Designer Tombstones: Inexpensive Yard Decorations

I have found over the years that Halloween, when it comes to decorations, has become almost as decorated as Christmas.  Each year, whole neighborhoods suddenly become creepy villages that hint of dark vampires, witches and zombies trembling in the dark, waiting for the ghoulish night of Halloween to descend upon us.

It can be rather terrifying to young trick or treaters who hesitate at each scary house before gulping down the nerve to go up and ring the doorbell.  Even more terrifying is the cost of some of the items.  Let’s face it, Halloween is getting a little expensive but there are ways to create the Halloween ambiance with only a fraction of the cost of regular decorating.

Play up the environment:

Before you go on to reading my first little tip on creating excellent yard decorations for a fraction of the cost, I should warn you that this is not the strict gardener at heart.  If you feel the need to have your garden in its best condition year round, then skip ahead to the next section.

For those of you who are ghoulish enough to try, play up your yard by simply letting it grow a little out of control.  Don’t bother with removing deadheads from your plants and if the leaves have already fallen on plants you usually trim down or pull out, just leave them.  You can even allow a few weeds to grow – although this isn’t completely necessary.  Nothing says haunted house more than a few unkempt flower beds.

To add to the unkempt feel of the yard, allow the fallen leaves to collect. Pile some of them against your stairs, if you have any, or in the flower beds.  If you are worried about the leaves going over to the neighbor’s yard, simply rake them up and then make your piles on Halloween before the trick or treaters arrive.

Setting the scene:

Now that you have your yard looking like you haven’t tended it in years, let’s start setting the scene.  You will need to go and purchase a few supplies but don’t feel the need to spend too much.  If you have a dollar store near you, go there since they usually have a huge selection of Halloween items.

Pick up a few things like cobwebs, police tape and anything else that catches your eye.  Often, I can do a yard up for less than 20 dollars, which is an amazing feet if you look at the price of some decorations.

Once you get home, set up the police tape around the yard, cobwebs in the flowerbeds and around the door.  You can give the rundown look to the house by hanging a few strips of police tape across windows and stick it to your door.

Lastly, pick up a black light for the front porch.

The Details:

As much as you have done so far, there are often a few details that people like to have in their Halloween scene.  These are often things like tombstones, ghosts or monsters.  Some things you can pick up at the trusty dollar store but you can make most of them.

Cardboard cut-outs are the best trick for all your decorating needs.  Tombstones can be cut out of the cardboard, painted and set up in the yard fairly easily.  Simply tape down a V backing for mounting or attach the cardboard to a stake to push into the ground.  If you want to waterproof them, mactac can provide a limited amount.

Monsters can also be drawn onto large sheets of cardboard and painted.  Hands coming out of the ground work in the same manner as the tombstones by either attaching a cardboard cut out to a stake or using a “V” brace on the back.

Ghosts are another easy and cheap detail to add to the yard.  Simply take a plastic kitchen bag and stuff it with leaves to create a ball.  Close and drape a sheet over it.  Secure the bag inside the sheet by tying cord around the “neck” of the ghost.  Finish off by pinning black felt to the head for the face.

And there you have a truly haunted yard that only takes a few items and really working with your environment, at a fraction of the cost.