Fall decorating is beautiful, warm, inviting, and very fun! Fall is when people begin to decorate their homes for the “holiday seasons”. When it comes to Halloween, it can also be spooky! However, fall decorating can cost a ton of money. Why spend a lot of money buying fall decor when you have Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner (the highest spending times of the year)? Today I’m sharing some super smart Fall Decorating Hacks to help you creatively decorate your home for the fall while saving time and money. So many of these DIY tutorials left me saying to myself: why haven’t I thought of that before? From gorgeous ways to make your home smell like a perfectly crisp fall day, to ways of preserving pumpkins all season, there is something here for everyone and every home!

Fall Decorating Hacks

1. How to Bake Pinecones

Pinecones make great decorations, but bake them first to eliminate bugs! It takes just about 45 minutes at 200 degrees.

2. Toilet Paper Pumpkins

Make toilet paper pumpkins with fabric or tissue paper! Glue on a leaf and put cardboard from another toilet paper roll in the center. (Source Unknown). Directions here.

3. How to Make a Pumpkin Vase Centerpiece

Carve out the center of a pumpkin, insert a soup can, and place flowers inside for an expensive-looking (yet cheap) DIY fall centerpiece. (source: meanie greenie no longer available)

4. How to Make Pumpkins Last Longer

Want to make pumpkins last longer so you can save money? Wash then in this bleach water mixture to prevent it from rotting indoors.

5. How to Preserve Fall Leaves

You know that “bringing the outside in” is a fun way to decorate your home, but sadly, leaves don’t retain their color for very long. Use this quick tip to make them last weeks, allowing you to prep for a Fall party long in advance!

6. Simmering Potpourri for the Fall

Not into decorating? Make your home transition into Fall with DIY potpourri instead of decorations!

7. Cousin It Made Out of Hula Skirts 

Save those hula skirts or that grass umbrella from summer to make a Cousin It from the Addams Family for Halloween!

It looks just like Cousin It from the Addams Family!

Here’s what it looks like if you use grass hula skirts. SO EASY!
(source unknown)

8. Popcorn Kernel Filled Vase 

Use popcorn kernels as an inexpensive DIY way to fill up space in your fall centerpiece.

9. Pinecone Centerpiece 

Need a centerpiece that takes less than five minutes to make? Just place pine cones in a large bowl and place a hurricane vase holding a candle in the middle.

10. Hang Decorative Pumpkins on the Front Door

Buy fake pumpkins from the $1 store, cut them in half, decorate the outside, and hang them on your front door! SO smart and pretty! (source unknown)

11. How to Make Sunflower Pomaders 

Hang sunflowers around your home during the fall using either a styrofoam ball or wiffle ball, fake sunflowers, and hot glue. Easy and stunning!

12. Monster House Decoration

Turn your house into a monster!

13. Cinnamon Sticks Around Candles

Tie cinnamon sticks around your candles. The heated cinnamon makes your house smell amazing!!

14. Salt Dough Pumpkins with Handprints and Footprints

Salt dough handprint and footprint pumpkin keepsakes! Here’s how to make the salt dough: 1/2 cup salt 1/2 cup flour 1/4 cup water (mix until desired texture is achieved). Create a pumpkin shape and paint it orange. Make the hand and footprint impressions and paint the impressions black. Don’t forget to paint the stem green! Bake for 3 hours at 200 degrees F. (source unknown)

15. DIY Pumpkin Topiary

How to make a beautiful DIY pumpkin topiary with a garbage bag, newspaper, and masking tape. I love the leaves she added in too. So talented!

16. Fall Pumpkin Veggie Tray

Fill up a mini pumpkin with dip for a Fall Party. Use pumpkin, broccoli, celery, radishes, carrots, cauliflower, and ranch dip!

17. Halloween Campfire with Skeletons

I love this idea! Wrap orange lights around the wood to make it look like real fire. Source unknown.

18. Clay Pot Spider

By Paula Denise Lumley (directions unknown).

19. Clay Pot Dracula

It lasts for years! Use two 12″ clay pots for the body, a 10″ pot for the head, and a clay saucer for the base. Finish with a cape and fill the head with treats. The pots stack neatly for storage. Source unknown.

20. DIY Terra Cotta Pot Witch

Made by painting pots black and stacking them. The witch’s caldron is actually a plant! So smart and creative! Source unknown.

21. DIY Glow In The Dark Halloween Ghost Craft

Use a plastic Christmas ornament, a glow stick, felt chair glides, cheesecloth, and a fishing line. Crack the glow stick just before the sun sets and watch these glowing ghosts come to life! (Original source no longer available).

22. Tomato Cage Witch Hats

For even more fun, put flashing LED lights inside. OMG I love this so much!

23. Pipe Cleaner Beaded Corn

Beaded corn made with pipe cleaners is a fall craft that is easy and beautiful! This colorful pipe cleaner beaded corn can be used for decoration this fall all the way through Thanksgiving.

24. Witch Hats Made with Paper Plates and Party Hats

THIS is truly one of the most creative and easy crafts for Halloween that I’ve seen yet this year!

25. Halloween Cheese Tray

Make ghosts, pumpkins, and other Halloween-shaped cheese using cookie cutters! Source unknown.

26. Glowing Floral Pumpkin Wreath

Create a pretty Glowing Floral Pumpkin Wreath this fall and enjoy it all through November! This pretty handmade wreath is so easy to make, anyone can do it!