11 Best DIY Outdoor Halloween Decorations for Front Yard

Halloween is one of the best celebrations of the year. It’s festive (fit for kids and adults alike) and allows for endless possibilities and creativity when it comes to decorations.

Whether you’re looking to decorate your front yard last-minute with little effort or to win the neighborhood award for the most themed yard, these front yard DIY outdoor Halloween decorations are for you. Plus, a lot of these ideas also make for great indoor Halloween decor!

1 — DIY Jumbo Candy

Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without candy. So these DIY candy project is the perfect festive door decoration. All you need are some foam, cellphone, ribbon and paint. Hang in some pumpkins, and your porch is all set!

2 — DIY Waterproof Outdoor Paper Lanterns

These DIY waterproof outdoor lanterns are so easy  to put together and there are many ways to get creative by customizing each to how you like it. If you’re really in a pinch for time, take some store-bought paper bags, decorate them how you would like, and coat them with Mod Podge (making them waterproof).

If you have more time and energy, make your own paper bags. This second option allows you to customize the bags even more. For example, use orange paper and make jack-o-lantern bags or black and purple paper to create a witch-y bag. The cool part about this DIY project is that it doesn’t have to be only for Halloween. It can work for festive parties and special occasions alike. 

3 — Glowing Pumpkin Lanterns 

If you want to add some glow to your lanterns and have them light up your walkway for trick-or-treaters, try these glowing pumpkin lanterns. It honestly takes longer to make a bowl of cereal than to make these lanterns. Simply take a plastic lantern (commonly used for trick-or-treating) and add in tap lights, flameless candles, or thick glow sticks (different colors would be extra festive). Once your Halloween pumpkin is glowing, hang it up, and voila! 

4 — DIY Tin Can Ghost Windsock

This DIY tin can ghost windsock is the perfect decoration if you don’t want your yard to be super scary but also want to be festive. Plus, it’s a fun and safe project for kids to do too. It’s quick to put together as long as you don’t spend too long watching the paint dry. 

Starting with a tin can and some white and black paint, add on the white ribbon to hang off the bottom (to mimic the bottom of a ghost) and hang it up in the breeze. While this project is difficult to make glow-in-the-dark, it’s possible with layers (and we mean layers) of glow-in-the-dark paint. 

5 — DIY Venus Flytrap Pumpkin Candy Holder

If you’re tired of using the biggest bowl in the kitchen and maybe decorating it with stickers or Halloween decorations for candy handouts, fear no more. Use that bowl for the popcorn to munch on while you wait between trick-or-treaters and instead use this venus flytrap pumpkin candy holder. Plus, you can hang it up, and people can grab their own candy. If you don’t want to hang it, then opt not to use the hanger. 

All you need to make this fun candy holder are a foam pumpkin, a hot knife, some paint (for the pumpkin), hot glue, a wreath hanger (to help it hang by itself), ribbon, some fake flowers with thick stems, and a wooden tag. 

6 — DIY Eyeball Lights

If you’re looking to spook up your lights this year, eyeballs are a perfect way. Not only are they the right shape, but they give off an eerie, very Halloween glow to your yard without frightening off any youngsters from trick-or-treating. 

The eyeballs are made from painted ping pong balls with a small hole made to fit LED string lights.
You could get bigger bulb string lights and omit the ping pong balls. However, the ping pong balls will look more authentic and glow differently than the lights.

Use sharpies to draw/”paint” on the eyeballs. Use red to create a bloodshot look, yellow to create a very eerie Halloween look or purple to match a witch. Then, string them around your front door or in your tree. And if you want to continue with the eyeball theme, check out our spooky eyeball donuts.

7 — Pumpkin Stenciling

Pumpkin carving is such a fun tradition. But if you’re free-handing your carving or letting the kids take charge, that pumpkin sometimes turns out frightening… and not in a fun Halloween way. 
Take charge of your pumpkin carving with these pumpkin stencils. They’re printouts that you trace on the pumpkin and carve out. Easy as (pumpkin) pie!

8 — Flamingo Vultures

If your lawn has some pink lawn flamingos, don’t take them down for Halloween! Instead, revamp them into themed vultures. It’s almost guaranteed that no one else on the block will have these as part of their decor. The main article you need for this project is spray paint (one can of black and one can of dark maroon) that is plastic-friendly.

Additionally, you need (and who doesn’t?) some white feather boa to go around the neck. The transformation of these cute pink birds into frightening vultures is so neat! Everyone will be asking how you did it. And if you’re hosting a Halloween party, turn them into a ring toss yard game.

9 — Halloween Spider Web

Why TP with toilet paper when you can build a classy spider web yourself? Although it’s time-consuming to string together, it’s definitely worth it. This project is under $20 and made from clothesline string/rope. It’s around 20’x12′ in size and will add a very cool Halloween vibe to any yard. And if you’re able to find a plastic giant spider from your local store, even better! 

10 — Hanging Foam Bats

If hanging bats from the ceiling doesn’t give you the heebie-jeebies, we’re not sure what will. These hanging foam bats are so authentic you might even end up scaring yourself by accident by the end of the night! This project is kid-friendly, easy to put together, and perfect for a trick-or-treating yard filled for a scary Halloween.

11 — Black Cat

Black cats really get a bad reputation. Although they’re known to bring bad luck, this DIY black cat is too cute not to put up. Plus, if you make it with good intentions, surely that cancels out the bad luck, right? Made from plywood (big version) or paper with Mod Podge (small version), this little cat cut-out is perfect for helping you set up a slightly spooky yard.