Halloween is such a fun holiday to decorate your home and make DIY costumes.  You don’t need to spend money buying decorations and costumes – get creative and have fun! You will find that it doesn’t take much money to make your Halloween fun with this easy Halloween front door decor on a budget!

I added some recent pins to my Halloween Pinterest board and came across this Halloween tutorial from Woman’s Day that I knew would work perfect for our front door. The tutorial lists the materials with cost and the total was $96+ to create this look according to Women’s Day.  Well, check out how I used card board boxes, everyday household materials and supplies that I had on-hand to make a SPOOKY front entryway for only $11!

I was hesitant to make Halloween tombstones using cardboard but I think these turned out great.  I’ve seen tutorials to make tombstones using foam board and the Dollar Tree even had some neat looking foam tombstones, but

I wanted to keep this budget friendly and honestly didn’t want more “stuff” in storage for next year.  Although I will probably keep these tombstones, since they are flat they will be easy to store.

Okay guys, I know how awful those front steps look!  I was able to scrub them after these pictures were taken and they are soooo much whiter now! But I have to say, our front door looks A LOT spookier with those dingy steps!

I used 2 different vinyl stencils that I cut using my Cricut Explore machine but similar stencils are available at craft stores or you can make you own.

We had some peel and stick window decals from last Halloween that the kids put on the side windows.

The ghost was so easy to make… I think we all take for granted our ability to make something for free because of how easy it is to go to Target or Walmart and spend $5 on something instead of taking the extra few minutes to be creative using everyday household items.

When I was a kid, we used to make Halloween ghosts using bed sheets and pillows and hang them in trees in the yard.  The kids thought this ghost was cute because he is only 4.5 feet tall but your DIY ghost can be whatever height you choose.

Supplies for the door and tombstones:

• 2 Large cardboard boxes
• Box cutter
• Black Spray Paint
• Silver Spray Paint
• White Spray Paint 
• Halloween Stencils (DIY or try this)
• Black Marker
• Spider Web with Spiders
• Masking Tape

Cut long strips of cardboard for the door, use masking tape to attach to the door and write a “Keep Out” or “Haunted” sign on the “boards.”  Add spider web and spiders between the cracks of the boards on the door.

Cut cardboard tombstones in various shapes and sizes.  I kept the bent flap on mine so that the “headstone” could easily stand on it’s own.

I did not take any pictures spray painting the tombstones, but you get the idea  – I used a mix of white, silver and black spray paint to get the effect, attached the stencil, sprayed more paint, removed stencil and let them dry.  They don’t have to be perfect for them to look cool 😛

Supplies for the Ghost and Chain:

• Two 4 to 5 foot pieces of scrap wood (approx 1×2 inches thick)
• Masking Tape
• 7-inch styrofoam ball 
• Twin-size white flat sheet
• Black Felt
• 2 six-foot foam pipe insulation tubes 

To make the chain, I followed this tutorial.  I didn’t bother gluing the open links together – I really don’t have time for that and only plan to have the chain hanging on Halloween for fear that it will blow away since it has been so windy.

A tip to make thechain:  do not cut down the entire tube’s side if it’s semi-sealed when you buy it.  It already comes with a slit that you can open for each link but keep the slit closed so you will only need to open every-other link (hence less gluing and less links coming un-hooked if you don’t glue like me).

For the ghost I laid the two scrap pieces of wood together like a cross and taped them together.  I pierced the foam ball to the top and draped the sheet over to create a head and arms.

I cut black eyes from the felt and taped to the sheet.  All materials are reusable once I put the ghost away because I did not glue anything together!

My ghost is being propped up with some large stones found in our yard.

So my total spent on materials for our Halloween decor was $11!

Don’t forget to grab these Printable Halloween Decorations!

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