25 Halloween Decorations You Can Make With Things You Already Have at Home

Sure you could rustle up a slew of decorations at the grocery or home goods store. But few things are as satisfying as creating your own holiday decor, especially when you enlist the whole family in the project. We've rounded up a host of Halloween decoration ideas from the slightly sinister to the kid-friendly to make at home and build excitement for the holiday to come.

Upcycle thrift store or dollar store plates into chic, Halloween decorations with this easy image transfer technique. But beware: Our method uses regular decoupage glue to seal the images, which isn't food-safe. If you plan to use these dishes for more than decoration, opt for a food-safe sealer.

Don’t put those tomato stands back in the basement just yet. We’ve got a better idea. Use them to make these adorable porch ghosts. It takes just a few dollars in materials — fabric, a paper lantern, and holiday string lights that you probably already have. Make a cute pair like we did or fill your entire yard with a troupe of ghosts to greet trick-or-treaters.

Vamp-up inexpensive white pillar candles by using red candle wax to recreate this blood-curdling design.

Kids are sure to get a kick out of these eerie bouncy "eyeballs." Craft a bunch and scatter them all over your front yard to create a Halloween spectacle.

If you love a good Christmas village on the mantel, you can create one with a Halloween twist using birdhouses or toy houses from the dollar store. Give everything a coat of matte black paint for an eerie look.

Who says Halloween decor has to be ghastly? Made from a dollar store frame and toy bugs, these mounted gold insect specimens are surprisingly chic and cost a mere pittance to make.

Need a quick and simple decorating idea for an upcoming party? Turn a galvanized tub into a friendly mummy, ready to keep ice and cold drinks at the ready.

Channel your inner Dr. Jekyll by creating these atmospheric and easy-to-make apothecary jars sourced from recycled medicine bottles.

Hit the automotive aisle to pick up supplies to make this crazy-cute monster wreath combining car-washing mitts and Ping Pong balls.

Light up your front porch or Halloween decorations with these easy-to-make drippy horrific candles. Battery-operated tea-lights keep this project safe and worry-free.

When the summer annuals in your front porch planters have succumbed to fall’s chill, fill those planters with skull- and moss-covered topiaries. While it does take more than a few plastic skulls (try asking your neighbors for their old ones, or hit up the thrift store), it doesn’t take much skill or many tools to craft this eerie Halloween decoration. When displayed as a matching set, these topiaries make a big, scary impact on any porch.

This glittery metallic wreath is the perfect mix of fall and Halloween, or as we like to call it: Falloween. Learn how to create this inexpensive autumn display for your front door.

Scare up your Halloween decor with a swarm of screeching bats attached to your walls, doors, or windows. Download our free, printable template, then trace onto black cardstock and cut out for a shriek-worthy display.

Make this Halloween a big one with extra-large frightful and festive gravestones. Gigantic yard skeletons are having a massive moment and these tombstones can certainly add a little extra magic to the scene. Whether you've invested in a 12-foot skeleton and need some affordable decor to complement it or you just want to create your own supersized graveyard masterpiece, this is the project for you. Each stone is made of one piece of 8' x 4' foam insulation. Follow our instructions (complete with printables) below to make our "Barry M. Deaper" tombstone or create your own "to die for" design.

The pool noodles strike again! Halloween decor contains traditional storybook monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Werewolf. This year, celebrate another famous mythological monster — The Kraken. Originating in Norse folklore, The Kraken is a ginormous sea monster (like the size of a ship ginormous!) that is a cross between a squid and an octopus with massive sucker-filled tentacles laced with barbed hooks. Check out how we made a smaller, less menacing Kraken using upcycled pool noodles and small suction cups for the arms and eyeball, then add them to a strawberry pot to create this sea monster porch planter.

Bring your blue-and-white obsession into autumn with a cheery chinoiserie pumpkin. Charlotte-based artist Amy Moffat starts with a crisp-white base and weaves cobalt and aqua blue paint to create her motif. A gilded stem crowns the gourds and rounds out the glamourous design. See more of Amy's creations on Instagram.

Let your imagination take flight (or show your neighbors who they're really dealing with!) by crafting your very own besom, or traditional twig broom. Prop a besom next to your front door or in your foyer, as if you just arrived home from a midnight ride, or craft a pair and use them to boo-tify up your front porch planters.

Create some kid-friendly Halloween curb appeal with a mischevious monster door. Inexpensive card stock, crepe paper, and tape are a budget-friendly way to deck out your home before pint-sized trick-or-treaters arrive.

This Halloween craft couldn't be easier. Create a ghostly candy holder from packing tape and dress forms or mannequins. Wrap the form with clear packing tape, first by placing the sticky side upwards and wrapping it around each part of the form, and then secondly by placing the sticky side downward. Once complete, cut the solid tape creation up the back with scissors to remove it from the form or mannequin.

What could be easier? These levitating ghosties are easy to craft using empty toilet paper rolls, white cheesecloth, googly eyes, glue, and a bit of string. Use outdoor tacks to secure and dangle at varying heights to achieve playful results.

Ignite your guests' arachnophobia when they step onto your stoop. Make this spine-chilling spider door hanger with an old (or thrifted) picture frame, spray paint, spider webbing, and the hairiest faux tarantula you can find.

Bring some sweet appeal to your front door or porch railing with our DIY candy corn pennant garland. Make it cheaply: simply use a dollar store pennant banner, various craft paints, and wood beads.

Turn your trusty pop-up personal tent into the most talked-about Halloween decor on your street with this simple, no-sew project. All you need to get started is four yards of electric green faux fur, a pink feather boa, binder clips, duct tape, green and pink craft felt, a white bunting banner, and two googly eyes.