DIY Halloween Party Decorations You Can Make Today

DIY Halloween Bat Garland

This garland uses traditional Halloween colors as an accent to your spooky—or not so spooky—decorations, perfect for any Halloween party. This fun garland craft comes with two options in one. Foam shaped bats and cleverly cut paper straws form these adorable Halloween decorations. After you hang the garland, move and pull the straw pieces so they point in different directions.

Pumpkin Piles

This pile of pumpkins makes a stunning centerpiece for any Halloween party. All you need for this easy Halloween decoration is a mix of large and small pumpkins. We recommend using faux pumpkins so you can leave the display up as long as you like, or so you can use it again next year. Spray paint the pumpkins different colors (we used copper, silver, gold glitter, and red) and stack them in your fireplace so the pumpkins spill into the room.

• See More Fresh Ideas for Pumpkin Decorating

Picture Perfect

Set up a photo-op that doubles as a fun Halloween decoration. Dress up cardboard cut-outs that fit your party theme (we're totally obsessed with this desert-theme Halloween party!) and cover them with fringed crepe paper. Cut a small hole for children's faces and provide a step stool for the littlest party-goers. This fun Halloween craft is a fun activity station and a festive decoration all in one!

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DIY Halloween Outdoor Decorations

This decorating hack doubles as a great photo backdrop for your Halloween costume party! Hang paper lanterns of various sizes and shades of white, grey, and black as a spooky Halloween backdrop indoors and outdoors. Secure the lanterns to the ceiling with hooks and ribbon, letting each lantern hang at different heights. Add in upside-down foamcore bats for long-lasting outdoor Halloween decorations that will light up the night.

DIY Outdoor Halloween Door Decorations

Dress up your fall front door and give your guests a goofy greeting with this easy jack-o'-lantern wrap. Made with paint and felt, this Halloween pumpkin decoration is the cutest way to celebrate the season. We used gold paint, but try making it with black for a spooky grinning door—or orange for a giant pumpkin effect.

Halloween Bar Cart

Set up a boo-tiful drink cart for a best pal-inspired Halloween party. Hang some colorful theme-appropriate art over the cart. Add a pom-pom garland and spray painted pumpkins and set out your favorite Halloween party drinks. Wrap a bottle in our Halloween wine labels or make a batch of Halloween spirits.

• Get Our Fun and Free Halloween Wine Labels

Metallic Pumpkins

Make these posh pumpkins with paint and stencils. These gold painted pumpkins start with a coat of matte black paint and simple pumpkin stencils. Use one of our free printable pumpkin stencils as a guide, but instead of carving, cut out the inside of the stencil and paint the design. You can also trace the designs onto pieces of metallic paper, cut out, and decoupage to the pumpkin's surface.

A Front Door Halloween Display

Greet party guests with a gorgeous (and festive!) Halloween front porch display. Make the banner from patterned craft paper, and use ribbon and string to decorate a simple foam wreath form. Add pumpkins and mums, then finish the look with simple garlands of leaves, bats, or anything else you can find to complete the look!

Creepy Crawlers

Eat, drink, and be scary with these large faux spiders. You can make these spiders in three sizes—big, bigger, and biggest! Make one big scary spider to hang in the corner (or on the front of your house), or have several climbing your mantel or staircase.

• Learn How to Make These Giant DIY Spiders

Ghoulish Table Settings

Set your Halloween party table with bits of faux skeleton bones, candles with dripping wax, and a spooky spider on every plate. Even the scariest of Halloween party decorations can be elegant!

DIY No-Carve Halloween Pumpkins

Black is the new orange (see what we did there?). Do this craft before or during the party for a fun craft with limited mess. Make these pretty Halloween porch decorations in three steps. Paint around a stencil on a real or faux pumpkin, then outline the stencil shape with crafts nails. Weave string in and around the nails to create a spiderweb effect. Mix and match colors to make each pumpkin unique. Take a peek at some of our home design pumpkin carving stencils for inspiration.

Coffee Bar

Put together a Halloween-themed breakfast bar with this adorable coffee and donut display. Set out your usual coffee or hot cocoa necessities, then add a pile of ghostly white donuts and place small pumpkins around the table. For non-coffee drinkers, add a pitcher of witches brew (orange juice or cider!) to the arrangement.

