Halloween Decorations: Cheap and Safe for Littles

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Halloween Decorations

I love Halloween. My family has decorations up by September 1st (yes, we are that family). I do not take them down until after Thanksgiving (when I replace them with Christmas ones). I love Halloween decorations, as it makes the house feel festive and inviting, like a celebration.

As a long Halloween lover, I had many decorations. Most of them, however, were breakable and expensive. Not exactly kid-friendly.  I had visions of crying over the broken remnants of my favorites and trips to the ER for stitches.

That is when I came up with a plan to find cheap, safe, and cute decorations. Hopefully, these would not end in tears or trips to the ER. I buy a little each year and keep adding to our collection. I also set a budget and that (mostly) keeps my spending in line.

Here are some of my suggestions for stores and decorations.

Dollar Stores:

    1. Start looking at the end of August as their stock depletes quickly.
    2. This is a great place for a variety of Halloween garlands you can drape over TV stands, dressers. You can also tape them to the wall or use command hooks. We currently have pumpkins, bats, ghosts, and Halloween-colored garland all over the house.
    3. Great place for costume accessories like pirate patches, swords, wands, fairy wings, shields, witch hats, shawls, etc.
    4. Felt Halloween characters to hang on the wall with tape, command hooks, or tacks. My son has a witch, spider, bat, and ghost that says boo.
    5. Halloween stickers and tattoos. Both of which we give for good behavior.
    6. Halloween signs. You can use them inside or outside. They are made from cardboard or particleboard, so they are not heavy.
    7. Great outdoor or indoor hanging ghosts, ghoulies, pumpkin people, etc.
    8. The best part is everything is a dollar, so if something is destroyed, I am not crying.

Walmart and/or Target 1–5-dollar Bins

    1. Look for Halloween confetti such as ghosts, spiders, jack o lanterns, bats, skulls, Halloween candy. They are usually a dollar or two for a bag. I put them up with tape. The kids decide where they want them in their rooms, and I reuse them for multiple years.
    2. Wood, Cardboard, or Crepe centerpieces or tabletop signs. I feel Target has the best selection in their cheap bins. Usually right by the front door. They are not heavy and can withstand toddler interest. They also have these at the dollar store.
    3. Halloween tin buckets or cardboard Halloween boxes. They have small ones for a dollar at both places in many Halloween themes and colors. I buy a couple a year. They are great in kid’s rooms and common areas as they do not easily break and are light. My littles love to bang them together, and I did not care because they were cheap and replaceable.
    4. Halloween Plates are a great option. They have decorative ones made of plastic that are light, durable, and have a variety of pictures. We place them all over the house and they do not break.
    5. Window Clings – They are great for windows but also mirrors in bathrooms and rooms. They run from cute to scary and I let my littles pick them out.
    6. LED Halloween Lights. They have small packs for 5 to 6 dollars. Of course, these go on a wall, so they are out of littles hands. The LED does not heat up, so less worry about fires. I let my littles pick their color. We have spooky purple and snot green this year.
    7. Go to both Walmart and Target the day after Halloween and a week after that to find decorations at 50 to 90% off for the next year.

These are some of my favorite tips for those who love to decorate for Halloween but do not want to break the bank. Remember to have fun, stay within a budget, and when in doubt about safety, do not buy. If I have learned anything, toddlers will find a way