12 Easy DIY Halloween Decorations That Are Frightfully Fabulous

Ready to wow your guests with eek-chic style this Halloween? Set a spirited scene with silhouette houses, keep beverages cold in a pumpkin cooler, add festive flair with fall-hued blooms, and find more party options with these easy and enchanting decorating ideas. These cute tips for DIY Halloween decorations are pretty much guaranteed to charm all your guests — and to ensure you have a hauntingly happy bash.

Rose Pumpkin

Everything’s coming up roses — even on Halloween! "Spray roses can be found in a range of lovely orange hues and they cluster together beautifully, making them the ideal choice for a pumpkin­-shaped arrangement," says floral expert Lynn Jawitz, owner of Florisan Fine European Floristry in New York City, who created the festive look shown here. It’s the perfect arrangement for an entryway or dining table! 

Get the look: To make this pumpkin-in-fleur, trim the stems of about three dozen orange-hued spray roses to 2 inches. Then, take a 6-inch floral foam sphere and slice 1 inch off the bottom­ so it has a flat, level base. Next, soak the foam in water. Insert roses one at a time at the sphere’s crown. Continue to add concentric rows until the foam sphere is covered. For the stem, tuck in a trio of palm frond snippets at the crown of the pumpkin. Place arrangement on a pedestal plate and display on a tabletop. 

Insider’s Secret: The simple key to keeping your pumpkin perky is ample hydration. To ensure the most even result, swap your watering can for a turkey baster. Its nozzle will get in between roses, while its bulb gives you precise control over how much H2O you dole out. Watering from top to bottom will guarantee the most balanced dispersion.

Silhouette Houses

A row of haunted dwellings is the perfect backdrop for a whimsical Halloween spread. To make: Use one large sheet of black poster board for every four houses. Cut the poster board in half, then fold both pieces in half, making a crease on each pair to connect two houses. Using a piece of chalk, draw the outline of each house, adding windows and doors. With scissors, cut out the houses, windows and doors, keeping the creases intact so the houses are joined. For colored windows, simply tape pieces of tissue paper to the back of the poster board, filling in the cutouts.

Bat-Covered Lantern

A spooky bat-covered lantern is a fun finishing touch for a buffet table! To make, pop a pumpkin candlecup (filled with a battery-run votive) inside a white birdhouse or lantern. Finish by attaching three bats (cut from black construction paper) to the roof using pieces of poster putty.

Mummy Mugs

Dip into a first-aid kit for a sheer-genius material that turns any mug into a spirited tabletop accent. To make: Wrap a white coffee cup with double-sided tape, then cover with a length of gauze. Next, use a dab of poster putty to attach two craft-store googly eyes. Fill the mug with water, snip a dahlia stem to 2 inches, then pop in the bloom.

Tiered Pumpkin Centerpiece and Mummy Napkin Rings

This Halloween, you can quickly conjure up a hair-raising good time with the help of design and craft pro Matthew Mead. He’s the expert in super-chic yet cute accents that only look as if they took hours and tons of effort to make. And this spooky-meets-sweet table is no exception, thanks to its impressive tiered floral centerpiece (sliced and stacked pumpkins on plates filled with bright seasonal blooms) and bandage-wrapped mummy napkin rings. But here’s the real treat: "I’ve designed all these projects so that with just one quick trip to the craft or grocery store, you’re set," says Mead.

Fall-Hued Blooms

A small, stylish floral arrangement adds a cheerful touch to your buffet table without overshadowing the food or making a kid-friendly party feel formal. For a perfect-size bouquet, arrange a handful of bright seasonal blooms in a range of fall hues within a water-filled drinking glass. Finish by wrapping the outside of the glass with a decorative paper napkin or a piece of patterned fabric, securing with clear tape.

Haunted Birdhouse

All it takes is a birdhouse, paint, and cookies to create this spooky structure. It’s sure to boost the spook factor of your festivities! To make: Coat a birdhouse with black craft paint. Let dry, then hot-glue peanut cookies to the roof, round cookies to the sides, and wafer rolls around the base. Trim the roof with orange gel icing. To make the crow, cut from black paper, glue to a pipe cleaner, and then glue to chimney.

Floating Candle

Giving your soirée a golden glow is as simple as raiding the cupboard. To make festive floating twinklers, fill a glass three-quarters of the way with water, and then add red and yellow food coloring until the water has a red-orange tint. Add a few drops of cinnamon extract or essential oil and pop a floating candle on top. The heat from the flame will activate the cinnamon aroma to keep your gathering sweetly scented all evening. For extra flair, place the candle on a saucer and add a handful of seasonal blooms and berries around the glass.

Horde of Gourds

Now that citrus shades are all the rage, echoing the fun of pumpkin picking on a sun-kissed autumn day is a breeze! Simply set your table in lime-green with splashes of lemon-yellow and add flame-hued gourds to use as clever votive holders and vases.

Insider's Secret: String a 5-foot gourd garland along a buffet table, dinner table or over a mantel for an extra seasonal twist.

Pretty Crawlies

With their purple potato bodies and fuzzy little legs, these critters aren’t creepy — they’re cute! To make: Start by using a paring knife to cut two notches into one end of a spud, and then press in two black-eyed peas for the eyes. For the legs, cut six 6-inch-long pieces of pussy willow, gently bending each to form a knee. To finish, use a skewer to poke three holes along each side of the potato, and then insert the pussy-willow legs. Place on a plate and display.

Insider's Secret: Enhance the purple hue of the potato (and add a touch of sheen) by rubbing the skin with a bit of cooking oil.

Carrot Creature Candles

Jeepers creepers, how did these curvy candles get those peepers? Each taper "candle" is actually a carrot with a silly stare made of black-eyed peas. To make: For each taper, use a paring knife to carefully carve two notches into a long carrot, then pop in the black-eyed peas to create eyes. Place the carrot in a black candleholder. To display, cluster a trio of "candles" on a tabletop.

Insider's Secret: To give carrots extra shape, use a peeler to accentuate small curves and bends.

Pumpkin Cooler

A gourd-turned-cooler is a fun and functional addition to your table — and it doesn’t take a fairy godmother to whip one up! Simply cut the top off a large and wide pumpkin, then remove the pulp and seeds. Place a clear plastic bowl in the gourd, and then add drinks and fill to the top with ice.

These Halloween decor ideas originally appeared in our Halloween Special Issue.