Spooky season is right around the corner. While you’re adding some bone-chilling details around the inside of your house, why not make the outside good and scary, too? Outdoor Halloween decorations can be simple or elaborate, but whatever way you go, a list of good Halloween outdoor decor ideas is a tool you can keep in your back pocket when October comes.
Here is a quick list of 11 of our favorite Halloween outdoor decor ideas for this spooky season, and all the ones to come.
Outdoor Halloween Decor Ideas
From cute, to spooky, to seasonally appropriate there’s an option on this list for every skill level and every family. Whether you’re looking to DIY your next Halloween decoration, or spend some serious cash, keep browsing for some scary-good inspiration.
DIY Pumpkin Patch
Starting off simple, nothing screams Halloween and autumn like a trip to the pumpkin patch. Sure, you may not be able to recreate the tractor rides and wide open fields, but why not bring a small slice of everyone’s favorite fall activity home with you?
Creating a DIY pumpkin patch is fun, easy, and relatively inexpensive. Set up your pumpkin patch before trick or treating for some good ambience, or host a harvest party on the front lawn.
To create your pumpkin patch, you’ll need some dirt or mulch, and a good selection of pumpkins. Depending on the size of your DIY pumpkin patch and the amount of effort and money you’re willing to spend, several approaches are possible. Spread your ground cover over your desired area. Then, start spreading out your pumpkins. Try buying pumpkins of different sizes or colors for visual interest. If you’d like to go all out, consider investing in some small decorative bundles of hay.
Festive Orange Pennants
Take your outdoor Halloween decor up a notch–literally! Great decorating happens on multiple levels of the visual plane. If string lights feel too Christmassy for your taste, then look no further than paper and string.
Strings of orange pennants are colorful, add a pop of spooky spirit, and can be easily strung anywhere around the yard. Hang from trees, gazebos, or along front porch railings for a pop of Halloween color.
These pennants can be found at party or Halloween stores seasonally, or made at home for a fun DIY project with kids. Have your little ones cut large triangles out of orange construction paper. Punch holes, and string through and knot in place with a durable twine.
Halloween Inflatables
If you’re looking to up the ante a little bit and willing to spend a little bit more cash, then the world is your Halloween-decor oyster. One of our favorite ways to pack a big punch is with lawn inflatables. Easily accessible (we’ll link some of our favorites below), these inflatables are easy to install with quick fill pumps.
Get the adorable group of pumpkins pictured above for under $50 bucks, or hang a menacing ghost from the tree in your yard. Whether you’re into charming characters or something scarier, a wide array of Halloween inflatables perfect for the yard are only a click or two away.
Ghostly Trees
If you’ve got trees in your yard, then you’ve got an advantage of additional real estate to decorate. Adding some ghostly figures into the trees can add another layer of visual interest to your spooky outdoor paradise. Purchase affordably on Amazon, or make it a fun project with kids.
DIY hanging ghosts are easy. To make, gather an old white sheet that can be cut into large squares, some foam craft balls, hot glue, and sharpie markers. Simply gather the white sheet over the foam ball and glue in place. Draw your most menacing face, and then hang around your yard with string or attachable ornament hooks.
Yard Signs
There’s a yard sign for all seasons. Whether you like to paint your own menacing messages, or pick up from your local Halloween store, these are one of the simplest outdoor Halloween decor ideas in the books. We love them for their versatility and adaptability. Use to guide trick or treaters to your doorstep, or give directions at your next Halloween party.
At Home Graveyard
Bring the cemetery to you this Halloween holiday season. Graveyards are for the living, this spooky season. Create your very own night of the living dead or Pet Semetary moment in your front yard. Make your own headstones with yard stakes and styrofoam, or find a wide array of options online.
Finish your masterpiece with some artfully piled dirt, crows, and reaching skeleton hands for an all around chilling effect.
Halloween Luminaries
Nothing sets a spooky scene like candlelight. Kick it up a notch this year by putting together your very own halloween luminaries. A great project for kids, luminaries are simply crafts that are great for a weekend family activity or fall party.
To make your own Halloween luminary collect tissue paper in your desired colors. Black, orange, purple, and green are all great choices for the Halloween season. You will also need scissors, empty jars, modge podge, and a brush to apply.
Start by cutting or tearing tissue paper into smaller pieces. Apply to the outside of your jar with modge podge, overlapping the tissue paper to prevent empty spaces. Coat thoroughly with modge podge and allow to dry. Once dry, finish with some sharpie eyes, pumpkins, or spooky messages. Light with tea lights and place on your front steps for some great ambience this Halloween.
Animatronics
Like the inflatable decorations, animated Halloween decor is not something you can DIY unless you have an engineering degree and a penchant for creativity. Most of us, however, will need to purchase these at a Halloween store. If you don’t live close to a Spirit of Halloween or a similar seasonal chain, Amazon has a great selection of moving decorations for all tastes that are built to withstand all kinds of weather.
String Lights
It’s hard to go wrong with something simple and classic. String lights are a festive choice for nearly all holidays, and Halloween is no exception. Look for string lights in orange, purple, or even green to create the spooky spark your yard is lacking.
String around trees, throw over shrubs, or wind through porch railings. Use alongside hanging pennants or tree ghosts for ultimate effect.
Play Spooky Music
Great decorating uses all of the senses. What is more in the spirit of the halloween season than mood music? There’s a reason all of your favorite scary movies have a great track. From John Carpenter's Halloween to The Exorcist, music can help set the tone in your outdoor space.
Play over outdoor speakers to create a cast of fear. Having trouble picking a track? Borrow some inspiration from your favorite scary movies. You’ll have the hairs on the back of your neighbor’s necks rising in no time.
Classic Jack O’ Lanterns
Last but not least, no Halloween outdoor decor list is complete without the standard classic. A well carved and lit Jack O’ Lantern is one of the most recognizable and essentially Halloween standards of all time. Carve your own with kids, or get together with friends. From goofy to scary to realistic, the only limits are your own artistic merits.
Purchase or download patterns, grab some knives, and get to carving. Set on your front porch step or around your yard, light it up, and enjoy the spookiest season of the year.