Halloween decorations can be pricey but since my family loves Halloween, and loves decorating for Halloween even more we have come up with a few inexpensive ideas for creating a spooookkkky house.
How to Make a Monster House
My husband came up with this idea, and he an my 13 year old figured out a way to make the house look like a giant monster for under $15 though you may have these supplies already laying around making this project free! If you have a colonial-style house this will be pretty easy though I’m sure other homes could accommodate this as well.
Supplies:
- Red tissue paper
- Black Construction Paper
- White Paper (printer paper works fine)
- Scissors
Step 1: Cut out teeth from white paper.
Step 2: Hang teeth in lower window.
Step 3: Hang red tissue paper behind teeth being careful to cut away area behind teeth (especially if you use printer paper).
Step 4: Make pupil of eyes with black construction paper. Could add a color around that to look even more like an eyeball.
Step 5: Hang eyes in farthest windows.
Step 6: Add white tissue or printer paper behind eye windows.
Step 7: Cover other windows with black construction paper.
Step 8: Add lights behind each eye and the ‘mouth’ window and wait until dark.
You should see something like this:
DIY Grave Stones:
Creating gravestones can be fun because you can come up with funny names for the headstones like Ima Ghoul, Paul Tergist, and so many more. We made our gravestones out of a foam board but you could use cardboard cutouts as well.
Supplies:
- Foamboard (or cardboard)
- Speckled gray textured spray paint (find this at the hardware or paint store) like this one in Charcoal Sand
- Flat head screwdriver or pen you can toss.
- Knife or jigsaw for cutting foamboard
Step 1: Cut out shapes of graves from foamboard with knife or jigsaw. Don’t worry about being exact.
Step Two: Spray paint one side of foamboard in a well-ventilated area (outside is preferable). Wait until it dries (see manufacturer’s directions), flip and paint other side.
Step Three: Once they’ve dried, carve the deadly names and scary epitaphs on the foamboard with a screwdriver or pen.
Step Four: Shake off excess foam and use black permanent marker to color in carvings. (red might be fun too!)
Step Five: Insert stake or paint stick into bottom (carefully!) and place gently in ground. Alternatively lean against plants in your garden.
Make Your Own Spiders
Spiders are not something I love. In fact we have plenty of real life spiders, so many that making them seems silly, but the kids love a good Halloween craft.
Supplies:
- Black pipe cleaners
- Cotton balls
Use 5 pipe cleaners per spider. For smaller spiders you can cut them in half, but still only use 5.
Step One: Take one pipe cleaner and place a cotton ball in the middle of the pipe cleaner. Now roll the pipe cleaner around the cotton ball suing about 1/4 of the pipe cleaner in one direction. Now turn it sideways and roll another 1/4 length. Continue doing this until you have a ball shape.
Make sure the end of the pipe cleaner is tucked in but has some slack to add the legs to.
Step Two: Take other 4 pipe cleaners and fold them in half. Unfold them slightly and bend them 1/4 of the way up each leg.
Step Three: Slide legs into gap you created under the spider’s belly. Push the gap up so it lays flat with the belly.
Whether you attach these to a fake spiderweb outside, add them to your decor, or hide them in someone’s bed these are great fun to play with and make. You can embellish them with googly eyes, stickers or anything you can imagine.
Making Ghosts
Supplies:
- Tissues & tape for smaller ghosts
- White cloth (old towels and sheets work great) & rubberbands for larger ghosts
- Permanent black marker for eyes and mouth
Making ghosts is super easy.
Step One: Create a ball at the top of the tissue or cloth (ball some of it inside itself or use a bit of the edge).
Step Two: Secure ‘neck’ with tape or a rubberband. You can add a strip of white paper or a bit of cloth around the neck to disguise the rubberband.
Step Three: Just dot on some black eyes and maybe a mouth, and your ghost is complete!
We hang these from the chandelier in our dining room, or in a window for a fun (and little kid friendly) and spooky little addition to the house.
What are some fun ways you create a spooky house on a budget?
More ideas for saving on Halloween costs here.
Kelly
I love what you did with your house. I bet you are the envy of everyone in the neighborhood!
Cheapskate says
I love the concept! I am sure my kids will love helping me out with decorating our house. The decorations and the recipes that Moneycrashers shared are perfect match.
Great ideas…my boys love Halloween! This is perfect to share on the Celebrate Green FB page!
Jo-Lynne Shane says
Hilarious. we never decorate for halloween (lazy much?) but I love your ideas!
Same here! But I don’t have kids so maybe that’s why Halloween doesn’t appeal to me
I love the gravestones. I could never figure out how to do them without too much work.
I made a similar type of ghost and tied it to a black fake garland that I found at Micheal’s one year.
Yazmin says
This is super easy to make! Love the grave stones as well. The supplies you used are also pretty inexpensive so this is doable for someone on a budget.
I love the giant monster that you created! Excellent idea.