It's ninety degrees, everyone is in t-shirts and shorts, and the Sun is shining bright, but none of that matters--it's spooky season, boys and ghouls. October is here again and with it comes my personal favorite holiday: Halloween. Whether it's the grade-A horror movies (Hocus Pocus anyone?), bomb costumes, or endless candy, everyone has a reason they love Halloween. And one of the best parts about it that can sometimes be overlooked is the decorating.

Students often have a love-hate relationship with their dorm. It's a small area where you have to cram in all your junk, but its still your home away from home and it can be fun to personalize and decorate it as the semester goes on. It can even become a competition between you and your hallmates to see who can get the most festive. So whether you're a Pinterest-Queen/King or just someone who wants to enjoy the season, here are a few budget-friendly ways to decorate your dorm room this October.

Decorated Door

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When you live in a dorm, you don't exactly have a front porch to lay out lit jack-o-lanterns and creepy skeletons (In fact, using either one of those may just earn a knock on your door from the RA). But decorating your door can be the next best things. All you need is some construction paper, scissors, and tape and you can turn your door into any sort of creepy monster, like a mummy. Or you can be like these students and go all out with cardboard strips and stick on bloody hand prints.

Door Sign

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Or if you don't care to spend an hour or so on decking out your door, then you can always hop online to Etsy (which is where I found this one) or drive to Walmart to get a cute, pre-made Halloween sign. The only crafting you need for this is the ability the put up a command strip and hang something off of it. Easy.

Painted or Styrofoam Pumpkins

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Most dorms don't allow candles and a rotting vegetable doesn't exactly sound like the best idea for a cramped room, so an old-fashioned jack-o-lantern isn't really feasible for students. However, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the classic decoration without those downfalls. Most places sell plastic pumpkins in all shapes, sizes, and colors, so it would be easy to match them to your room colors. You can also diy this as well, buying small ones and painting them to your liking. You can get really creative with this using glitter, rhinestones, and whatever else. You can also use a real pumpkin since you aren't cutting into it and it will last longer.

String Character Lights

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These are great because of their multiple uses. Every dorm can use a little extra lighting other than the harsh overhead one, and something about having tiny lit up ghosts or pumpkins over your door or under the lofted bed is really festive.

Candy Bowl

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A real "sweet" decoration...Anyways, a themed bowl is a great addition to any room, whether you actually put candy into it or not. These Monster Bowls are so adorable they could stand on their own. And if you're feeling especially generous, on October 31st, you could leave one of them outside your door for any hall-mate trick-or-treaters.

Festive Pillows

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Real low effort, just buy the pillow or cover and your futon is instantly ready for the holiday. The best thing about them is that you can really leave them there year round because nothing is "spookier" than what that couch has to go through freshman year.

Trick or Treat Doormat

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The only concession I'll make about this one is that you should only put it outside your door if you really trust your hall-mates and their guests. If that isn't the case, but you still really want to have one, just get a thin one that your door can pass over and have it on the inside of the room as people come in.

Paper Cutouts

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If you are looking for the absolute minimum effort and cost, then this last decoration is for you. There are thousands of templates online for bats, pumpkins, and ghosts. Just print, cut, and stick.

Just because you live in a dorm doesn't mean you can't celebrate the best season of the year. Whether you spend twenty dollars or zero, you can have a decoration to look at and smile. Because it's Halloween!