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DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts

These DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts are a simple last minute Halloween DIY project, made from simple items you have in your home right now.

For more ways to make this the best holiday, check out all of our Halloween posts.

A plastic bag ghost in a hedge with the words "DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts" digitally written on top.

There are so many people in our neighborhood who go all out for Halloween. One house has about a dozen Halloween inflatables. And there’s another that has two of those giant skeletons and an entire pirate ship.

And then there’s us, who have a small handful of mostly homemade decorations. 

So when my friend made some trash bag ghosts a couple years ago, I thought it was such a brilliant idea. They were a really easy and cheap decoration.

The best part is that you only cut up one of the bags. The rest are kept intact. So you’re not even being wasteful.

If you love this idea too, just follow our step-by-step instructions to find out how to make these ghosts for your home.

Ghost piñata with the words "7+ Easy Halloween Ghost Crafts" written digitally on top.

If you’re looking for more Halloween ghost crafts, you’re in luck. Check out our list of Easy Halloween Ghost Craft Ideas for ideas of crafts like wine cork ghosts, toilet paper roll ghosts (which are perfect to make with small children), and more.

DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts

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A roll of white garbage bags, a black marker, and scissors.

DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts Supplies:

How To Make DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts:

The inside of an open, white garbage bag.

Open one of the garbage bags.

Quick note: You want to use garbage bags that are made to fit small office or bathroom garbage pails. You don’t want to use garbage bags that are the size of a large kitchen garbage pail. Those would make a comically large ghost decoration (and honestly, would look pretty ridiculous in your front lawn).

A hand holding a balled up white bag.

Ball up six of the remaining bags and stick them into the bottom center of the open garbage bag.

A white garbage bag tied in a knot across another white garbage bag.

Use the last bag to tie a knot to create a neck.

If it’s easier for you, you can use a small piece of butcher’s twine or a rubber band to secure the bags in the head before tying the last garbage bag around the neck.

A hand holding a black marker and drawing a ghost face on a white garbage bag.

Squish the bags around until you form an oval-ish shaped head.

Draw the ghost’s face onto the head. Be sure to draw the face large enough that you can see the face from the street.

​If you’re making a bunch of these, draw a bunch of different expressions. You can make one with a spooky face, another with a funny face, some with a serious face. Be creative.

Scissors cutting a white garbage bag.

Cut the bottom of the bag with the scissors into multiple strips that can blow in the wind.

A garbage bag tied around hedges.

If you have large hedges in your front yard, they’re the perfect place to tie up your ghosts. Use the sides of the tie that you used for his neck and tie the ghost to the hedge.

A garbage bag ghost in a hedge.

Prop up the ghost’s head and stuff a little more hedge around the neck area to assure that the trash bag ghost stays in place.

A garbage bag ghost in a hedge.

If you don’t have any hedges in your front lawn, you can make a small hole in the top of the head and thread a tiny bit of fishing line through it. Then, you can use that loop to affix him to a garden stake, your front door, or columns on your front porch.

One Halloween is over, gently untie the garbage bag from the hedge and from around the ghost’s neck. Then, take out the six garbage bags that you used as the stuffing for the head. You can reuse all seven of those. The only garbage bag you’ll need to throw away is the one that you drew on, not because you drew on it but because you cut slits so now it won’t be able to hold any trash.

DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts are a simple last minute Halloween DIY project. Find out how to make them on www.drugstoredivas.net.

DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts: Frequently Asked Questions

​Can you use grocery bags to make garbage bag ghosts?

When my friend originally made these, she used one larger garbage bag and stuffed it with plastic bags from grocery store checkout to make the head. You can do that if your grocery store uses white bags. Some of our stores here use blue or tan bags, which would show through.

If you do use grocery store bags, you’re going to want to make sure that when you’re balling them up, the letters are inside. If not, they’ll show through behind the ghost face.

Can you use tissue paper?

We don’t recommend using tissue paper to stuff the ghost’s head. Since these are outdoor decorations, the tissue paper could get ruined in the rain and the ghost’s head would deflate.

Can you use a different colored marker?

We use a black marker to draw our faces because the dark color is easiest to see from the street, which is the goal of these.

If you want, you can use a different colored marker. Just know it might be hard to see your ghosts that way.

Can you make these light up?

If you want to make glowing ghostly figures, you can crack a glow stick and stick it up in the head, above the garbage bag that you’re using for the neck. It’ll give them an eerie touch at night.

Personally, I would only light these up on Halloween or if you’re having a Halloween party. Since glow sticks don’t last forever, you’d have to untie and retie these every day to make them glow every night. That feels like more effort than I would want to put into it.

This DIY Card Stock Skeleton is adorable -- and easy to make. Get the directions at www.drugstoredivas.net.

Want more outdoor DIY Halloween decorations?

A great way to get into the holiday spirit is to make your decorations. If you want to make some more outdoor Halloween decorations, check out our  DIY Egg Carton Eyeballs and our DIY Card Stock Skeleton crafts.

Yield: 1 Ghost

DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts

These DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts are a simple last minute Halloween DIY project, made from simple items you have in your home right now.

Active Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Difficulty Easy

Materials

  • 8 2.6 gallon white garbage bags
  • Black permanent marker

Tools

  • Scissors

Instructions

  1. Open one of the garbage bags.
  2. Ball up six of the remaining bags and stick them into the bottom center of the open garbage bag.
  3. Use the last bag to tie a knot to create a neck.
  4. Squish the bags around until you form an oval-ish shaped head.
  5. Draw the ghost’s face onto the head. Be sure to draw the face large enough that you can see the face from the street.
  6. Cut the bottom of the bag with the scissors into multiple strips that can blow in the wind.
  7. Use the sides of the tie that you used for his neck and tie the ghost to the hedge. Prop up the ghost’s head and stuff a little more hedge around the neck area to assure that the trash bag ghost stays in place.

Did you make these DIY Garbage Bag Ghosts? How did they turn out? Let us know in the comments.

Rosey

Sunday 27th of October 2019

What a fun way to decorate. Super easy too and everyone's already got the materials in their house to make them.

Scott Gombar

Sunday 27th of October 2019

What a cool idea especially on a budget. Thanks for sharing.

Candace Hampton

Sunday 27th of October 2019

Yaasss This DIY is great! I like doing my own decoration. Specially because it's unique, I save money and I get to recycle. I'm so ready for Halloween!

Unta

Sunday 27th of October 2019

Hehe this is awesome and so cute, I mean scary. :) At my place Halloween is not a big thing, few themed parties and that's all. No reasons to decorate the house with ghosts.

Paula Stewart

Sunday 27th of October 2019

I love recycling items to make decorations. Those eyes are going to be a hit with my youngest grandchild.

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