9 Items Already In Your Home That Make Great Halloween Decor

For many people, one of the spookiest parts of Halloween is the cost associated with decorating. In 2024, Americans were projected to spend a whopping $11.6 billion on Halloween-related purchases. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to show off your holiday spirit without overspending on decorations — and it starts with items you likely already have in your home.

From scrap fabric left over after your last sewing project to cardboard or bottles destined for the trash, your home is a treasure trove when it comes to DIY supplies. Even outside of the holidays, there are plenty of ways to repurpose common household items into unique home decor. These clever Halloween DIYs aim to repurpose items you already have around your home with the help of a few common tools like glue or tape. This approach lets you customize decorations to your taste, cut down on waste, and skip an extra trip to the store. Best of all, with no power tools or pricey supplies, this creates a fun crafting opportunity the entire family can enjoy — beginners included.

Nothing says Halloween quite like a garland of ghosts. TikTok content creator @woodlarkblog shows off just how simple this easy Halloween DIY is, using scrap fabric, wool, and string to create a garland that hangs on your mantle or across door frames. To recreate the look, stuff each fabric square, tie off the head to form a ghost, and thread them onto a string with a needle. You can also use cotton balls or additional fabric as filling instead of felted wool.

From sauces to pickled vegetables to condiments, glass jars and bottles can quickly pile up. Rather than throwing them away, you can repurpose your old jars into DIY potion bottles using printed labels, water, cooking oil, food coloring, and glitter. Simply remove any existing labels, and fill your jar just over halfway with water. Then add your food coloring and glitter before topping it off with cooking oil. The mix creates a snow globe effect when you shake the bottle. You can print the labels onto stickers or attach them with Mod Podge.

Many great DIYs start with construction paper, and TikTok content creator @ksenia_shu shows how to use this crafting essential to make paper bats. By folding the paper in half and cutting along the seam, you can create a symmetrical bat — or an entire cauldron of bats — to decorate your walls. You can also use these bats to add festivity to other areas, such as your windows and doors. If you're having trouble nailing that perfect bat silhouette, you may want to sketch out your design before cutting.

These cardboard ghosts for your windows are a great way to repurpose cardboard this Halloween. While content creator @saralesneski uses a rotary cutter for their ghosts, you can also use scissors. To make your own cardboard ghosts, start by drawing outlines and then cutting out the ghost silhouettes. Then, add the eyes and mouth. If you're struggling to do so with scissors, opt for a craft knife instead — just make sure to be careful. Lastly, paint your ghosts black and attach them to your window with tape.

Plush pumpkins are all the rage right now, and with this no-sew DIY from @shellydoesdiy on TikTok, you can easily make your own while also repurposing those old socks without a twin. All you need to make a plush pumpkin is an old sock — one sock makes one pumpkin — scissors, glue, twine, and filling. Simply stuff the toe of the sock with your chosen filler, and use twine to create a serrated pumpkin appearance. Continue to wrap the twine around the opening, sealing the end with hot glue, to create the stem.

There are plenty of home decor DIYs you can make with toilet paper rolls, and this one is perfect for fall and Halloween. By cutting your toilet paper rolls and half and then wrapping the smaller tube in yarn, as demonstrated by TikTok creator @makinghomematter, you can create cute miniature pumpkins. Add felt eyes and a mouth for a jack-o'-lantern vibe, or leave them plain for a look that works all fall.

If you do end up making your own toilet paper roll pumpkins, you'll need the perfect place to display them. With just scissors, tape, glue, paint, and a few pieces of cardboard, you can create a coffin-shaped shelf. Content creator @warmplacee shows just how easy this project is despite its complex appearance. Begin by cutting your cardboard into several pieces: a coffin-shaped backing, a shelf, and then borders. Assemble your shelf with glue, using tape for extra security, and cover with a layer of paint.

Candles have long been part of Halloween, whether that's in lighting up your creatively carved pumpkins or recreating the ambiance of a dark and stormy night. As a result, one of the best ways to decorate your home for Halloween is by using the candles you already have. You can position your candles to create centerpieces or other statement areas. Using a variety of candles with different sizes and textures can add depth to your Halloween decor's appearance — even with the lights on.

Halloween decor is nice, but versatility makes it even better. After all, who doesn't want to enjoy their handmade crafts longer? TikTok creator @sibster_made demonstrates how to cut leaf shapes from coffee filters and dye them with diluted food coloring. From there, hang them with string and glue and enjoy your own slice of autumn. You could also collect real fallen leaves from outside and use them for this project, especially if you seal them with Mod Podge for longer-lasting colors.