Prices on Halloween decor can get pretty horrifying. If you don't want to be the only house that isn't haunted on your block, here are 13 DIY decorations to help you keep it classy this October 31.

1. Make ghosts out of trash bags

This may sound like the opposite of class — but these little plastic bag phantoms are actually really cute. Buy white trash bags. Create a head by stuffing newspaper inside the bag and tying it off with a twist-tie or some string. Cut off the bottom of the bag (the part with the handle). Draw a face for the ghost — make some happy faces, make some scary faces. Hang them up in your trees outside using some string, and pretty soon you'll have an entire forest full of Casper and his friends.

2. Make mummy mason jars

Mod podge medical gauze in overlapping layers onto a mason jar and add googly eyes. Stick a candle inside and put the mummies on your porch for an alternative to jack-o-lanterns.

3. Paint your own Halloween sign

Find a fun Halloween saying, like this one or this one. Get some wood and paint it all over with one color, such as black, orange or purple. Then use letter stencils to paint the saying onto your sign. You can also use stickers and Mod Podge to write out the saying.

4. Create a floating illusion

Nothing is creepier than an object floating in midair. Buy a few cheap witches' hats and hang them from the ceiling with fishing wire.

5. Buy some cheap trick-or-treating pumpkins

You know the ones. Hang them on hooks in your front yard for a cute and creepy look.

6. Make some potion jars for your inner witch

Save some old vitamin containers and spice tins. Use a hot glue gun to write descriptions on the front. Once the glue has dried, paint the jar with chalkboard paint for a creepy look.

7. Put a Victor Frankenstein on your front door

Make a monster face using tape and construction paper.

8. Save your old milk jugs...

... and use a sharpie and a string of lights to turn them into jack-o-lanterns.

9. Turn your wall into a batcave

Make bats out of black paper. Tape them to your wall or hang them from the ceiling as if they're mid-flight.

10. String together candy corn on fishing wire

Then drape it around your house like a garland.

11. Stuff a scarecrow to keep watch over your front porch

Buy a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt from the thrift store. Stuff the clothes with newspaper. You can leave it headless or use a doll's head or a mask as a head. You can even give it shoes if you want. We had a particularly fun time with this craft in one apartment complex I lived in during college. Everyone would hide the scarecrow to surprise friends and roommates. One of the most memorable spots: the dryer.

12. Go to the mystical land of Oz

Use pool noodles, striped tights, and black shoes to make legs. Stick the legs against your house and you have the Wicked Witch of the East, post-Dorothy.

13. Bedazzle your pumpkin instead of carving it

You can use paint, lace, glitter and rhinestones to make a cute centerpiece for your table.

This list of 13 DIY Halloween decorations will keep your crypt appropriately costumed for the holidays — in a creepy, classy way!

The post 13 creepy classy DIY ways to haunt your house for Halloween appeared first on FamilyToday.

All Hallow's Eve can get a little pricey between the admission costs of haunted houses and the expense of fancy costumes. Sometimes it seems like we're stuck carving pumpkins and bobbing for apples every year. Here are 8 suggestions that will shake up your old Halloween traditions without breaking the bank.

1. Channel your inner Nightmare Before Christmas for this one. Build a gingerbread house ... a haunted gingerbread house, that is. Use chocolate graham crackers for a creepy effect. Boil sugar to create a "glue" that will allow you to bind the graham crackers to each other. Use your imagination to build creepy towers and cellars with the crackers. Put orange and black food coloring in the frosting and get creative with the candy—candy corn pumpkins are an essential. Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

1. Sticking with the Christmas-in-October theme, make a candy corn garland. Instead of making a popcorn garland, string together some candy corn and go crazy decorating your house.

2. Listen to an old-time radio murder mystery. You can find countless free podcasts on iTunes, as well as on the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre site. Nothing screams classic Halloween like a radio podcast.

3. Does scooping out the pumpkin goop gross you out? Opt for painting your pumpkin instead of carving it. This innovative alternative lasts longer and is less mess to make. You can personalize it any way you want - use a feline stencil and black paint to create a witch's cat. Or you can go fancy with lace and glitter. It's an easy activity for kids. Find a few examples here and here.

4. Do a scavenger hunt - Halloween style. Create a list of spooky things to find, and go out searching. A few examples for your list: a pumpkin, candy, face paint, something orange and a witch's hat.

1. Make bats out of black poster board and hang them from your ceiling to add a cute creep factor to your home.

2. Have a "Monster Mash" dance party. Find all kinds of classic Halloween songs and jam out to "Thriller" and "Ghostbusters" by the light of the jack-o-lanterns.

3. Halloween Bingo is always an excellent option to add some spice to your October 31st activities. Make your own bingo charts of different costumes, and mark off the squares as you find each monster. A few costume ideas: a witch, a ghost, a princess, a superhero, an animal, a pirate. The options are limitless.

Don't let the expenses of Halloween "creep" up on you. With a little creativity and some preparation, your Hallows Eve celebration can be a night to remember - in a good way.

The post 8 creepy clever ways to celebrate Halloween-without the creep appeared first on FamilyToday.