It’s fall! Fall means beautiful leaves, pumpkins, apples, and, in my house, Halloween decorations. However, we also have this wonderful thing called a budget, which for things like Halloween decorations is, well, minimal.

There are many resources for creating inexpensive decorations. Here are some ideas that we have used.

1. Use large sheets of craft paper cut to fit the inside of windows. Then, using an X-ACTO knife, cut out Halloween shapes, such as haunted house scenes, black cats, jack-o’-lanterns, spiders, webs, etc. After getting the shapes cut out, tape tissue paper to the back of the shapes and hang in the windows.

2. Make spooky spider webs using cotton balls or yarn.

3. Using black yarn, make a large spider web on a front porch and make a large spider using a garbage bag and stuffing with leaves.

4. White balloons covered in sheets or cheesecloth make excellent ghosts. Just recently, I ran across an idea to put glow sticks into the balloons for glowing ghosts

5. Small canning jars or empty jars of any kind, not necessarily matching, mismatching adds to the creepy effect, can be painted with Halloween designs and used with tea lights to light a walkway or porch.

6. To make eerie footprints, cut a sponge in the shape of a foot, then dip in washable glow in the dark paint and paint monster steps up to your front door. (Hint, flip the sponge over for the opposite foot.)

7. For younger children, make bats from paper egg cartons. It can be a simple fun craft. Cut the egg cartoons – three long and one wide. Paint them black and glue googly eyes and fangs to the middle one. Hang by punching a small hole in the middle and thread with fishing line using a bead tie off the end on the underside of the bat.

8. When carving the traditional pumpkins, carve in non-traditional ways like lanterns, your house number or words.

9. Create a creepy graveyard using Styrofoam insulation and Styrofoam safe paint.

10. Create an oversized spider using garbage bags and leaves.

I hope you have an awesome time decorating for Halloween.