This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Nottingham chapter.

Our environment and our student finances means that splurging lots of cash for a single night of freaky frivolities is not necessarily a possibility for us. So instead of raiding Poundland (with enough ethical issues for its own article) here are a few great little ideas for your decorations using things that you definitely already have!

P.S. Don’t forget to recycle everything afterwards!

Monster doors!

Ingredients: Bin bags/tights

Paper and pen/printer

Scissors

Tape

Directions:

If you are using paper or bin bags for the hair you can go ahead and it cut it into long strips. If you are using loads of pairs of tights just hang them over the top of the door. Tape everything into place on the back of the door.

If you have paper plates for the eyes then feel free to use those. I don’t, but I do have a printer so I can just print out some scary eyes. If you don’t have either, whack out your scissors, some paper and a black pen and get drawing! You can do the mouth while you’re at it, or if you have masking tape you can use that instead.

Ghostly Garland!

Ingredients: Tissues (lots!)

Cotton balls/makeup pads/loo roll/even more tissues

String/tooth floss/thread/rubber bands

Black pen

Directions:

Each ghost uses two tissues, place one on top of the other (aligned or not, it doesn’t matter as long as their centres are on top of each other). Then put three or four cotton balls (or a small handful of whatever you’re using!) on the middle of the tissues, this will make the head of the ghost. Squish the head filling into a tight ball and pull the tissues up around this into a little bundle. Make sure that the head filling keeps its shape and firmly tie a double bow (or tightly put the rubber bands) just above that. You should have a basic ghost shape now, draw on some eyes and there you have it!

You can keep the ghosts separate if you like (hook them onto furniture/people using the bows you tied or tucking things through the rubber bands). If you want a garland though, just pass a string through the bows (or bands) of all the ghosts you’ve made. Don’t forget to tie a knot on each bow to keep the ghosts spaced out!

Insidious Ice!

Ingredients: Rubber gloves (clean please!)

Water

A freezer

Directions:

Fill your rubber gloves with water and pop them in the freezer. Have an ice hand floating in your drinks jug!

Cardboard Creepies!

Ingredients: Loo roll tubes

Loo roll

Black pen

Scissors

Glue stick

Ruler (you can use an online ruler if you don’t have one)

(coloured pens for alternative designs)

Directions:

To make the Loo Roll Mummies, take an empty loo roll tube and cut a pair of arms out of it. Make sure that there is plenty of length for you to glue the arms onto the main tube. Take another empty loo roll tube and glue the arms to it.

Next, take strips of loo roll 2-squares long and cut it lengthways into strips no more than 2cm wide. Fold these strips in half lengthways. You can now glue these around your loo roll tube to look like mummy bandages. Don’t forget to leave space to draw the eyes in!

Alternative designs:

You can easily make loo rolls into Frankenstein’s monster, bats, zombies and ghosts using this design (just minus the loo roll bandages!)

Terrifying Table!

Ingredients: A table

Socks/suspenders

Shoes

Directions:

Get your table involved in the fancy dress fun by putting socks and shoes on the table legs. Just make sure that it won’t fall over if you put it in your stilettos!

Easy eeriness!

If there’s something strange going on at your house in about 5 minutes and even the Ghostbusters won’t get there in time to save the day, use these quick ideas to can spook up your party.

1…

Go to your kitchen, bring a black pen and the fairy lights from your room:

Take your milk bottles out of the recycling, ensuring that they are clean and dry. Draw big black ghostly eyes and mouths on them and put the fairy lights inside them. They won’t fit in a single bottle but can go in more than one if you line them up next to each other. Turn the fairy lights on and you have glowing ghosts for your party (this will only work if you have white milk bottles)!

2…

Go to your computer and print out the following:

Frankenstein neck bolts and brain-removal scar

– To be blu-tacked to a mirror! If you have more than one mirror that guests will be able to see you could also print off vampire fangs and a humungous black collar.

The biggest ghostly eyes and mouth you can find

– To stick on your fridge!

3…

Go to the kitchen and bring your tippex, highlighters and a black pen with you:

You can draw creepy eyes, spiders, cobwebs and ghosts, all over everything. Go crazy! And most importantly, have a Happy Hallowe’en!

Edited by Caroline Chan

Sources:

http://modernfamily.wikia.com/wiki/File:Modern-family-s2e6-halloween-11-550×340-600w.jpg

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/galleries/35015/monster-doors

http://peppermintplum.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/ghostie-boo-garland.html

http://simplystated.realsimple.com/2009/10/06/creepy-treats-for-halloween/

http://papelisimo.es/momia-de-papel-higienico-halloween-mummy-paper-tubes-diy/