Last Minute Halloween Porch: 14 Spooky Setups Made From Things Already in Your House

A last minute Halloween porch does not need a trip to the store or a big budget. Halloween is only days away, the trick or treaters are already planning their routes, and your front steps still look like any other Tuesday. Take a deep breath. The garage, the recycling bin and the linen closet are hiding everything you need. Milk jugs turn into grinning lanterns, a tomato cage becomes a witch, and an old sheet becomes a web big enough to make the whole street smile. These ideas are cheap, quick and friendly enough for little goblins, and most of them take less than an hour. Grab a cup of something warm, call the kids outside, and let the fun begin..

Tomato Cage Witch: The Last Minute Halloween Porch Star

Every great last minute Halloween porch needs one big character, and this witch is built from a wire tomato cage you probably already have in the shed. Flip the cage upside down so the wide ring sits on the step, and suddenly you have a body with a perfect flowing skirt shape. A gray mop head becomes wild witch hair and an old black hat finishes the look. Families on Facebook went wild for this kind of homemade porch figure. Who in your house gets to name her..

You will need: Wire tomato cage, old black skirt or fabric, gray string mop head, black witch hat, foam ball or balled up paper bag for the head, zip ties, an old broom.

How to make it: 1. Turn the tomato cage upside down and zip tie the top prongs together to make a neck. 2. Push a foam ball or stuffed paper bag onto the top, then zip tie the mop head over it as hair. 3. Wrap the black fabric around the cage as a skirt, pin on the hat, and lean the broom against her side.

Milk Jug Lanterns Light the Last Minute Halloween Porch Path

Rinse out the milk jugs from the recycling bin and you are halfway to the cutest walkway on the block. With a black marker and a battery light inside, each jug glows like a soft little ghost pumpkin. For a last minute Halloween porch they are perfect: light, cheap and safe for kids to help with, because there is nothing hot involved at all. Line them up on both sides of the path so trick or treaters know exactly where to go. How many faces can your family draw before dinner?

You will need: Empty white plastic milk jugs, black permanent marker or black paint, battery LED tea lights or a short battery string light, a little sand or gravel for weight.

How to make it: 1. Wash and dry the jugs and peel off the labels. 2. Draw simple triangle eyes and a big grin on the smooth side with marker. 3. Pour a handful of sand into each jug, drop in a battery LED light, screw the cap back on and set them along the path.

Cheesecloth Draped Porch Rail

If you only have ten minutes, this is the trick to grab. A pack of cheesecloth or an old thin curtain, pulled and torn by hand, instantly makes a porch rail look like it belongs to a haunted farmhouse. The messier it looks, the better it works. Let it sag between the posts and catch the breeze, then tuck a few paper bats into the folds. It is the same household items idea behind a popular DIY Halloween decorating video on MSN, and it is one of the cheapest upgrades you can make, and it packs away in a zip bag for next year. Ready to give your rail a spooky makeover?

You will need: Cheesecloth, gauze or an old sheer curtain, a cup of cold coffee or tea (optional), clothespins or tape, black paper bats.

How to make it: 1. Pull the cheesecloth apart and tear small holes in it so it looks old and worn. 2. For an aged look, dip it in cold coffee and let it dry in the sun. 3. Drape it in loose swags along the rail, clip it at each post and tuck in a few paper bats.

Trash Bag Bat Swarm for a Last Minute Halloween Porch

A roll of black trash bags is the secret weapon of any last minute Halloween porch. It can fill a whole wall with flying bats for almost nothing. Cut a bat template from a cereal box, trace it onto the bag, and snip out as many as you like. The plastic is shiny and moves in the wind, so the swarm looks alive when people walk up the steps. Start small near the door and spread out wider as they fly up, like they are pouring out of the porch light. How many bats will your swarm need?

You will need: Black plastic trash bags, a cereal box for the template, scissors, a white crayon or chalk, painters tape or removable mounting putty.

How to make it: 1. Draw a bat shape about the size of your hand on cardboard and cut it out. 2. Trace it onto folded trash bags with chalk and cut several bats at once. 3. Fold each bat down the middle so the wings lift, then tape them to the wall in a swooping curve.

