7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves

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I have to admit, I’m a little fanatical about Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday (well … it may tie with Christmas). It’s a time when the dark, whimsical, and silly all blend together to create a perfect collaboration of enjoyment. There is so much to do between going to pumpkin patches, sipping apple cider, corn mazes, and dressing up to your hearts desire.

For me, October 1 means I get to pull out all of my Halloween decorations and begin decorating my house. But even if you’re someone who prefers waiting until closer to the end of the month to bring your faux spider webs and pumpkins, or you find yourself a few days away from Halloween and your house still hasn’t received a spooky makeover, there’s still time! Here are some tips for making the most of the holiday around your home, without putting a strain on your wallet.

Dollar Store Tricks

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Decorating for Halloween doesn’t have to break the bank. These glass bottles were picked up from the dollar store. We wrote the potion names onto a piece of paper, and VERY CAREFULLY burned the edges just enough to give it the desired look. And I love it. Even the candle holder in the background came from the dollar store.

Another dollar store trick I use – spooky door covers. I’ve never been a fan of putting them over my door, mostly because they never stay attached, cover my windows, and you can always see the tape holding them up. Not to mention when you have dozens of kids running in and out of your house all day long, it makes it rather difficult to keep something taped to the door. Next logical step? I moved them to my windows. Once I turn the lights on at night it adds just enough spooky glow.

I’ve also used plastic tablecloths previously (the clear or opaque ones work best). I once found opaque ones that had red “bloody” handprints on it. Even during the day, it looked AMAZING. You can also buy plastic black tablecloths, cut vertical lines in it, and create a creepy door curtain.

Keep it Simple

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

With all the decorations out there, it can be easy to go overboard. Caution tape adds just the right touch without overdoing it. And the bonus? It isn’t as cumbersome as a door cover, and it won’t block my window on my door.

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

I added a netted tablecloth to my front entry table to take it from shabby chic to creepy witches center.  🙂  This looked so cute until my 1-year-old cats decided they were going to play with the tablecloth … in the middle of the night causing the entire table to come crashing down. Three nights in a row. The tablecloth had to go. So now it is draped over my entry chair.

Spider Webs. Spider Webs. Spider Webs!

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

They’re not just for outside! I love decorating with spider webs. It’s super easy and cheap way to decorate. I will say, stay away from the cheap $1 bags. They don’t seem to stretch and pull apart as much as the bag claims. I pick up the larger bags and they seem to work much better.

One year, my husband came home to spider webbing stretching through the entire front foyer, up the stair railing, and across the hallway. He’s kind of lucky that I am recovering from ACL surgery this year, otherwise, I might have done it again!

Clings

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

In years past, my entire house looked like a bloody explosion. This year, my 6-year-old expressed she was a little creeped out by my obsessive decorating. I opted to tone down my little fun house. These are window clings I bought from the dollar store about 5 years ago. I put them back on the cling sheets and reuse them year after year. I have found they look the best on mirrors.

Netted Cloths

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Netted cloths add an old, dusty, ratty feel to your creep fest. This is my first year using these cloths. I picked them up at Target last year after Halloween when they were 70% off. These may be my favorite decorating item outside of spider webbing. I paid less than $2 for each and can reuse them year after year. I highly recommend taking advantage of the end of the holiday sales! I do this every holiday and stock up for next year.

Ghosts

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Because. You need ghosts swinging from your tree. When the wind blows they look pretty cool. I’m actually thinking of hitting up the home improvement store and picking up little lights to shine up onto them. Spooky shadows will help make a perfect Halloween night scare.

Vinyl

7 Budget Halloween Decorating Ideas & Must-Haves - Columbia SC Moms Blog

If you know anyone with a vinyl cutter, or you have one yourself, definitely use it. I’m a bit of a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas (a bit may be an understatement). A friend made these for me. They could only be used once since they were not made out of removable vinyl, however, for $10 I will gladly ask them to do this again for me.

I hope you enjoyed these decorating ideas … and please share some of yours! I’m always looking for new exciting ideas to implement!  

I’m sad not all my ideas came to life this year, but I have to make sure my girls are able to fall asleep in their own home. Though, they did tell me this morning that I needed to add more blood like previous years. Hey, it’s not Halloween yet. Maybe … I’ll have a few more tricks up my sleeve. 😛

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Jenelle Temple
Passionate in all things in her life, Jenelle learned many lessons on the road to finding herself. The beginning of her journey began when she met her husband, Alan. He swept her off her feet giving her the wings she needed to fly. To this day, Alan is supportive of all the crazy ideas that creep into her head. Whether it is to compete in Obstacle Course Races (most weekends during the summer, you can find Jenelle, Alan and kiddies climbing walls, jumping over fire, crawling through barbed wire, and flipping tires in the muddiest of places), completely overhauling the family’s diet to fresh healthy foods (clean processed foods have taken over their lives, assisting them in losing a combined 130 lbs in the course of a year and allowing them to be in the best shape of their lives), or deciding to up and move the family 10 hours away to Lexington, South Carolina. Born and raised in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, Jenelle grew up in an area where everyone knew her family name (this was especially enjoyable as a teenager – note the sarcasm). She graduated from the local university, East Stroudsburg University, Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Psychology. She was a stay-at-home mom of two beautifully silly daughters, Riley (6) and Emma (4) when it was decided to move to South Carolina. It was a big change. Jenelle went from “knowing everyone” to knowing essentially no one. Every day is a new experience, new journey, learning to meet people, and learning to take herself out of her comfort zone even at the risk of being completely awkward.

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