I have never been all that into decorating for Halloween. When October rolled around it was all about the fall decor. Keeping things "clean and classy" not "gaudy and cheesy". "Gaudy and Cheesy" that's always what I thought of Halloween decor, I'm not quite sure why? Maybe someday I'll do some deep meditation on that one...or not...teehee. All that said, I'm here to tell ya, I caught the Halloween bug and decided to do a little decorating. Since I don't have ANY Halloween decorations and didn't want to blow the bank on buying them I decided to source my house and head on over to the Dollar Tree.
The only place in my house at the moment that's putting off any kind of Halloween vibes is my kitchen and even there it's just the kitchen table {I'm sloooooowly easing into this one). But I'm here to tell you how you can add some Halloween flava to your table for under $40!
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1. Source Your House First
The first thing is to find what you already have in your "caludron" that you can pull out and breathe some new life into and moving items around your house. For example, I pulled out my black and white buffalo check napkins, moved my three-tiered metal serving tray from the dining room, grabbed my cloches, and pulled out my black flatware my orange plates {that I already had for my fall decorations - P.S. just checked and they are on sale at Hobby Lobby} and left the existing pedestal candlesticks and table runner.
2. Locate A Local Dollar/99 cent Store
Find a store that offers items for cheap, like a dollar store or even Target's Dollar Spot. These two places are always my go-to spots when I'm trying to decorate on a budget for parties or holidays. Yo
u can often find awesome products and gain some additional inspo for just a buck! I was able to walk out of the dollar tree with items to use as a table covering, skulls, and spiders spending just $8.
3. Use Your Imagination
When sourcing items for the dollar stores you might have to use your imagination if it's something close to what you envisioned but not exactly. For example, I purchased three skulls from the Dollar Tree they were white and I knew I wanted something glossy and black like some that I've seen at Target and Walmart ranging from $5 - $35 apiece. For $3.25 (.25 in sales tax) and using a can of spray paint, which I already had from another project, I was able to get exactly what I was looking for. Even if I had to purchase the spray paint I still would have saved money.
Let's do the math...one can of spray paint at $5 + three pumpkins at $1 ea. = $8 (plus tax) that is a seven dollar savings. All it takes is a little imagination and a teeny bit of time.
4. Use Coupons And Your Rewards
Find affordable items that you can use as fillers that still don't break the bank. Check out stores that are easy on the pocketbook, consistently have sales, offer coupons, and rewards. My favorite places to go for these types of items are Michaels Craft Store and Hobby Lobby. I'd also check out Homegoods and even Target or Walmart every now and then. I was able to pick up four tiny pumpkins, two mini pumpkins, and a bag of mini skulls for a total of $12 at Target and used two, five-dollar rewards that brought the total cost down to two dollars! I also purchased tour Halloween inspired stems at Michales for seven dollars with a 40% off sale, and four spider web placemats for eight dollars from Homegoods.
Do you decorate for Halloween?