Paper Bag Luminaries With LED Lights

Paper lunch bags turn into glowing lanterns when you cut a simple shape in the side and drop a battery tea light inside. Moons, ghosts, stars and bats all work, and kids can draw the shapes before an adult cuts them out. Because the light is battery powered, there is no worry about a paper bag catching fire, which matters when little costumes are brushing past. Set them on every step of your last minute Halloween porch so the stairs glow at dusk. Which shape will you cut first?

You will need: Brown paper lunch bags, pencil, craft knife or small scissors (adult help), sand or rice for weight, battery LED tea lights.

How to make it: 1. Fold the top of each bag down two inches to make a neat rim. 2. Draw a moon, ghost or star on one side, then an adult cuts it out with a craft knife. 3. Pour in a little sand, nestle a battery LED tea light in it and line the bags up the steps.

Crashed Witch Boots in a Planter

This one gets a laugh from every grown up who walks by. It looks like a witch flew in too fast and landed head first in your flower pot. All you need is an old pair of boots, some striped tights or socks stuffed with plastic bags, and two sticks to hold the legs up. Push the sticks deep into the soil, lean a broom nearby, and the story tells itself. Do you have old boots hiding in the closet that deserve one more adventure?

You will need: Old boots, striped tights or long socks, plastic grocery bags for stuffing, two garden stakes or sturdy sticks, a large planter, an old broom.

How to make it: 1. Stuff the tights or socks with plastic bags so they hold a leg shape. 2. Slide a garden stake inside each leg and push the feet into the boots. 3. Push the stakes deep into the planter soil with the boots pointing up, then lean the broom against the pot.

Laundry Basket Cauldron on a Last Minute Halloween Porch

That cracked black laundry basket is about to become the bubbling heart of your porch. Spray it matte black if it is another color, stuff it with green tissue paper so it puffs over the rim, and sit it on a few short logs like it is cooking over a camp. Add a big wooden spoon and the illusion is complete without any real heat at all. On a last minute Halloween porch it also makes a fun spot to hold the candy bowl. What would your witch be brewing tonight?

You will need: Round plastic laundry basket, black outdoor spray paint (if needed), green and purple tissue paper, three short logs or rolled brown paper, a big wooden spoon, optional green battery string lights.

How to make it: 1. If your basket is not black, an adult sprays it outside with matte black paint and lets it dry. 2. Crumple green tissue paper and stuff it inside so it bubbles over the top. 3. Set the basket on the logs, tuck in battery lights if you like, and stand the spoon in the brew.

Glow Stick Jars Light Up a Last Minute Halloween Porch

Glow stick jars are pure magic for kids, and they cost about a dollar each. Crack a few glow sticks, drop them in a clean jar, and the whole thing lights up in neon green, purple and orange. Wrap a couple of jars in gauze and add googly eyes to make tiny mummies. They glow for hours, they are cool to the touch, and they look brilliant lined up on dark steps. Just remind little ones that glow sticks are for looking, not chewing. Which color will you pick first?

You will need: Clean glass jars with lids, a pack of glow sticks, gauze or medical tape for mummies, googly eyes, craft glue.

How to make it: 1. Wrap a few jars in gauze strips and glue on googly eyes for mummy jars. 2. At dusk, bend the glow sticks until they snap and shake them to start the glow. 3. Drop several into each jar, close the lids and group the jars on the steps.

Window Silhouette Cutouts

Your windows are free billboards on Halloween night. Cut a cat with an arched back, a few bats and a crescent moon from black paper or old cereal boxes painted black, then tape them to the inside of the glass. When the lights are on inside, the shapes pop out in sharp silhouette for everyone walking past. It takes about twenty minutes. Like every last minute Halloween porch trick here, it makes the house look decorated from the street, not just the porch. What shapes will your windows show the neighborhood?

You will need: Black construction paper or cereal box card painted black, pencil, scissors, painters tape, printed templates (optional).

How to make it: 1. Sketch a cat, bats, a moon or a witch on black paper, or trace printed shapes. 2. Cut them out carefully, keeping the outlines bold and simple. 3. Tape them to the inside of the window and switch on a lamp behind them at dusk.

