It’s that time of year again—the season when all the other holidays need to step aside because Halloween is back and more spook-tacular than ever. If your heart beats for black and orange, then you know that the clock is already running out to deck your home with all the unearthly accessories necessary to help get into the spirit. And with only weeks to go before trick-or-treating ghouls and goblins show up on your doorstep, it’s essential to be prepared.
Inflatable ghost? Check. Giant skeleton? Assembled. Pumpkins for carving? Done.
If you’re still on the hunt for the rest of the holiday trimmings required to haunt your house, there’s no need to empty your savings account to get them, especially when there are so many brilliant dollar-store hacks to help get the job done.
With a little creativity and an extra dollar or two, you can transform your home into a stylish and creepy boo-tique. The best part? It won’t cost an arm and a leg.
1. Creepy Photo Collage
Why stash favorite Halloween photographs away in an album when you can display your collection as a creepy collage for everyone to enjoy? All it takes is some simple editing to give old photographs a spooky, new look. Convert them to black and white, sepia, or get creative and try a variety of filters.
Once you’ve chosen your photos, order copies online, at your local print shop, or—even easier—just print them off at home. Then, head to the dollar store and stock up on frames in a variety of styles and sizes. At just $1 each, it’s easy to mix and match to create a fun, festive look.
2. Spooky Signs
If you love Halloween, let these signs do the talking for you. A variety of spooky signs can be found in the aisles of the dollar store, and many of them look like you paid more than just a buck.
Featuring black cats, skulls, witches, and seasonal sayings, larger signs are sold as singles, and smaller ones come in packs of two. Display them together, or scatter them around your home to give every room a festive feel.
Related: 33 Free Halloween Printables You Can Download Right Now
3. Spider Wall
One thing you’re sure to find on dollar-store shelves during Halloween season is spiders—available in enough sizes, colors, and styles to make any arachnophobe nervous.
Head to the Halloween store for the extra-large, industrial spiders, and find plenty of smaller varieties at the dollar store. Use liberally to decorate just about anything; like a spider brigade marching up a wall or mantel.
Related: These Giant DIY Spiders Are The Halloween Decor You’ll Be Seeing Everywhere
4. Halloween Wreath
The first thing trick-or-treaters see is your front door, and what better way to greet them than a festive Halloween wreath? While most DIYers head to the craft store to gather up the supplies needed to create one, it’s worth making a pit-stop at the dollar store first.
Most dollar stores offer a floral section with a selection of accents and tools like foam, tape, wreath forms, and floral wire in a variety of colors, including Halloween standards like orange, purple, and black. There’s also a fun assortment of embellishments like themed bows, picks, and blooms featuring glitter pumpkins, eyeballs, and skulls.
Related: How to Make a Spooky Haunted House Wreath for Halloween
5. DIY Jar Lights
Simple yet charming, these jar lights are an affordable way to set the mood for Halloween parties, spooky dinners, or just an excuse to show off these string lights.
Spiders, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns, oh my! Go with a theme or make one of each. The jars, paper crinkles, and adorable lights can all be found at the dollar store for just $1 each, making your total investment $3 per jar light (plus two AA batteries, which aren’t included).
Related: How to Make a Spooky Black Candle Urn for Halloween
6. Ghoulish Table Setting
Whether you’re mixing up a witch’s brew or planning a dinner party for the undead, grab a cart and fill it up with all the necessities needed to set the stage for your spooky celebration—for a fraction of what you’d pay at retail stores.
Start in dishware, where you can find plates, bowls, wine glasses, and chargers in shadowy colors, along with black and white, geometric-design placements to complement the theme. Then make your way over to the Halloween section, where (if you’re lucky) you can score these skeleton chair covers for only $1 each.
Complete the setting with glitter pumpkins, spiders, skulls, candleholders, and other seasonal accents to ensure your soiree is a spirited success.
7. Enchanted Paper Lanterns
Made of paper and cellophane, each lantern comes with its own mini light that changes colors every few seconds. The result? An enchanted luminary that will lend more than just a little sorcery to any stairwell or darkened room. Available in assorted themes, these lanterns are light as a feather and will most likely blow away if you set them up outside, making them best-suited for indoor use only.
They may require a little extra finesse to ensure they don’t turn out crooked, but the $1 price tag will more than make up for it.
Related: Make These 5 Easy Paper Bag Halloween Luminaries
8. Fun Framed Messages
Dollar-store frames aren’t just for creepy photo collages; they can also be used to display messages from beyond the grave.
Outfit them with bold letters and spell out your favorite Halloween sentiment. Doing it at home is as easy as printing off letters, cutting them to fit the frame, and setting up the display on your mantel or another focal point in your home.
Related: Walmart’s Selection of Affordable Halloween Decor Will Get You in the Spooky Spirit
9. Ghostly Gravestones
If you want all the thrills of a haunted cemetery without the hassle of doing the work yourself, these $1 tombstones might just do the trick. With a variety of eye-catching designs, you can canvas your yard with these poly-foam headstones and still have enough cash leftover to buy an extra bag of spider-webbing.
They’re unlikely to survive inclement weather, and shouldn’t be left out longer than a day or two. Even so, given the price point and their fun, supernatural appeal, the one-and-done factor shouldn’t stop you from setting them up at your next spooky gathering or for trick-or-treaters on the big night.
Related: How to Make Oversized Outdoor Bat Decorations
10. Halloween Tree
Decorating a tree can be a festive family activity any time of year, especially during Halloween. Halloween-inspired trees in black, white, or silver can be purchased online or at some big-box stores. But, if you want to save a few dollars, spray paint an artificial Christmas tree yourself, before embellishing it with all the haunted accessories you can find.
The dollar store typically has a sizable selection of skulls and skeletons in all sorts of spooky styles—all perfect for trimming a Halloween tree without stripping your wallet down to the bare bones.
Related: These Fall Displays Will Give You An Excuse to Put Up the Christmas Tree Early
11. Pocket Projector Lights
There’s no end to what you can do with these nifty pocket-projector lights. Just add triple-A batteries, click the button, and you’ve got a glowing scene to set the mood.
The projection radius has a decent range and can cast the image up to several feet. These pint-sized projector lights are perfect for walls, ceilings, hallways, doors, or stairwells.
Related: Fun Halloween Traditions to Start with Your Family This Year
12. (Oh) Great Pumpkins!
You can’t go wrong with this sweet collection of pumpkins. In fact, at just a dollar per faux gourd, they might just be better than the ones picked from the patch. There are a ton of colors and styles to choose from, making it easy to incorporate them into your décor, regardless of the aesthetic.
Available in elegant velvet, sparkly glitter, country plaid, and other varieties, fill up a basket or set them out anywhere for instant autumn atmosphere that’ll last from Halloween right into Thanksgiving.
Related: 27 Halloween Decorations that Last All Season Long
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