How to Decorate Your Backyard for a Halloween Party on a Budget

Halloween is my all time favorite holiday. There is just something exciting about dressing up in costume, no matter your age and decorating your home. I am the kind of person that when October 1^st rolls around, I want to decorate completely on that first day (and I continue adding little touches throughout the month of October). Last year I threw my first ever big Halloween party and decorated my back yard (my front is always decorated for Halloween). It was a lot of fun coming up with different ways to decorate as I had a budget to work with. If you like me and want to redo your yard spooky style, this article will give you a few pointers on how to do it.

Use Medical Gauze

Gauze is an all time favorite of mine. My Mom had major surgery a couple of years ago and we were left with tons of leftover gauze. We didn't know what to do with the leftovers...until Halloween rolled around. I use several packages and spread it out over our fence, dangled it from trees, etc. It looked really creepy and it was easy to image that it was gauze from a Mummy or something as equally creepy. Not everyone has gauze lying around but I've seen smaller packages for sale at dollar stores and even Walmart should have it.

Shop at Thrift Stores

Thrift stores and I go hand in hand during the holiday seasons. Most of my Halloween decorations have come cheaply from thrift stores. Why spend a lot of money on something you only get to use one month out of the year? There are several different kinds of Halloween decorations to be found at second hand stores. They may not be perfect but hey, it's Halloween. They shouldn't be perfect. Imperfections are a must on Halloween.

Pumpkins on a Rope

Instead of soap on a rope, have some pumpkins on a rope. When I had my Halloween party, I hung little plastic jack o lanterns (the small ones that you put little treats in to hand out at kids parties) that I hung on a rope. I then hung it up in my yard so that they dangled festively. The pumpkins are typically sold in a six to eight pack and I got mine at the dollar store. I also bought my rope at the dollar store. It's not a rope that I would trust to hold something heavy but for little pumpkins? It worked just fine.

Spider Web

Fake spider web is another amazingly cheap Halloween decoration. It comes in a package with a couple of fake spiders. I hung it from trees in our backyard to make it look like spiders lived in the trees. I had some extra fake spiders which made it all the creepier. You can pick up spider web at discount stores or chains like Walmart.

Ceiling Decorations Can Be Used Outdoors

Don't forget the edge of your roof. At the dollar store I picked up some Halloween decorations that were meant to hang down on a ceiling. Since I had no ceiling outside, I hung it from the edge of the room and it still looked neat. The one I picked was strands of bats hanging down.

Dollar Stores

Dollar Stores are another great resource for Halloween gear. One of the things to look for is door decorations. I bought some last year at my local Dollar Tree and instead of putting it on a door, I hung it on the side of the building. It looked great and became a photo station for kids and adults to take pictures together.