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Are you looking for ways to decorate your home for Halloween with a DIY approach?  We’ve found so many easy, fun, and unique Halloween projects online that kids can help create! We’ve seen everything from pumpkin lanterns and painted (Star-Wars) pumpkins to homemade spider webs… and they all look great.

DIY halloween decor

DIY Halloween Decorations

This is a list of the BEST DIY Halloween decorations that are NOT scary (aka kid and classroom friendly). Plus, these Halloween decorations can be made for little to no money, because those store-bought ones can be pricey. Just like our DIY Halloween Chocolate Pretzel Treats, it’s as much fun making them as it is enjoying them!

1. Milk Jug Ghosts

DIY Halloween decorations

Do you know what’s better than a pumpkin? A ghost jug! These Spirit Jugs are so easy to make and super cheap. They took an empty milk or water carton, drew a face with a sharpie, cut a hole in the back, added a string of lights, and plugged them in. That’s it! – via eighteen25

2. Paper Spider Webs

DIY Halloween decorations

You only need three items to make these beautiful paper spiderwebs! They look like something out of a magazine yet so simple. For this Studio DIY Halloween decor special, you will need black scrapbook paper, scissors, and a few other items you probably already have in your craft closet. Construct it similar to those snowflakes that you made as a child. They turn out great.

3. Monster Jars

Don’t know what to do in the upcoming Halloween? Well, we’ve got just the thing for you!
Grab some acrylic paint to add an eye and a monster mouth to a glass jar! Next, fill it with your favorite colored candy, and you’re set! That’s it. 🙂
They are a huge hit with our friends and family so far. Play the “How many pieces of candy are in here?” game with these jars for a fun tradition! – via fun625.orientaltrading

4. Glow Candles

Glow-in-the-dark Halloween clings, anyone? You only need two things to make these clings. Simply paint pictures of your favorite designs right onto a plastic ziplock bag, using glow-in-the-dark puffy paint.
When it dries, you can peel it off of the bag and it becomes a cling. Stick it to windows for a glow-in-the-dark surprise.
I love how they put coloring sheets inside of the plastic bag so they could “trace” their designs with the paint. They are reusable, too. – via apumpkinandaprincess.com

5. Ghost Wreath

Do you remember using tissues and little styrofoam balls (or ping-pong balls, or even pom-poms would work) to make ghosts as kids?
This adorable DIY Halloween decoration just takes it one step further by hot-gluing them onto an embroidery ring to make a wreath.

I love the suggestion of using a hole punch with black construction paper to get the perfectly shaped eyes & mouth. – via handmadecharlotte

6. Haunted “Gingerbread” House

The kids have so much fun with this project, and it’s a great way to get into the spooky spirit. It makes an awesome centerpiece idea & it’s something that both adults can enjoy with their children crafting up tricks & treats alike: this haunted Halloween display is great!
More than one-third of Americans attend or host their own Halloween party, but making special treats is my favorite part of any kind of celebration. Of course, anything candy-related will do – like Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins from Hershey® chocolates (especially during seasonal months) Kit Kat®, Cadbury Screme Eggs… you name it and they’re always winners at our house. 🙂  – via momendeavors

7. Candy Corn Pots

DIY Halloween decorations
DIY Halloween decorations

Another easy DIY Halloween decoration is these Candy Corn pots made from small terracotta pots and white, orange, and gold/yellow acrylic paint. Fill them with treats and use them as a treat for a friend, a gift for a party host, as party favors, or even to sell at a fall festival. – via LiveLaughRowe

8. Halloween Hand Soap

This Halloween hand soap is so easy to make it’s scary! Just take a mason jar, fill it with 6 ping-pong eyeballs, add your soap, and screw on the soap dispenser mason jar lid. That’s it! – via karacreates
We love this mason jar version, but for an even more simple DIY, if you don’t have a mason jar, you can do the same thing with a Softsoap bottle (the clear kind), labeled peeled off. You can also use plastic Halloween-themed rings or bouncy “eye” balls for the inside of the soap dispenser.

9. Bat Garland

Our kids made this, too. They took black construction paper and drew a bat, then cut them out, poked a small hole in each bat, and put them onto a long piece of string. We didn’t fold our wings, but they look cute either way. Our kids hung their bat garland from our fireplace mental and it looked great!
If you aren’t so great. freehand drawing, grab the bat template GoodHousekeeping.com.

Monster Mugs

Using mugs from the dollar store, Pebeo porcelain paint (and Pebeo black paint marker), you can create a great monster mug! Be sure to let it dry for 24 hours before putting it in a 300-degree oven for 30 minutes to set.
Ps- I love Sarah’s tip of drawing your design with a black crayon, first! So smart. – via repeatcrafterme

We hope you’ve enjoyed this list of the BEST DIY Halloween decorations that are NOT scary (aka kid and classroom friendly). Even better, these Halloween decorations can be made for little to no money. Grab more awesome Halloween inspiration such as Halloween dinner and party ideas by signing up for our newsletter.

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Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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