Halloween offers lots of inspiration for creating spooky or friendly holiday decorations for the lawn. Many outdoor Halloween decorations use everyday items from around the house, making them affordable and customized. The creative Halloween decor welcomes visitors and trick-or-treaters to your home. Many decorations work well together if you want to create a larger Halloween display.

Luminaries

Luminaries light your lawn and work especially well along a sidewalk or pathway. Luminaries also add light and decoration to steps, leading trick-or-treaters to the door. You can make luminaries from different materials. Paper bags and plastic milk jugs are two options. Orange paper bags with jack-o-lantern faces are a festive option. Green paper bags could be decorated like a monster and white bags work well as ghosts. Place a little sand in the bottom of each bag and place a battery-operated tea light inside for a safe way to light the luminaries.

White plastic milk jugs make the base for a larger ghost luminary. Use black permanent markers to draw on ghost eyes and a mouth on each luminary. Cut a small hole in the back of the milk jug to add a light. You can use either a battery-operated candle or a short string of white Christmas lights.

Graveyard

A simulated graveyard adds a spooky feeling to the yard at Halloween time. Many stores sell fake gravestones that you can place in the ground. Another option is to make your own gravestones from thick Styrofoam or plywood. Making your own gravestones allows you to customize the shape and working on the stone. Paint the homemade gravestones to get the look you want. Fake skulls, spider webs and other accents add to the graveyard look.

Scarecrow

Despite the name, scarecrows are a less-scary option for yard decorations. An old pair or pants and a flannel shirt create the body of the scarecrow. Take advantage of the fall leaves by using them as a filler. To keep the leaves from falling out, place them in plastic bags before stuffing them inside the clothing. A pumpkin, either real or artificial, works well as the head, making the scarecrow more Halloween-themed. Prop the scarecrow in a chair or on a hay bale. You can also make a simple wood frame if you want the scarecrow to stand.

Giant Spider

Black plastic lawn bags create the body of a giant spider for the lawn. Fill one large bag with leaves for the body. Fill another bag with fewer leaves to create a smaller section for the head. Roll additional trash bags to create the legs, using black electrical tape wrapped around them to create leg joints. Small holes poked into the side of the body allows you to place the legs into the spider. Use electrical tape to secure them in place. Disney Family Fun suggests using red plastic cups as the eyes and white plastic triangles as fangs on the spider. Artificial spider web material makes a fitting display for the plastic bag spider.