'Boo!' On a Budget
Spookifying the homestead
What lies about? You don't have to be a craft master to create a host of daunting decorations from common items you'll find around your home. Here are a few super-natural ideas:
- Cut out bat shapes from cardboard boxes. Spray paint them black and string them around windows and doorways.
- Turn old white sheets into ghosts to suspend from the ceiling, or drape them over furniture and curtain rods to create the effect of an abandoned, haunted house.
- Make use of worn clothing to make a range of ghoulish guests. Stuff old jeans and shirts with newspaper to build the bodies. For heads, use cheap masks, large Styrofoam balls topped with a hat, plastic jack o' lanterns - or just go headless! Prop up your petrifying "people" in dark corners, seated on your porch or leaning against a tree.
- Gather bunches of tree branches and spray paint them black. Arrange them in a pot filled with soil for an eerie decoration at your entranceway.
Dressing the little monsters (and the big ones, too!)
What's hiding in your closets? Look inside your wardrobes with a Halloween frame of mind, and you'll probably find plenty to jumpstart great costume ideas - anything from a witch that started from a black dress to an adorable bunny that began as a pink sweat suit. If nothing moves you, visit your second-hand stores to unearth creative alternatives to expensive store-bought costumes. Need some inspiration? Find hundreds of homemade costume ideas and helpful how-to's, at FamilyFun.Go.com.
Another option is to do a temporary trade. For adult Halloween parties, find a friend you can swap past costumes with for the evening. For your child's big day, ask another parent if their child would be willing to trade last year's costume for this year's parties and trick-or-treat.
You can also go online to shop for pre-made costumes at much lower prices than you'd find in the stores. Try www.cheaphalloweenstuff.com and www.halfpricecostumes.com for loads of less expensive costumes - plus lots of decorations and accessories you can find for just a few dollars.
Giving out the goodies
Care for a bite? Yikes! When you're treating the entire neighborhood, those bags of mini candies can be mighty costly! If traditional Halloween candy is the only way you'll go, be sure to watch for store sales and coupons, and buy in bulk. Or, you can opt to start a less expensive (and healthier!) trick-or-treat tradition. Children love stickers, balloons, pencils and plastic rings. Look for Halloween-themed items like these at party supply stores, dollar stores, grocery stores or gift shops. And don't be surprised if you're the most popular stop on the block! Happy haunting!
This Halloween season, be sure to visit our "house." We're handing out the best treats ever in the Spook-tacular Halloween Sweepstakes! Now through October 31, 2007, you can enter daily for a chance to win the grand prize of $5,000 cash toward a family theme park getaway! Plus, 14 second-prize winners will receive $500 cash for the ultimate costume party! Enter Now!
