6 Festive Halloween Decorating Ideas

Halloween is just around the corner and with that season comes all of the fun decorating and costume ideas for your home and family. Halloween is always a busy season for Goodwill since it is considered a top source for materials and costumes for most families. Don’t forget while putting together your award-winning attire, that our store offers a lot of great materials for crafting a festive & spooky home too!

Gathered here are a few of my favorite ideas for decorating for Halloween that I think you will find both fun AND affordable!

Put a Few Skeletons in the Front Yard

I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw this hilarious idea for Halloween decorating from Ruffles & Truffles.  She scored a couple of these skeletons at her local Ross & Target stores and each year has so much fun setting the scene for the Halloween season. With a couple of patio chairs from Goodwill, you have a quick and hilarious way to decorate for the season! This idea is so fun because you could snag just about anything in the store and make it into a funny skeleton tableau. Since I have a black thumb, I appreciate the exposed skeleton left to linger in the dead flower bed.  How fun is that? 

Add Some Spooky Prints

One of my favorite trends right now for Halloween is the addition of a few spooky prints for a tabletop or mantle. The House That Lars Built shows how easy it is to hunt for a free image to download and to print and get it printed as an engineer print for the mantle. You could also go small with these prints and make a spooky mantle gathering with a few Goodwill frames spray painted in black. I love the additions of the black taper candles as a finishing touch to this easy mantle idea!

Make a Candy Corn Treat Bag

I love pillowcases for holding our Halloween treats and I am so inspired by this super cute candy corn treat bag that Rit Dye made on their website. I am such a big fan of the product for transforming everything from table linens to restoring color in my clothing, but I never thought to create a cute treat bag for my kids with the dye product. The tutorial could not be easier and the results are picture perfect for a special trick-or-treater in your life! 

 Add a Witch to Your Fireplace

I feel like a good witch craft is mandatory when it comes to Halloween decorating. With a couple of pool noodles and some shoes purchased from Goodwill, you are well on your way to creating the cutest little witch to peek out of your fireplace. The skirt was made with a little gathering of tulle and these tights can be found in abundance in the Halloween section of your superstore as well as your local costume shop. I love that this is something you can do each year and that it can come apart for easy storage! Visit Crafty in Crosby for the full tutorial on this one! 

Mummify a Throw Pillow

I am a big fan of any cute home project that doesn’t require sewing and this mummified pillow is a perfectly cute way to decorate for the Halloween season with just a few simple craft materials. This idea was inspired by Pottery Barn. Material can be found with the table linens/sheets and you could slipcover a throw pillow from the store to keep this adorable craft on budget! Visit handmade mood for the tutorial on this super cute pillow! 

Decorate Your Kids

All of you out there still getting away with picking your child’s Halloween costumes, I just couldn’t be more jealous. I just love visiting Goodwill for fun Halloween costumes and prop ideas and this list wouldn’t be complete without one super cute costume idea for you to indulge in. Skirt As Top has the sweetest little hipster Moonrise Kingdom costume idea I have ever seen. Please tell me this is a favorite film of yours too!! With a few fun props from Goodwill to complete this handmade adorableness, your kids are sure to win all the costume awards (and wow other parents in the process). I will have to be content living vicariously through you this year now that I have a tween and teen on my hands! 

I hope you leave this post feeling inspired to tackle a fun Halloween project of your own with Goodwill! Happy Halloween, friends! 

7 New DIY Halloween Costumes

Halloween is just around the corner and today I wanted to showcase even more DIY Halloween Costume Ideas that you can create using commonly found items at your Goodwill Store. Last year I compiled a really great list of Easy DIY Halloween Costumes that were truly a hit with our readers. Luckily, I was able to find seven more DIY Halloween costumes that I think would be easy to pull off and oh-so-affordable thanks to Goodwill.

DIY Minion Costumes

One of the biggest movies this summer was Despicable Me 2. Often costumes from our favorite movie characters are expensive, but I found this easy DIY Minion Costume on Love This Pic that would be perfect for your own little minion. The best part is that you only need to find a yellow hat from Goodwill and the other supplies are commonly found in your home (pipe cleaners, toilet paper roll, scissors, stapler, and a little spray paint). This costume wins for both ease of creation and for being wallet-friendly too!

Rosie the Riveter

What could be more recognizable than the, “We Can Do It?” campaign. I love this costume because you can create the headpiece with a simple red t-shirt from Goodwill that you decorate with a little paint. The rest of the outfit can most likely be pieced together with items you already have in your closet and with a simple flex of your muscle, you are ready to go! Check out Crafted in Carhartt for several great DIY ideas including the Rosie the Riveter costume. 

Holly Golightly Costume

One of my favorite movies of all-time is, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” I love this Holly Golightly costume that you could piece together with items you found at your store along with items you probably have tucked away in your closet. With a simple little black dress, some costume jewelry, a pair of sunglasses, and and some black gloves you have the makings for a perfectly classy Halloween costume. This is a great costume for yourself or for an adorable little girly-girl in your life! 

Sun-Maid Raisin Girl

I am sure it comes as no surprise that I am a huge fan of good old-fashioned costumes and this Sun-Maid Raisin Girl costume is about as cute as they come! Add a little ric rac to a white Goodwill t-shirt and pick up a basket from the Housewares department.  Fill it with real (or fake) raisins for the big night and hit your local Halloween party supply store for a bonnet. Head on over to wip to get the scoop on this great costume idea full of Goodwill potential! 

 Mona Lisa

You don’t have to have spend a lot to pull off a great costume and that is why I absolutely love this Mona Lisa costume for its simplicity and ease in creation. Head to Goodwill to get a frame and then use the printable that is provided in the MAKE instructions to create the background. Dress your child up in a a dress and they will be ready to wow everyone with this costume that is truly a work of art!

Lumberjack

Boy costumes can be tough around here and this DIY Lumberjack costume is one of my new favorite boy costumes. Head to your Goodwill store to grab a knitted hat and flannel shirt and whip up one of these cute little felt beards to go with the costume. Bonus points should be given if you have time to make an ax out of cardboard! Visit The Gold Jellybean for this awesome costume tutorial! 

LEGO Indiana Jones Costume

My son is LEGO obsessed and that is why I love this fun LEGO Indiana Jones costume for Halloween. Although creating the LEGO head is a bit of work,  what little boy wouldn’t love creating this with you or their Dad? Pair this costume with a pair of brown pants and shirt from your Goodwill store! 

I hope these ideas inspire you this year! Here is a flashback costume that I created for myself two years ago! Yes, even I love to dress up for the season!  

Happy Halloween, everyone!