Spooky Eyes in the Bushes

Empty toilet paper rolls make the creepiest, cheapest yard trick ever. Cut two eye shapes in each roll, slip a glow stick inside, and tuck them into the bushes. At night it looks like little creatures are watching the trick or treaters from the leaves. This last minute Halloween porch idea spills into the yard, and kids love placing them and then running to the sidewalk to see the effect. Use green and yellow sticks for a cat like glow. How many pairs of eyes can you hide in your yard?

You will need: Empty toilet paper rolls, pencil, small scissors, glow sticks, clear tape.

How to make it: 1. Draw two almond or round eye shapes on each roll and cut them out. 2. Tape one end of the roll closed, crack a glow stick and slide it inside. 3. Close the other end and tuck the rolls into bushes at different heights, eye holes facing the path.

Old Sheet Spider Web Covers a Last Minute Halloween Porch

An old flat sheet can turn into a spider web big enough to cover the whole porch opening. Tear it into long strips, tie them in a star shape between the posts, then weave rings around and around. A giant spider made from a stuffed trash bag and black pool noodle legs sits in the corner and steals the show. It looks huge from the street, and it costs nothing if the sheet was headed for the rag bin. Want a decoration the neighbors will photograph?

You will need: Old white or cream flat sheet, scissors, string or zip ties, black trash bag, crumpled newspaper, black pool noodle or black pipe cleaners for legs, tape.

How to make it: 1. Snip the edge of the sheet and tear it into long two inch strips. 2. Tie four or five strips across the porch opening in a star shape from post to post. 3. Tie more strips in rings from the center outward, then stuff the trash bag spider with paper and tape on its legs.

Cardboard Tombstones in the Yard

Moving boxes and delivery boxes make perfect tombstones. Cut a rounded top, paint them gray with a sponge for a stone look, and add funny names or a simple RIP. Set them near the steps to frame your last minute Halloween porch, and stake them into the lawn at slight angles so they look old and settled. A row of tombstones turns a plain lawn into a graveyard scene that kids love to walk through. Want a laugh? Write silly sayings about forgotten leftovers or lost socks. What would your funniest tombstone say?

You will need: Cardboard boxes, scissors or box cutter (adult help), gray and white acrylic paint, a sponge, black marker, wooden paint stirrers or garden stakes, duct tape.

How to make it: 1. An adult cuts tombstone shapes with rounded or pointed tops from the cardboard. 2. Paint them gray, then dab lighter gray and white with a sponge for a stone texture. 3. Write names or RIP with marker, tape a stake to the back and push them into the lawn at angles.

Old Clothes Scarecrow

A scarecrow is the friendliest way to fill an empty corner of the yard, and it is made almost entirely from clothes nobody wears anymore. Stuff an old flannel shirt and jeans with leaves or plastic bags, give it a pumpkin or burlap head, and prop it up on a garden stake. It looks cheerful in the daytime and a little mysterious after dark. Set a few of our no-carve pumpkin ideas at its feet, and it stays up right through Thanksgiving. Whose old shirt is about to get a second life?

You will need: Old flannel shirt, jeans, gloves, straw hat, a garden stake or broom handle, leaves, straw or plastic bags for stuffing, a small pumpkin or burlap sack for the head, twine.

How to make it: 1. Push the stake into the ground and tie a crosswise stick to it for shoulders. 2. Dress the frame in the shirt and jeans, tying the cuffs with twine, and stuff them with leaves. 3. Add the head, gloves and hat, and set a few pumpkins at its feet.

Mummy Wrapped Stair Post

Here is the last idea and maybe the easiest one. Wrap a porch post, a railing end or even the front door in strips of white gauze, old sheets or crepe paper, leaving a gap near the top. Stick on two giant googly eyes and you have a mummy waving hello to every visitor. It takes about fifteen minutes and comes down in seconds. Put it next to your other ideas, and your last minute Halloween porch is finished. Which post will become your mummy?

You will need: White gauze, crepe paper or torn sheet strips, painters tape, two large googly eyes or paper plate eyes, craft glue.

How to make it: 1. Tape one end of a strip near the bottom of the post and wrap upward at different angles. 2. Leave a narrow gap near the top for the eyes, then keep wrapping above it. 3. Glue or tape on the big googly eyes and tuck in any loose ends.