Halloween Decorating:
Keeping it in the Budget

Need some ideas for Halloween decorating? And want to stay within your family budget?

Halloween decorating for the outside
Welcome visitors and trick-or-treaters alike with spooky decorations. Remember most of this stuff is intended to be viewed at night, so be sure to check everything out once the sun sets.

• Grave markers made from cardboard (or styrofoam) and light them with candles (real or battery-powered).
• Cobwebs out of spray string or batting.
• A scary sounds CD playing low in the background.
• Carved pumpkins and hay bales. For a twist on the traditional jack o'lantern, consider carving a word or your house number on a series of pumpkins - with one letter or number per pumpkin.
• Spooky lights from small white string lights hidden behind black tissue paper.
• Ghosts in trees or on ceilings from white sheets and some fluorescent paint.
• Spiders and bats made from black trash bags. Stuff newspapers to round out the bodies and legs. The bigger, the better.
• Scarecrows made from old clothes you have on hand and hay or straw. Have it sit on top of a hay bale for added effect.
• Any outside lights that can be placed to cast spooky shadows - whether from the nearby tree or just from the visitors as they walk up to the door.
• Monster footprints painted on the sidewalk with glow-in-the-dark paint. Use a sponge cutout (designed by you and the kids) or extra large boots with washable paint that can be washed away with the rain or garden hose. This can be a great way to lead trick-or-treaters to the Halloween candy.
• Change out your regular porch light bulb for a tinted bulb or black light.

Halloween decorating for the inside
Having a Halloween party or just want to add a little creepy feel to your house to get in the spirit?

• Little ghosts and goblins. Use tissue paper or just plain tissues to make ghosts. Crumple one tissue into a ball. Put it in the center of a flat tissue. Close the flat tissue around the ball (the ball is the head, the rest is the floating body) and tie a piece of string around the neck. Draw faces with a felt pen if desired. Hang them all over the house - from light fixtures, in doorways, from the stairwell.
• Use cotton batting or cut string to make cobwebs. String is great for doorways where it can hang down and brush the faces of guests without getting tangled up in their Halloween costumes.
• Body part displays. Use different kinds of food in display bowls (best for dimly lit rooms). Cut hot dogs with ketchup on the end for fingers. Cook spaghetti and add some food coloring for veins. Use cocktail onions for eyeballs.

Those are just some Halloween decorating ideas to get you started. What ideas can you think of that don't cost much - or anything at all - that will fit the fright bill?