As Halloween draws closer, more and more Halloween items seem to be popping up each visit to almost any store. What used to be an isle of candy has spilled into other nearby isles. Shelves of candy and hangers full of costumes along with fun decorations for your yard and home are scattered everywhere.
Even walking down the street you can see paper witches in the windows of your neighbors, fall patches of vegetables with gourds of all shapes and autumn’s mellow browns, oranges, and yellows that seem to all draw together towards a pile of hay with a scarecrow atop or more pumpkins set out just waiting to be carved into.
Decorations
When beginning your own household decorations it can be tricky to get everything you want and not spend all of you spare cash on fake tombstones and skeletons. There are some easy and inexpensive ways to make your front yard or house a scary fun place to visit. Oftentimes by using things you already own, and sometimes by making a few things yourself.
For those scary tombstones made of foam, try going to a craft store or hardware store and buying the raw material, then cut out the design for the tombstone by hand followed by spray painting and adding a name before mounting it to wood spikes or even old hangers that can be driven into the ground to hold it in place. You can make several for the price of one or two prefabricated ones and your kids will get a kick out of coming up with funny names.
Another inexpensive decoration that both you and your youngsters will enjoy would be to make paper or plastic ghosts. By using some simple facial tissue and the plastic bags often used in bagging items at stores you can create as many small specters as you want. Simply cut a square from the plastic bags (the size of the square depends on the size you wish your ghosts to be) then take the facial tissue and roll it in a ball and place it in the center of the plastic square. After you have done that, close the square around the tissue leaving the edges of the square free and tie twine or string at what will be the neck of the ghost. Then hang the ghosts wherever you wish. Off of trees, your light post, from the roof or ceiling in your home.
Being creative and using what you have can not only save you a few dollars but makes for a great family time as you try out new things and discover little tricks to make the building go faster. Cotton balls can become spider webs and construction paper turns into witches and skeletons with a little time, a small bit of effort and a lot of fun.
Activities
When the temperature starts to drop and October arrives the Halloween activities really get into full swing. With Haunted Houses, Haunted Trains and Haunted Forests being advertised regularly, it can be a very entertaining way to spend an evening with friends and family, but the cost for any number of people can really add up. Luckily most of these specialty venues offer discounts from coupons given through local businesses or discounts for particular companies. Tickets can even be won through TV and radio stations. It’s just a matter of keeping your eyes and ears open for the best deals.
There are also other activities that are free like contests for the best Jack-O-Lantern or house decorations. Some businesses will offer a trick or treat night for children free charge because it gets the parents in the door. And still other activities are school based which usually offer free admittance but could cost you once you are inside, so be sure to keep a look out for hidden fees or charges.
Treats
When it comes to kids and Halloween, lets face it, its all about the trick or treating haul in the end. And no parent wants to be known as the house with the lousy treats, so a little ingenuity and cunning is involved.
Because of safety reasons its simply not a good idea to give out homemade treats any more. Long gone are the days of the homemade caramel apples and popcorn balls. But that doesn’t mean that you have to spend an arm and a leg to hand out candy bars or cookies. In fact, most candy distributors will offer coupons for their brand either online or through the newspapers and they can absolutely be used for the bags of mini candies that most people purchase for their trick or treating visitors.
Its also a good idea to keep up on the local store’s circulars. Often a store will offer discounts on candy and other popular treats purchased in large quantities. And don’t be put off by the discount isle. Occasionally packages are laid out separately with a discounted price due to a mishap during stocking that may have torn the plastic back or packaging but leaved the individual candy wrappings in perfect condition.
By taking a little time and planning ahead for you Halloween fun and treats you can save quite a bit of money while enjoying all of the perks of a very popular occasion. And maybe you’ll even get a head start on next years festivities by saving some of this years projects.