MomSkoop
Halloween is just around the corner, and you don’t need to spend a fortune or days of preparation to make your home look spooky and festive. With a few simple supplies and a couple of hours, you can create amazing decorations that will impress trick-or-treaters and party guests alike. These quick and easy projects are perfect for families, crafters of all skill levels, and anyone looking to add some handmade charm to their Halloween celebrations.
1. Glowing Ghost Jars
Mason jars transform into adorable glowing spirits with just a few coats of white paint and a black marker. Simply paint the outside of clean jars, let them dry, then draw spooky or friendly faces with a permanent marker.
Pop a battery-operated tea light inside each jar, and watch them come alive when the sun goes down. These luminous little ghosts look fantastic lining a walkway, sitting on porch steps, or clustered together as a centerpiece.
Kids absolutely love helping with this project, and you can customize each ghost with different expressions. The best part? You probably already have most of the supplies at home.
2. Hanging Bat Swarm
Create a dramatic flying bat display using nothing more than black cardstock, scissors, and fishing line. Print or draw bat templates in different sizes, then cut out as many as you’d like—the more bats, the more impressive the swarm.
Attach each bat to invisible fishing line at varying lengths, then tape or tack them to your ceiling. When arranged in a cluster, they create the illusion of bats swooping through your home.
This decoration works wonderfully above doorways, in corners, or cascading down from light fixtures. The three-dimensional effect adds instant Halloween atmosphere, and guests always do a double-take when they notice the winged visitors overhead.
3. Mummy Door Wrap
Your front door becomes an enormous mummy with rolls of white crepe paper or gauze and a pair of giant googly eyes. Start at one side of the door and wrap the material diagonally and horizontally, leaving some gaps for that authentic wrapped-up look.
Secure the ends with tape on the back of the door, then attach oversized eyes in the center. You can find jumbo googly eyes at craft stores or make your own from paper plates.
This project takes less than thirty minutes but creates a massive visual impact. Neighbors will smile every time they pass by, and trick-or-treaters will know exactly which house takes Halloween seriously.
4. Floating Witch Hats
Witch hats mysteriously suspended in mid-air create an enchanting scene that looks far more complicated than it actually is. Purchase inexpensive black witch hats from a dollar store, then use clear fishing line to hang them at different heights from your ceiling or tree branches.
The invisible line makes the hats appear to be magically floating, as if a coven just flew through. Arrange them in a group for maximum effect, varying the angles so some tilt to the side.
This decoration works beautifully both indoors and outdoors. If you’re feeling extra creative, add some purple or green ribbon trailing from the hat brims to suggest movement and magic in the air.
5. Spider Web Doorway
White yarn or string becomes an impressive spider web when strategically stretched across a doorway or window frame. Start by taping or tacking yarn in straight lines radiating from a central point, like spokes on a wheel.
Then weave additional yarn in circular patterns, connecting each spoke to create the web structure. Add a plastic spider in the center or several smaller ones scattered throughout the web.
This decoration stops people in their tracks and photographs beautifully. You can adjust the size to fit any opening, and when you’re done celebrating, simply cut the yarn down for easy cleanup. Cotton batting pulled thin can add a dusty, abandoned look.
6. Creepy Cloth Ghosts
Old white sheets or cheesecloth draped over simple forms create classic ghosts that never go out of style. Use upside-down bottles, balloons on sticks, or even crumpled newspaper as the base to give your ghosts shape and height.
Drape your fabric over the form, then add a string or ribbon around the neck area to create a head. Attach black felt circles or draw eyes with a marker to give each ghost personality.
Position these spooky figures throughout your yard, on the porch, or even peeking out windows. The fabric will flutter in the breeze, making your ghosts look like they’re actually moving and haunting your property.
7. Pumpkin Luminaries
Plain paper lunch bags transform into charming pumpkin luminaries with scissors, orange paint, and tea lights. Paint the bags orange and let them dry completely, or purchase pre-colored orange bags to save time.
Cut out traditional jack-o-lantern faces on one side—triangles for eyes and noses, jagged smiles for mouths. Fill the bottom of each bag with a couple inches of sand or pebbles for stability and fire safety.
Place battery-operated tea lights inside, and line them along your walkway, steps, or driveway. As darkness falls, the glowing faces create a welcoming yet spooky path for visitors. They’re weatherproof enough for one evening and cost just pennies each.
8. Balloon Pumpkin Patch
Orange balloons instantly become a pumpkin patch when you add green curling ribbon for stems. Blow up balloons in various sizes, then tie green ribbon to each one, curling it with scissors for that authentic vine appearance.
