You can have great Halloween decorations even if you are on a budget.  You can’t walk into a retail store after August without seeing Halloween decorations for sale.  But while you might be tempted to pick up all of those ready-made decorations, you can save hundreds of dollars if you just spend a little bit of time and use some of the ideas below.  It is possible to have great Halloween party decorations on a budget.

Most of these party decorations use items or materials that you have in your home already. All you need are a few common tools, inexpensive supplies, and your imagination to get through Halloween on a budget.

Halloween on a Budget: Party Decorations

• Haunted Home – Get out your sheets and drape them over all of your furniture… to look like you have moved out for the season.  You might want to remove some furniture to make it look really sparse.  Sprinkle talcum powder or baking soda on the surfaces to make it look like years of dust.  …if you live where I do, just don’t dust for a week, it will look like a year’s worth.
• Floating Ghosts – Blow up some balloons and drape a sheet over them. Put the tied end of the balloon at the top, tie some fishing line or string to the balloon and use a safety pin to suspend the ghost from the ceiling.
• Pumpkins – Pumpkins are not that expensive and you will likely be able to find a “pumpkin patch” close to your neighborhood.  Make carving the pumpkins a fun project for the whole family.  You can download carving templates and directions online from numerous places.
• Silhouettes in the Windows – Use black poster board to cut out scary silhouettes and tape them in your windows.
• Dollar Store – Don’t pass up the Dollar Store in order to keep your Halloween on a budget.  You can fine all kinds of very inexpensive party decorations that you can use.
• Vampire Napkin Rings – rd.com has a great napkin idea showing that “serious chompers make your table settings look so cute it’s scary. Splash white cloth napkins with red Kool-Aid, thread a white twist tie through a set of plastic vampire teeth, and finally secure a twist tie around the center of your napkin.”
• Your Own Cemetery – You can use reclaimed materials to make a free cemetery. To construct your haunted grave yard just cut out different shapes from cardboard and paint them to look like aging tombstones. After they have dried, arrange them on your lawn to look like a miniature graveyard. You can use the spooky tombstones to indicate a haunted trail for trick-or-treaters to get to your front door.  … making a thrilling Halloween nighttime walk.
• Giant Spider – cheapsally.com has a great write-up on how to make a huge spider out of trash bags that you can put on your front lawn.
• Jack-O’-Lantern Flower Vase – I saw this really cool Jack-O’-Lantern flower vase on weheartit.  It looks simple and inexpensive to make.

Whether you are decorating for a Halloween party or just preparing your house for the trick-or-treaters, you can find or make party decorations and celebrate Halloween on a budget.