The bad economy has all of us pinching our pennies a little tighter this year. However, the recession does not need to ruin your holidays. With some advanced planning and preparation, you can easily have a recession friendly Halloween.
General Tips
Keep your Spirits Up!
Do not let the idea of having to stick to a budget ruin your Halloween. As you will see from the rest of this article, there are plenty of ways to save money without sacrificing anything.
Embrace Halloween Crafts
There are plenty of ways to make decorations and costumes on a limited budget. Just stop by your local craft store and check out their Halloween section. If you have children, you can always enlist their help and make the task a family project!
Shop Specials and Discounts
Lots of stores run special discounts on Halloween merchandise and costumes this week. Pick up a local newspaper to browse the ads and take advantage of any sales you can find.
Decorations for Under $5
Turning your home into a haunted house does not need to break the bank. Check out the following ways you can create festive decorations for just a few dollars.
Graveyard Fog
You do not need to purchase an expensive fog machine to give the illusion of a haunted graveyard. You can pick up some dry ice from a local grocery store for a couple of bucks, and place it in a bucket with some warm water.
Tombstones
It only takes a few minutes to make a few spooky tombstones to decorate your house. Cut pieces of cardboard then paint them with grey and black. You can then write personalized messages on the tombstones such as “R.I.P” followed by the name of a friend or family member.
Ghosts
Making your own ghosts is actually pretty easy. Take either a foam ball or a balloon and wrap it with white cloth. You can then hang them by fishing line all over your house for a spooky effect.
Spider Webs
You can buy bags of spider web from your local 99-cent, or dollar tree store that will go a long way towards making your home look spooky and mysterious. You can also enhance the effect of the cobwebs by placing strings of black lights behind them.
Saving Money on a Halloween Party
The costs of hosting a Halloween party can add up quick, but you can save easily keep from breaking the budget by following these tips.
Dead Punch
Make a bowl of "dead punch" by mixing a batch of regular fruit punch, with floating ice cube hands in it. To make these frozen hands simply fill a few plastic gloves with water, tie off the ends, and place them in the freezer. Then, remove the ice cube hands and place them in your punch just before guests arrive.
Terrifying Table Settings
You can make beautiful centerpieces for next to nothing by filling some glass vases with fall leaves, or gauze and fake spiders for a scarier effect. If you are hosting a dinner party you could cut down on costs by making your own place cards and table decorations.
Pumpkin Potluck
Every one loves carving pumpkins for Halloween, so why not just host a pumpkin carving potluck? By having guests bring a dish you can save on food, and by carving pumpkins you can save on entertainment expenses.
Crafty Costumes Ideas
It is easy to get caught up in the Halloween fun and drop major cash at the Halloween costume shop. However, making your own costume can be both cheaper and more fun and original than buying a generic costume from the store.
H1N1
You can easily dress as the H1N1 virus – or Swine Flu – by throwing on some doctors scrubs and putting on a pig nose, or just wearing a pig nose and carrying around a tissue box. You could even “quarantine” yourself by wrapping a few pieces of caution tape around your arms or waist.
Bunch of Grapes
You can make a quick and easy costume with just a green shirt and a bag of purple balloons. Just blow up enough to cover yourself in, then pin the ends of the balloons to your shirt in a grape formation. Make sure to avoid sharp corners, and you have got yourself a creative costume!
The King of Pop
Because of his tragic death earlier in the year, Michael Jackson is going to be a hit costume this Halloween. To honor the late King of Pop, you can put dress like him by wearing a single glove, a colorful shirt, and a snazzy hat. If you have enough time you could even bedazzle your glove and hat for a more stylish look.
Mummy Costume
The mummy costume is a Halloween staple, especially for anyone looking to save money. Just get some medical gauze from the store and wrap it around a white shirt and light pants. To make the look more authentic you could lie out the gauze before hand and add some streaks of gray and black paint to give it a mummified look.
Balloon Boy
Since the Balloon Boy incident turned out to be a big hoax, and the boy was found in his own attic, you can easily make fun of this pop culture event by dressing like it for Halloween. The great thing about creating a Balloon Boy costume is that there are dozens of options. Since the boy was found inside a box in the attic you could put a big cardboard box around you and carry around a gray balloon. Or, you could wrap yourself in foil and mimic the now famous balloon that we all saw on the news. Just use your imagination and the possibilities are endless.