Spooky Season on a Budget

With the leaves turning beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and ~crimson~, most students bust out their warmest scarves, fuzziest socks, and pumpkin spice lattes. With the crisp October days coming to a close, however, some students know that a picturesque Harvard Yard means spooky season is now well underway. Here are some last-minute ways you and your roommates can make your suite the most boo-tiful of them all:

Fairy lights

Let’s be honest, telling scary ghost stories under the pale glow of those wobbly silver floor lamps doesn’t make for the most thrilling night-in. If you really want to set the mood, you need heaps and heaps of string lights everywhere. Amazon, Target, or Walmart are your one-stop shops for cheap lights online.

Pumpkins

Make a day of this one with your roomies by stopping by pumpkin patches at Allandale Farm, Honey Pot Hill Orchards, or Westward Orchards for an Instagram-worthy autumnal day. If your Gcal doesn’t allow for such an excursion out of the Harvard bubble, stop by the Science Center Plaza Farmer’s Market on a Tuesday to pick up a pumpkin or two before they’re gone for good.

Fake spiderwebs

To maximize the scare factor in spooky season, you can’t go wrong with a few cobwebs strewn about the room. They’re a simple Halloween-esque addition, and hey, at least it’ll be a bit more fitting the next time you see that little spider on the wall by your dresser. Order a few bags of cotton batting online and get creative!

Door decorations

This is an easy way to let your hallmates know you’re serious about this time of year. To keep it classic, you can easily find some mini skeletons or ghosts online to hang on your door. If you want to really “trick or treat yo’ self,” get a chalkboard sign so others can see you’re just “creepin it real” by displaying the great Halloween puns that didn’t make the Instagram caption cut.

Window Post-its

If you feel like splurging a little at Staples, stock up on fun colored Post-it notes and let your inner Halloween fanatic run wild. Try spelling out cute messages or more Halloween puns for the tourists’ viewing pleasure. Better yet, use those Post-its to create geometric images of scary ghosts, moonlit pumpkin patches, or Remy the cat…the possibilities are endless.

Even with dangerously low bank accounts and booked schedules, it’s never impossible to deck out your dorm for the Halloween season. Hopefully this list will get you started on all the cheap and fun ways you can make your suite look wicked awesome. Happy Halloween!