The Spooky Dollar Tree DIY That Will Light Up Your Home On Halloween

With so many incredible DIY Halloween decor ideas worth swiping from TikTok or Instagram, social media is full of amazing projects for transforming your home from serene to spooky when October hits. From simple fall-themed displays to full-on creepy haunted houses (and everything in between), you can find inspiration for easy DIY Halloween decorations all over the internet. But there is absolutely nothing better than stumbling upon a project that is as affordable and easy as it is spooky. Win-win-win!

Tanaka Moncure, known as @nakatmydoor on Instagram, shared how she used inexpensive Dollar Tree skeleton hands, wood plaques, and LED candles to craft a spooky wall display in her home for Halloween. By simply affixing the hands to the plaques and then securing them to the wall, palm side up, the skeleton hands could creepily hold the LED candles as if they were protruding from the wall. Yikes! With project steps so simple that even a DIY novice can knock it out of the park, these spooky candle holders are fun on their own or can be used as a jumping off point for all of your eerie Halloween creativity.

To create this spooky-chic Halloween DIY project, simply head to the Dollar Tree for your three main supplies: decorative wood shape plaques (any shape will do, so pick your favorite!), skeleton hands, and LED pillar candles. Use spare paint or grab a sample can from the hardware store in a dark hue (like deep purple, charcoal, or black) and paint the wood shapes. Once dry, drill a hole in the middle of the wood shape and secure the skeleton hand to the plaque. Use Command strips on the back of the plaque to temporarily affix your spooky hands to the wall for the Halloween season. Ensure the LED candle sits level in the palm before adhering. Then place the candle, and you have a creepy candle holder perfect for a fright night.

These skeleton hand candle holders can be arranged in groups on the wall, installed up a stairway, paired on either side of artwork, or on structural pillars like in the Instagram video. Add to the spooky factor by draping them with torn black mesh netting or faux spider webs — fake spiders included, of course. Use globs of red nail polish to add dripping faux blood stains to make them even creepier. Or maybe let those skeleton hands hold items other than (or in addition to) candles, such as small pumpkins, bats, or even the skeleton's own skull (you may need a hand on the bottom and top to keep it in place). The styling options are endless with these simple Dollar Tree skeleton hand candle holders, so channel your inner scaries and get creative. Happy haunting!