Scatter them across your lawn, cluster them on your porch, or arrange them indoors for a party. Some crafters use a black marker to add jack-o-lantern faces to each balloon pumpkin.
This decoration is incredibly budget-friendly and takes almost no time to set up. Kids can help with blowing up and arranging. If wind is a concern, attach small weights to the ribbon ends to keep your pumpkins from floating away into the night.
9. Eyeball Wreath
A plain foam or grapevine wreath becomes delightfully disturbing when covered with plastic eyeballs staring in all directions. Purchase ping pong balls or plastic eyeball decorations from a craft store, then hot glue them all over the wreath base until it’s completely covered.
Add a black ribbon bow at the bottom for contrast, and hang it proudly on your front door. The effect is both creepy and quirky—guests won’t know whether to laugh or shudder.
You can find bags of plastic eyeballs inexpensively around Halloween season. This project requires just one afternoon and creates a unique decoration you won’t see at every house. The multiple eyes watching from different angles create an unsettling but fun focal point.
10. Toilet Paper Mummies
Empty bottles, jars, or even toilet paper tubes become adorable mummies wrapped in their namesake material. Simply wrap toilet paper around your chosen container, securing it with small dabs of glue as you go.
Leave some gaps and let strips hang loose for that freshly-unwrapped-from-the-tomb appearance. Attach googly eyes near the top, and your mummy instantly comes to life.
These little characters are perfect for lining mantels, windowsills, or creating a mummy family on your dining table. Kids find this project especially entertaining since it involves unrolling toilet paper, which is normally forbidden fun. Make them in various sizes for visual interest, and consider adding tiny accessories like miniature hats or scarves.
11. Bloody Candles
Plain white candles become gruesome Halloween props when you drip red wax down their sides to simulate blood. Light a red candle and carefully tilt it over white pillar candles, letting the melted wax drip and run down the sides.
Work slowly, building up layers for a realistic dried-blood effect. You can also use red crayon pieces melted with the white candle itself for a similar result.
Display these creepy candles in candelabras, on mantels, or as a centerpiece for Halloween dinner. They provide an inexpensive way to add gothic horror to your decor. Just remember, these are decorative—once you’ve added the red wax, burning them will melt your artistic blood drips away.
12. Handprint Spiders
Children’s handprints become creepy-crawly spiders in this family-friendly craft that doubles as a keepsake. Trace hands on black construction paper or cardstock, then cut them out—you’ll need two handprints per spider.
Overlap the handprints at the palms, with fingers spreading outward to create eight legs. Glue them together, add googly eyes to the center, and you’ve got a personalized spider.
These handprint spiders can be hung from the ceiling, taped to walls, or attached to a larger web decoration. Kids love seeing their own hands transformed into Halloween creatures. Date the back of each spider, and you’ll have adorable mementos showing how small their hands were each October.
13. Potion Bottles Display
Empty glass bottles become a witch’s potion collection with colored water, creative labels, and a bit of imagination. Collect interesting bottles in various shapes and sizes, then fill them with water tinted with food coloring—green, purple, orange, and red work wonderfully.
Create labels on your computer or write them by hand: Dragon’s Blood, Witch’s Brew, Sleeping Potion, or anything that sounds mysteriously magical. Age the labels by crumpling them or staining with tea.
Arrange your potion bottles on a shelf, table, or windowsill where light can shine through the colored liquid. Add plastic spiders, fake cobwebs, or an old book nearby to complete the witch’s laboratory scene.
14. Garbage Bag Spider
One black garbage bag stuffed with newspaper or leaves becomes the body of a giant spider that will terrify and delight your neighbors. Stuff the bag until it’s round and full, then secure it closed with tape or string.
Create eight legs using black pool noodles, black-painted PVC pipes, or even stuffed black tights. Attach them to the body with duct tape or hot glue, bending them into creepy positions.
Add large red or yellow eyes cut from construction paper or foam sheets. Mount your enormous spider on your house siding, garage door, or fence for maximum scare factor. This oversized decoration costs just a few dollars but looks professionally done, especially when positioned as if it’s crawling toward the front door.
15. Candy Corn Vases
Clear glass vases or jars become festive candy corn decorations when filled with the iconic tri-colored treats. Pour candy corn into your container in layers, or mix them all together for a colorful confetti effect.
Place a fall flower arrangement, a candle, or even a small Halloween sign in the center. The candy corn serves as both decoration and a sweet treat for later.
These vases work beautifully as centerpieces for Halloween parties or as cheerful decorations on side tables and mantels. You can also create the candy corn color pattern using painted mason jars—yellow on the bottom, orange in the middle, and white on top. Either version captures the essence of Halloween in a simple, recognizable design that everyone loves.