DIY Monster Halloween Decoration

Create a Halloween wreath that's a little cute and just the right amount of scary to greet guests at the door. Handmade (or craft store-bought) yarn pom-poms are all it takes to transform a plain wreath form into a jolly Halloween monster. We used green, but try customizing it with any color you like, or make multiple monsters to hang throughout your home.

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DIY Halloween Chalkboard Signs

Use large framed chalkboards in your home to display notes of fall welcome and Halloween cheer to your guests. You pick the frame and chalk colors to match your decorating style. Give your guests a bit of misfortune by using one of these spooky notes:

You have turned into your mother.

You'll never be taken off the call list for telemarketers.

Are you sure you turned the oven off?

That's not a good color for you.

You will meet a short, stinky, unattractive stranger.

Everyone saw you double-dip.

You've got something in your teeth.

Beware of Brooms sign

We love this collection of fabric-covered pumpkins and homemade broomsticks. Gather sticks, branches and thin logs and use hot glue and twine to turn them into a set of broomsticks for a gaggle of witches. Hang a festive sign to warn visitors to watch for flying brooms, or use the sign to add a special greeting for guests at your Halloween party.

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Get the Witches Together

Enjoy this Halloween table setting for your witches' night out! Throw the ultimate Halloween party for your coven by gathering friends around this pink and orange ombre tablerunner. Make the runner by dip-dying each end a different color so that the colors meet in the middle. Add painted pumpkins in various sizes, Halloween cutlery, and small fuzzy spiders. Give your pumpkins a little glam by decorating them with temporary tattoos.

• Easy No-Carve Halloween Pumpkin Ideas (Including Tattooed Pumpkins)

Circling Birds

Halloween is all about tricks, right? Have a murder of crows or an unkindness of ravens gather on your door with this faux bird Halloween wreath. Guests will admire your wreath from far away, and shriek when they see it up close. (Eek!)

Doorway Greeting

Add a shiny Halloween hello to guide party guests to your door. Paint faux or real pumpkins black and white, and stack three black pumpkins on top of each other. Secure the pumpkin tower with a wooden stake by carving a hole through the top and bottom of the pumpkins. Paint letters with silver paint, then glue small silver sequins or stick matching silver brads through the pumpkin rind to outline the letter. Boo-tiful!

Striped Halloween Wreath

This wreath is made with black and white ribbon and simple cardboard or wooden letters painted gold and coated in glitter. Hang the wreath with the same ribbon and add a large black bow for a sweet and simple Halloween wreath.

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DIY Wayward Witch Halloween Decoration

Crash landing! This easy-to-make Halloween porch decoration looks like a wayward witch landed headfirst in a moss-filled urn on the way to your party. This is a great way to reuse a summer flower planter! To recreate the look, all you have to do is dress bendable mannequin legs in striped hose and buckled shoes. Place upside down in a tall urn filled with moss by your front door, and place enough on top to bury the legs. Add a broom nearby for an extra touch of mischief.

DIY Braided Halloween Spider Web

Attack of the giant spiders! These Halloween yard decorations are oversized and perfect for decking out your front porch for an outdoor Halloween party. Made with braided yarn, these large webs can be reused year after year. Use them as outside Halloween decorations, or take them inside to add a spooky accent to the furniture.

• Learn How to Make a Braided Spiderweb

Southwest Halloween Centerpiece

This Halloween display uses a white-washed wood box and brightly colored pumpkins to give guests a festive holiday greeting. Use this display to dress up the snack table or drink cart. Hang spiderwebs crafted with black yarn and wire hoops behind your display for an extra spooky touch. Complete the look with yarn tassels in matching hues.

Pumpkin Friends

This eye-catching Halloween party table is a collection of yummy Halloween candy treats and smiling Halloween creatures. Set carved pumpkins around the room for a touch of Halloween lighting. Add a pumpkin with large googly eyes, or attach a paper owl mask. Add folded streamers for a crinkly bit of Halloween decor, hanging right from the ceiling!

DIY Pumpkin String Art

You can make these party decorations weeks ahead of Halloween, without worrying about aging pumpkins. Choose your favorite holiday-theme quote ("Boo" is classic), then create the outlines of the letters using tiny nails tapped halfway into the side of your pumpkin. Do the same thing for an outer border, such as our quote bubble. Wrap black thread around the exposed nails, building up the color and layers as you go for a cool 3-D effect that your guests will love. Display this pumpkin on the porch, or in your home!

