Decorating Your Front Porch for Halloween Using Everyday Items

With Halloween quickly approaching and the official decorating season about to begin, you may be wondering how you will go about setting up a spooky scene on your front porch. Trick-or-treaters and passers-by delight in a well-dressed front door and yard. Party and decorating stores begin to line their shelves early with a wide assortment of cobwebs, cauldrons, witches, ghosts and goblins. Starting off the spending season by blowing your budget wide open isn't necessary to achieve a hauntingly fantastic front porch!

If you're just starting out then it's probably necessary to budget some money to start collecting your stockpile of reusable Halloween gear. Stay away from the cheap cardboard cut outs as they aren't likely to survive many years in your garage, and the plastic window stickers often don't last the first season. Invest in a plastic skeleton - you can find them life size and as cheap as $10. A few yards of cheesecloth in white and in black is relatively inexpensive and if cared for properly will last a long time. Fake cobwebs are fun for one year but are a pain when you have to take them down and don't last season after season. They're cheap enough to purchase new each year if you really have to have them. Things like light up skulls and pumpkins are good to have and can be among some of the cheaper decorations to purchase. Don't worry if you don't have everything your first year - building up a good Halloween decoration supply can take a few seasons.

For a pirate themed front porch you'll need the life size skeleton and some items you probably already have. Dress your skeleton in pants and a vest, making sure to roll up the pant legs like you'd see on a pirate. If you're crafty you can fashion your own eye patch or purchase a cheap one for under a dollar. Tie a scarf around the skull and grab an empty bottle of liquor to cradle in his arms. Drape the black cheesecloth around as a backdrop and place a CD player with some spooky music under the cloth (or in this case it's ok to use a cheap cardboard treasure box to complete the look!).