5 Halloween hacks you can make yourself for less than a fiver and they’re guaranteed to terrify trick or treaters

HALLOWEEN season is upon us and with just days to go we’ve found five ways to spook your trick or treaters without breaking the bank. 

From smoking pumpkins to eerie flying bats lurking in the shadows, these TikToker’s have got creative and made all their Halloween decorations from scratch.

The best part is they won’t cost you any more than a fiver to replicate each idea in time for October 31. 

1. Smoking pumpkin

Shandy and Mark (@Down_Mulberry_Lane) spooked up their home with their smoking pumpkin idea.

In an Instagram reel shared with over 251k followers you’ll see how to make your pumpkin’s come to life with smoke billowing out from the eyes and mouth for that spooky effect. 

All you need is a carvable foam pumpkin or better still a large real life pumpkin carved to perfection. Next, brush the dust of that air diffuser or buy one for just £2.25 from SHEIN. 

Use the lid of your air diffuser to draw a guideline at the base of the pumpkin.

Carve around this guideline so that your air diffuser can hide inside the pumpkin. 

All you have to do now is flick the switch and let your hidden diffuser do the rest.

You can always add some pumpkin spice or cinnamon oils to fill your home with the scent of seasonal mischief to top it off.

2. Bat wing shadows

It wouldn’t be Halloween without some bat wings hiding in the shadows.

But why buy Halloween lampshades when you can make them yourself for under a fiver? 

TikTok Mum of three (@Aurelie.erikson) jazzed up her lampshades with some homemade bat wings to convert her home into a haunted house this October. 

To recreate the look, use an A4 black card to cut out your bat wing shapes, or if you want to save time – Home Bargains have got you covered with a 12-pack for just £1.99. 

All you need now is some double sided sticky tape from Hobby Craft (for a quid) to stick the batwings temporarily inside your lampshades. When night falls, so will your trick or treaters with fear.

3. Spider fridge

If you’re tempted to deter your little ones from pinching all the chocolate treats from your fridge the night before Halloween, these DIY spider fridge magnets should do the trick. 

Interior designer Alicia Fawn’s quick and easy DIY trick is gaining popularity on TikTok (@a.freckled.fawn.design) generating over 5K likes. 

Alicia used a pack of plastic spiders which you can find for just £2 in Flying Tiger, a small tube of superglue and a pack of tiny craft magnets you can find on Temu for just over £1.

You’ll only need a tiny amount of glue to stick your tiny magnets to the belly of the spiders, transforming them into creepy fridge magnets that’ll be sure to keep the kids mits off your fridge. 

4. Window webs

Learn how to bewitch those bin liners in minutes as early years teacher Molly Howard (@Create_Make_and_Play) reveals the cheapest Halloween hack yet.

With just a few bin liners and some sticky tape your windows will be webbed in no time. 

In her hit TikTok clip the mum of two continues to fold a large bin liner until it’s a triangular shape.

After cutting away the two edges, the TikToker then proceeds to cut a row of slates alongside the edge.

Once complete she opens the bin liner to see the bin bag transform into a symmetrical web.

Sellotape yours to the windows to be sure to turn the heads of some little witches on the day of the dead. 

5. Flying ghosts

Making a ghost from scratch is one thing, but then to make one fly is another.

Now it might sound a tad over- ambitious and costly but Casey Major-Bunce (@Majormumhacks) is on a mission to make the impossible possible with this cheap Halloween hack. 

Using white balloons, a white disposable table cover, some fishing wire, a black pen and damage free sticky back hooks from Poundland you can have some ghosts flying in your home in no time. 

The mum of four makes it look easy in her TikTok clip.

First she blows up the balloons, tying the fishing wire to the toggles. 

She then sizes up her white table cloth to cut out the amount of ghosts planned to make. 

Black ghostly eyes are glued on, but can be drawn with a black marker pen to save time and money. 

Once complete, cover each balloon in a white sheet and pull the fishing wire through a tiny hole made in the top centre of each table cloth cut out.

The TikToker uses this wire to attach the sticky back hooks so the ghosts can be placed on your ceilings, or better still a ceiling fan if you have one. 

If you’re plus-size and looking for a Halloween outfit, an influencer has tried out several from Fashion Nova and given her thoughts.

Meanwhile, one mum refuses to allow her children to indulge in Halloween completely, restricting them to five sweet treats only when they trick or treat.