A White, Welcoming Mantle

Halloween party decor doesn't have to be black and orange! These white farmhouse Halloween decorations go well with existing home decor. Spray paint white pumpkins to put on the fireplace, add smaller white pumpkins to the tops of candlesticks, and lean a witch's broom in the corner. Paint a simple witch form on a stained wood board for an extra festive touch. This Halloween decor is neutral enough to leave up long after the party guests leave!

Here Lies...

These simple DIY Halloween tombstones require a white paint pen, black paint, and a little inspiration. Cut foam board into tombstone shapes and paint it black (or look for black foam board), and add your inscription with a white paint pen. Borrow any one of our fake Halloween tombstone names, or come up with your own Halloween pun.

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DIY Halloween Staircase Decorations

Include the staircase in your party decorations by adding these simple paper pieces. Use clips to suspend ghoulish artwork from curtain rods. We used medical textbook clip-art images to get the look, enlarging them to fit on 11x17-inch sheets of paper. To give the paper an aged look, dip each print in a tub of diluted coffee and let dry. Embellish railings with garlands crafted from layered 4- and 8-inch doilies and coffee filters (also dipped for color). Bundle a few together, pinch into a flower shape, and tie with wire. Wire the bunches to a long ribbon.

A Full Party's Worth

Get the super simple instructions free with our Halloween crafts download and how-to party decorations for this Halloween monster party. You'll find bingo, coloring options, cupcake toppers, and more.

Outdoor Skeletons Decorations

Give your guests a frightful hello with a welcome from these bare-boned greeters. Pose several Halloween skeletons on the porch and on the roof, securing them with fishing line. Add props as appropriate to your Halloween aesthetic—scary or whimsical.

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DIY Halloween Luminarias from Glass Jars

Play with all the colors of Halloween and guide guests to your party with neon painted luminarias lining the walkway, porch rail, or windowsills. To make these Halloween lights, dab glass paint onto clean glass jars using a sponge. Use a few coats, smoothing the final coat with a paintbrush. Draw or print skull clip art onto contact paper, cut out the shape, remove the backing, and adhere to the dry jars. Dab on a few thin coats of black paint and remove the stencils when done. Insert tea lights and line your walkway come trick-or-treat time.

• Learn How to Make Halloween Luminarias from Glass Jars

DIY Halloween Garage Door Decorations

Let your guests know where the party is at with these scary Halloween decorations right on your garage door! The key to creating this scary scene is a combination of black vinyl and card stock. Turn on your Halloween lights so the zombies glow during the night.

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DIY Halloween Pennant Banner

Add this to your kids' Halloween party decorations for an easy backdrop. This pennant-style banner features candy corn, trick-or-treating ghosts, and friendly owls. To make it, print out the free Halloween crafts download linked below, containing the eight flag images, onto white cardstock. Trim carefully using a crafts knife and a ruler.

Cut a length of ribbon long enough to drape from point A to point B (the length depends on where you hang the finished banner). Arrange the flags in the order you want them to appear. Use double-sided tape to attach the ribbon to the backs of the flags, about 1/4 inch from the top. The top edges of the neighboring flags should touch.

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DIY Halloween Eye Decorations

These unblinking eyes are sure to make guests do a double take. Select plastic-foam balls in varying sizes and draw large pupils using a permanent marker. Use a toothpick or stick to hold pairs together, letting pupils face slightly different directions for a silly look. Attach the pairs of eyes to a dark bench or fence so they pop, or attach them to the shower curtain in the bathroom to surprise your guests!

DIY Halloween Mummy Decorations

Have your guests travel through a not-so-sleepy graveyard on the way to your party. These Halloween lawn decorations take spooky to a new level. You'll scare the pants off visitors with a front yard featuring mummies that eerily rise and pose to haunt the twilight landscape. Look for mummies at Halloween supply stores, or make your own with old mannequins and bandage wraps.

A Fun Pumpkin Garland

Set the party scene with this easy, unique accordion style pumpkin garland. To make the garland, cut out stemmed pumpkins from orange cardstock (one for each letter of your greeting and extras for spaces). Next, cut letters from black cardstock to fit on the pumpkins. Accordion-fold the pumpkins using about 1 inch of cardstock between folds.

Color in the stem with a black marker and attach a letter to each pumpkin using double-stick tape. String some twine along a wall, mantel, or doorway, and attach each pumpkin to the twine with a binder clip (or tape the stems to the twine).

Snack Bat Bowl

For a cute and simple way to serve party treats to your little goblin guests, add bat wings to a plastic pumpkin bowl.