Window Monsters — Easy, Cheap DIY Halloween Decorations

I love Halloween, but my wife and I rarely find ourselves with enough time and energy in late October to do much in the way of house decoration beyond carving pumpkins. So when I came across an idea on Reddit for an easy and inexpensive, yet really different and effective, way to decorate, my wife and I decided to go for it.

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It’s really just about as simple as you could hope for. The materials needed are: black posterboard or black-painted cardboard; colored cellophane or tissue paper; and tape. The only tools needed are: measuring tape; some sort of drawing implement — chalk works really well; and scissors and/or X-Acto knife. And while you need some drawing talent, the scale is big enough and the need for precision little enough that you don’t need that much.
The steps are probably pretty obvious, but here they are anyway:

1. Measure the windows on the front of your house that are most visible from the street and the walkway trick-or-treaters will be taking.
2. Mark off or cut your posterboard to fit the measurements, so you don’t make your monsters too big.
3. Draw your monsters. You can use the photos here or on the Reddit post as inspiration, or just come up with them on your own.
4. Cut out the monsters, leaving empty space for eyes and mouths as appropriate.
5. Cut your cellophane or tissue paper (yellow, red, and green are good colors) to fit the eyes and mouths, and tape it on.
6. Tape the monsters in your windows.
7. At night, leave a light on in the room(s) where the windows are.

Have a great Halloween, everybody!


Monster art by Jen Blum; Photos by Matt Blum.