95 DIY Halloween Decorations to Ring in Spooky Season
Easy crafts that'll make your home feel festive, inside and out.
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Halloween only comes around once a year, which means you have limited time for your decor to make an impression. From spooky skeletons and creepy insects to friendly ghosts and cheerful pumpkins, there are endless ways to celebrate this spooktacular season. Buying Halloween decorations can get expensive, so why not make your own? We've rounded up fun and easy Halloween crafts that double as DIY Halloween decorations, whether you prefer adorable pumpkin topiaries, simple fall garland or a truly haunting display.
Think floral pumpkins displayed in the entryway, a friendly ghost garland draped over the mantel or rocks disguised as harmless monsters. Make it more frightening with candlesticks dripping in fake blood, tombstone chair covers or creepy-crawly lanterns decorated with paper spiders. We've included a range of ideas to spookify your interior, as well as outdoor Halloween decorations that'll strike up conversation among your neighbors.
Start scrolling to find homemade pumpkin carving ideas, festive wreaths, eerie table decor and Halloween door decorations that won't disappoint on October 31.
Drippy Copper Pumpkins
Give pumpkins and gourds a glow-up with copper liquid leaf paint. Use old paint brushes to paint the "drip line," creating high peaks and lows for variety. Then, paint the surface above the drip line, including the stem. Note: As you're working, shake or stir the paint to prevent it from separating. Add paint to the brush in small amounts to avoid running.
Creepy-Crawly Lanterns
Turn old glass jars into eerie lanterns. Start by removing labels with warm soapy water. Print out our bug and frog clip art, cut out the pieces and attach them to the outside of the jar with Mod Podge. You can also add pressed leaves and flowers! Layer the entire jar with three-inch pieces of tissue paper, attaching them with Mod Podge until the surface is covered. Add tea lights for a warm glow.
Branch Spider Web Wreath
Once you gather an assortment of twigs and sticks from the backyard, this spooky wreath is easy to make. Create a wreath form by cutting a circle about 12" wide out of cardboard, and then cut a smaller circle inside it about 5" wide. Cut or break sticks into pieces 5 to 10 inches long. Arrange them around the wreath form and attach with hot glue, layering as needed. Once the glue is dry, stretch small pieces of spider webbing over the sticks, criss-crossing for a natural effect. Tuck in a few fake spiders and attach with hot glue.
Toadstool Pumpkins
Gather small gourds, squash and pumpkins of different shapes, colors, sizes and patterns to create a playful pumpkin topiary.
For the large toadstool: Use a pumpkin carving knife to carve a hole around the stem of a flat pumpkin and hollow it out. The hole should be a bit smaller than the top of the tall pumpkin so that it fits right on top. Using circular cookie cutters of various sizes and a rubber mallet, punch holes all around the cap. Balance the flatter pumpkin on top of the taller pumpkin with the hole you carved facing down. Add LED tea lights inside the cap pumpkin to light up your toadstool.
Clay Ghost Garland
Adorn your mantel, kitchen shelves or entryway table with this adorable ghost garland. To make this family-friendly craft, you'll need oven bake clay, ghost cookie cutters and a rolling pin. Once it's baked, use a paintbrush and black acrylic paint for the face, deciding if you want spooky or friendly ghosts.
Pressed Flower Pumpkins
An assortment of pressed flowers and dried blooms turn pretty pumpkins into an elegant display. Use Mod Podge to keep the pressed flowers in place, applying a thin layer onto the pumpkin's surface and then, on top of the flower to keep it flat. Apply your pressed flowers one by one, as the glue will dry quickly. Attach any dried flowers using small pins or hot glue.
Paper Bag Witch Boots
Make it look as though a wicked witch got caught in your house. Gather up a few household essentials (hint: paper bags, hot glue and ground cinnamon), then customize the boots as you wish.
Pumpkin Candles
Illuminate your home with these sweet pumpkin candles. Carve out mini pumpkins, then treat them as you would any vessel when creating a candle. Keep in mind you'll need soy wax flakes and wicks.
Monster and Pumpkin Rocks
These quirky Halloween rocks, a perfect craft for kids, act as decor when displayed in a serving dish. Encourage your little ones to gather rocks from the backyard, then wrap them up with colorful yarn and glue on funny faces. This blogger makes pumpkins, mummies and monsters, but the options are endless!
Spiderweb Wreath
Blogger Allison crafts this creepy wreath in minutes — and swears she didn't use any glue. She starts off with a white berry wreath, like this one, and wraps it with spider webbing and attaches black spiders with wire.
Succulent Pumpkins
Add life to this grim and ghoulish holiday with an array of live succulents. Carve out your pumpkin, ideally one with a flat or concave top, to get started.
'Batty' Pumpkin
Don't shy away from bold hues this year. Spray paint pumpkins a neon pink or bold red, then hot glue paper bats to create a unique and "batty" display.
Spiderweb Drink Umbrellas
Use a Cricut machine and 12x12 black craft paper to DIY these adorable spiderweb umbrellas for drinks. Then, hot glue the center of the webs to skewer sticks. When the night ends, you may find a few of them missing because they're oh-so-cute!
Spa Pumpkin
An easy and quite silly decor idea is dressing a pumpkin in spa attire. Think cucumbers for eyes and blue paint in the center for their facial expression.
Puff Paint Pumpkins
Use puff paint to add all sorts of designs to pumpkins. In this case, we painted the pumpkins white, then used white puff paint to draw on the leaf patterns.
Crepe Paper Garlands
These snake-like garlands are made with dark RIT liquid dye and an orange party streamer roll. All it takes is sewing a basic running stitch down the center of the streamer. Keep the process going until the garland is long enough to drape over the mantel or bar cart.
Headstone Pumpkin
This eerie pumpkin design is inspired by old cemetery headstones. Start by carving out our headstone template onto a tall, dark pumpkin. After adding lights, you can place your new headstone in the yard, porch or lawn.
Crow Pumpkin
To create this stunning look, pick out a fresh pumpkin, wipe away the dirt and clean it with a water and vinegar spray mixture.
- Using a good pumpkin carving knife, keyhole saw or sturdy serrated kitchen knife, cut a round opening from the bottom of the pumpkin (this makes it easier to add lights).
- Scoop out the inside pulp and seeds and trace this crow template onto the pumpkin using washable chalk markers.
- Use a craft knife set to cut along the template's lines before placing the carved pumpkin over string lights or a LED votive.
Day of the Dead Pillow
Blogger Holly created this colorful pillow design using felt and a sugar skull printout. You'll also need fabric glue to attach the felt sheets and dimensional paint.
Candy Cave Pumpkin
This decoration doubles as an easy way for kids to take their treats. Create a hole at the bottom of the pumpkin and scoop out the guts inside. Carve out a hole in the pumpkin's front, before painting the entire pumpkin black and filling it with delicious candy that trick-or-treaters will want to eat.
Alyssa Gautieri (she/her) is the associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers all things home and interior design. Prior to joining GH in 2022, she wrote for publications including ELLE Decor, Chairish, BobVila.com, Unique Homes Magazine and LODGING Magazine, in addition to crafting product copy for home brands like BrylaneHome and VIGO Industries.
Mariah Thomas (she/her) is an assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home and lifestyle content. Mariah has more than four years of editorial experience, having written for TLC, Apartment Therapy, Women's Health and Avocado Magazine. She received her master's degree in journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and published her first book, Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts and Emotions, in 2019. She's also the founder of RTF Community, a platform for creatives of color to connect, learn and showcase their work.
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