Oct. 1 is one of the best days of the year! Better known as Halloween, or the start of the spookiest time of year. Now, I know you might think Halloween is awesome and super fun, but you also know it can get pricey: from the cheaply made 50 dollar costumes to small plastic statues that go for twice their value. How are you possibly going to be able to decorate your dorm or apartment on a college student’s budget?
That is where I come in! I am a Halloween fanatic who loves it a great deal, and I am going to share a few of my favorite decorating tips:
The first one is that the dollar store is your friend. For those who do not live in a Halloween wonderland all year long, you do not need props that are going to last. The dollar store is a great place to find cheap and disposable Halloween props. They range from plastic bats to spider webs and a few outdoor props as well. Not only that, the dollar bins at Target are another great resource. I found a small roll of caution tape for a dollar and I had plenty to decorate my door. If you are not a fan of big-name stores or you just love a good hunt, then you have to check out thrift stores. They always have holiday stuff out and you can find some amazing deals!
My second tip is to not over buy. College kids usually live in small confined spaces; so if you have too much stuff, your room could go from cute and spooky to a scary clutter. Try to stick to things that can be placed on windows, walls, and doors, or small little knick-knacks that do not take up much space.
Now, here are a few things my friends and I have done to get our dorms Halloween ready! I mentioned how I decorated my door with caution tape already. I just put it diagonally and made sure the ends overlapped and were folded where the door was in the wall so when it was closed it looked seamless. I also found a cute little sign at Target and hung it up on my wall with command hooks. On top of that, my roommate brought home a fake pumpkin to put on top of our microwave so that we did not have to worry about it getting old and rotting. Another fun little thing you can do is pin fake cobwebs to the corners of your room and put cheap fake spiders in there to freak your guests out. LED string lights are another great way to bring in the spooky mood. Just hang them up and set them to an orange or a red and let the haunting begin.
If all of the Halloween decor that people buy from the stores is too in your face and you want a subtler feeling, then I would suggest taking a peek in the Thanksgiving section.  They usually have fake leaves and pumpkins that bring in the feeling of October without being so goth.