-stemmed artificial sunflowers, floral moss, an X-Acto knife, and a glue gun. The tricky part is finding sunflowers that are the same size as the skulls. Once you do, carefully cut off the back of the skulls, then adhere the moss and glue to the center of the flower.
Floating Witch Hats
Bewitch your neighborhood with these spell-binding floating witch hats. Purchase a multi-pack of witch hats; then you’ll need a sewing needle, some fishing line or clear string, and some beads. If you want them to light up, you’ll also need some battery-operated tea lights. Easily tack them up if your porch overhang is made of wood, or affix command outdoor light clips the ceiling’s surface. Keep them within arm’s reach if you plan on turning on the lights at night.
Dead and Breakfast Sign
Everyone will want to rest in peace at your darling, but deadly, dead and breakfast with this cute hanging sign.
Wriggling Snake Wreath
Greet your guests with a band of slithering black serpents. This wriggling snake wreath comes from the queen of craft, Martha Stewart. It requires a grapevine wreath, black acrylic paint, toy snakes, black water-based spray paint, 20-gauge floral wire, and wire cutters. To avoid having to paint the snakes, which are rubber and may not dry well, you could buy black snakes and skip the black acrylic paint. Spray paint the wreath and attach snakes with wire once it dries.
DIY Doormat
One easy way to switch up seasonal decor is by swapping out your doormat. House on Longwood Lane offers this DIY doormat tutorial that takes 30 minutes or less! Materials required include a plain coir doormat, black patio outdoor paint and some sort of palette for it, a Sharpie marker, a sponge stippler, a paintbrush for touch-ups, and some alphabet stencils. There are a ton of styles of stencils, so pick the font you want, but be sure that the size is going to work with the size of the doormat. Here are some fun phrases to use:
- Witch Please
- 100% That Witch
- Witch Better Have My Candy
Issa Kitty Cat
Oh my gourd, look at this pretty pumpkin kitty! Carve this feline-inspired squash for a purrfect addition to your porch this Halloween.
Zombie Barbies
If you happen to have a child who has outgrown their dolls, upcycle those babies into zombies! No Barbies laying around? No problem—visit your local thrift shop or keep an eye out at garage sales. Crafts by Amanda came up with this Walking Dead-inspired decor. First, she stripped the dolls, then she spray-painted their hair and bodies with gray and white spray paint and dyed their clothes. She painted red blood on the dolls and their clothes and used gray and yellow paint pens to give them blank staring zombie’s eyes. Finally, she attached dowel rods so they could stand up in the yard.
Ghostly Outdoor Draperies
Cheesecloth can magically turn your home into an eerie haunted house. To make these ghostly draperies, dye several yards of cheesecloth in black tea, affix to poplar strips, tatter ’til your heart’s content, then use a staple gun to attach to your porch’s overhang.
Gumball Machine Pumpkin
This jack-o’-lantern alternative screams treat. To create your own gumball machine pumpkin, glue gumballs to a craft pumpkin, attach to a planter that’s been painted red and use aluminum foil to create the details.
Trick-or-Treat Yo Self Sign
HGTV took a crappy looking Halloween sign and made it cute, but you can start from scratch with an unfinished wood plaque. Feel free to freehand the lettering or print out this stencil. To transfer, simply color the back of the printout with a pencil, tape into place, then trace the outlines. The rest is just black and white acrylic paint!
Silhouette Pumpkin
For drop-dead gorgeous outdoor decor, trace and paint a black silhouette on a white pumpkin.
Sanderson Sisters Sign
If you can paint, you can create this Hocus Pocus-themed sign, which features one faceless Sanderson sister on each board, then a small board across that reads, “I smell children”.
Cousin Itt
One tomato cage + six hula skirts + a styrofoam wig head, a black derby hat + sunglasses = Cousin Itt.
