Do you love Halloween decorations as much as we do but can’t afford those party store prices? Fear not, little monsters, HC Drexel has come up with the cutest Halloween decorations that won’t burn a hole through your pocket! What’s even better? Most of the materials needed you can find lying around your dorm—paper, tissues, cups. This DIY decor is quick, easy and here just in the nick of time!
1. Ghost Wreath
What you’ll need:
- Poster board/cardboard
- Tissues
- Cotton balls
- Black marker
- Tape
How to: Cut out a wreath-shaped circle from poster board or a cardboard box. You could even reuse that Amazon box! Put a cotton ball in the middle of a tissue and gather the tissue around the ghost’s “neck” (or tie a string around it’s neck). Repeat this step until you are satisfied with the number of spooky friends you’ve made. Draw eyes and mouths on these little guys. Use tape to secure the ghosts onto your paper wreath. Hang that bad boy on your door and make a statement for Halloween!
2. Tissue Box Monsters
What you’ll need:
- Tissue box
- Paint
- Computer paper
- Egg carton
- Markers
- Scissors
- Tape/glue
How to: After making your ghost wreath using all those tissues, save the box and cut out a mouth for your adorable little monster! Paint the box any color and pattern your heart desires. Don’t have paint? Use colored paper or post-its. Cut out teeth from computer paper and tape or glue them unto the monster’s mouth. Cut the egg carton up and give your monster as many or as few eyes as you want. Think Monsters Inc. and the possibilities are endless!
3. Toilet Paper Roll Bat
What you’ll need:
- Toilet paper/paper towel roll
- Tape/glue
- Scissors
- Black paper
- Markers
How to: Fold in the top of the toilet paper roll to create the bat ears, tape or glue the fold in to position. Cut the wings out of black craft paper and attach them to the sides of the TP roll. If you don’t have black paper, you can always use your markers on plain printer paper or cardboard. Finally, draw on the goofy facial features. These cuties will look great on your bookshelf or nightstand!
4. Candy Corn Garland
What you’ll need:
- Paper plates
- Scissors
- Orange and yellow paint
- Paint brush
- String
- Tape
How to: Paint the outside rim of the plate orange, let the paint dry. Then, paint a smaller concentric circle yellow. Leave the inside of the plate white. After the paint has dried, cut the plate in half. Cut the halves in half again, or repeat the process until you get the desired number and size of candy corn pieces. Either hole punch each piece and string them together, or simply tape each piece on to the string. And now you finally have a way to fill up that last bit of white wall space!
5. Ghostly Fridge
What you’ll need:
- Black paper
- Scissors
- Tape
How to: This one will be your guy friends’ favorite way to get in the holiday spirit because it takes no effort at all! Cut eyes and a mouth out of black paper and tape them unto the mini fridge. Voila! A ghost! And, hey, if they don’t have black paper again you can always color computer paper.
6. Solo Jack
What you’ll need:
- Solo cups (pick your color)
- Black marker
- Flameless LED tealights
How to: Draw jack-o-lantern faces on these upside down cups, place LED lights (which can be found at CVS or the dollar store) under the cups. Let there be lanterns! For other fun faces, try skeletons or Frankenstein!
7. Ghosts By The Gallon
What you’ll need:
- Empty gallon of milk
- Black marker
- Scissors
- Holiday lights
How to: Draw ghost eyes and a mouth on the gallon. Cut a quarter-sized hole in the back of each gallon, then organize the ghosts near each other and string the lights between them placing several bulbs into each. Now, you’ve found a use for that spoiled milk!