Halloween is a great time to have some fun with your outdoor shed, wooden gazebo, or just your backyard in general. When else do you get to put a scare in the kids, indulge in candy, and get creative?

One of the things we look forward to most is throwing a backyard haunted-house party. There are so many ways to have fun with decorations that can help you make the most of your yard, gazebo, and garden shed. Here are some of our favorite ideas.

The Classic: A Haunted graveyard

We’ve always loved the idea of a haunted backyard graveyard, and we really love the advice Jenna Fletcher gives on making it happen without breaking the bank. Grab some large, old pieces of cardboard and trace out the shape of the tombstones using permanent marker. From there it’s just a matter of cutting out the shapes, painting them, and adding some hilariously spooky names and epitaphs. To up the ante, get ahold of some plastic hands, drop a few small piles of topsoil around the yard, and position the hands sticking out from the piles.

Fun for All Ages: Ghostly Bowling

Looking for a fun idea for a kids Halloween party? Your search is over! Even better, this is one of the easiest projects, and you probably have all of the materials you’ll need just sitting around the house. The writers over at Parents.com give you great instructions: Wrap a black basketball with gauze, and add some googly eyes. Glue white batting to the top of recycled soda bottles and add black felt circles for the eyes and mouth. Then sit back and watch the kids have a blast!

The Haunted, Spooky Tree

This idea from Country Living has been a long-time favorite of ours. Between the bare tree limbs, the mini-pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns, the candle lanterns, and maybe some fake crows; it’s an undeniably spooky and incredibly fun decorating idea. It’s sure to put a scare into trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood, and make your house one of the favorites every year.

Spook your Friends with the Chicken-wire Apparition

Easily the coolest, spookiest idea we’ve seen, and especially great if you have a gazebo or storage shed with barn doors in your backyard. It is a bit of a time commitment, but Amy Roberts at This Old House Magazine provides a great step-by-step walkthrough, and the materials you need won’t cost you more than $20.

Turn your Wooden Gazebo into a Pumpkin

This is one of those ideas you stumble across on the Internet and immediately wonder how you never thought of it before. If you have a gazebo in your yard and want to have some fun with it this Halloween, this is one of those can’t miss ideas. Although the version we found used wood siding, we’d recommend instead using orange curtains or plastic if you can find it – it’ll be easier for people to get in and out of, cost less, and be far less work to put together. Inside will also make for a perfect spot for a boneyard.

Send your Trick-or-Treaters across “The Boneyard”

Speaking of a boneyard… this has been one of our favorite Halloween traditions since we were kids. Take an old rug, lay it out in your outdoor shed or gazebo, and put some hard pretzel sticks under it. Be sure to tell your guests about the scary history of your property, and how you still sometimes find bones laying around… Spooky!

And just in case: The Zombie Survival Kit

This simple, great Instructable has a real sense of humor, and definitely fits in with the rest of these fun Halloween ideas. Everyone wants to be prepared – whether for yard work or the coming zombie apocalypse. The best thing is that this short project lets you have a sense of humor and organize your garden shed!

Do you have a favorite idea we left off? Let us know about it in the comments, or tell us on Twitter.

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