The average American family spends over $100 per year on Halloween goodies!
It used to be easy to ignore, but now every shopping mall screams Halloween at you (see what I did there?), and that means the children are now demanding to be a part of it. As your kids drag you through aisles full of ghosts and goblins, the scariest thing about Halloween is threatening to leave bite marks in your pocketbook. No wonder so many moms flee screaming from the store…it can be much less expensive and a lot more fun to devise your own chilling creations.
Our youngest was born on Halloween so I am become a little more sensitive to the holiday (and I must decorate). Having 5 children has only demanded the frugal fun tips!
Never fear (I’m getting good at this – having 5 children has helped me ), a frugal Halloween can be just as scary and fun for everyone, all it takes is some forward planning and cunning use of imagination.
Below are a few tips that you can use to stave off the greenback gremlins and exercise your creative muscle. It won’t hurt a bit!
Costumes
An alternative to buying an expensive costume, which probably will only ever get used once, is to make one your self. Try these solutions:
Mummy Costume
Tear up an old white sheet into strips and wind round arms and legs. Attach strips of the sheet to an old white tee shirt for the body and wrap the head in the cloth and paint the face with gray face paint.
Punk Costume
Tear holes in old tee shirts and jeans or tights. Spike the hair up using lots of gel or hairspray. Use the face paint mixture to add some color to the hair. Use lots of black and bright red makeup or face paint for the zombie punk look. I used to attach lots of paperclips together into a chain and attach them to the tee shirts.
Octopus
Dye an old sheet green or paint it with kid’s water paints. Cut a hole in it for the head to go through. Attach the inside of toilets rolls or similar together to make long tube like tentacles and paint them green with black spots and fix them to the sheet. Paint the face green with black circles around the eyes.
HoBo
Dress the kids up in old torn clothes that are too big for them. Paint stubble onto their chins with either face paint or an eyeliner. Mess their hair up.
Pirate
Make an eye patch using card and some elastic. A knife can be made from cutting a cardboard box up and painting it to look like a knife. Black trousers and a white tee shirt painted with red stripes. An old thick belt can be used or tie a scarf around the middle. Use face paints for moustaches or beards.
Some Frugal Decorations
Pumpkin
Of course it wouldn’t be Halloween without a pumpkin. Click here to get a free pattern to cut out your favorite pumpkin design.
Spiders web
Buy a cheap roll of cotton wool and take chunks of it and stretch out the fibres to make a spider’s web and attach to the corners of the door and windows.
Ghost
Hang old white sheets with faces painted on them around your door, so that they sway in the breeze.
Old Man in chair
Make a scarecrow by stuffing old clothes with newspaper. Attach a balloon with a face painted onto it and place an old hat on top. Then place the old man on a chair near the front door.
Tip: Use little white Christmas lights to highlight your creations.
Now For Some Disgusting Fun!
Face Paint
1 tsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. cold cream
food coloring
Mix all ingredients together in an old muffin pan and you are ready to paint. This amount makes one color.
Fake Wound-Abrasion
1 Tbsp Vaseline
tissue
cocoa powder
2-3 drops red food coloring
Place Vaseline in a bowl. Add food coloring. Blend with a toothpick. Stir in a pinch of cocoa to make a darker blood color. Separate tissue. Using 1 layer, tear a 2×3 inch piece and place at wound site. Cover with petroleum jelly and mold into the shape of a wound. The center should be lower than the sides. Fill the center with the red petroleum jelly mixture. Sprinkle center with some cocoa. Sprinkle a little around the edges of the wound to make darker.
Cream Make Up
2 tsp white shortening
5 tsp corn starch
1 tsp white all purpose flour
glycerin (get at drug store)
Food coloring as desired
To make enough for one child’s face :
Use a rubber spatula, blend the first three ingredients until a smooth paste forms. Add 3/4 drops glycerin for a creamier consistency. Add coloring if desired one drop at a time blending after each drop until you have the desired shade.
For easy removal use shortening, cold cream or baby oil.
The following tips are great if you are hosting a party, helping within a classroom or just for some family fun!
Fake Blood – Mix 2/3 cup white corn syrup, 1 tsp. red food coloring, 2-3 drops blue food coloring to darken and 1 squirt dish soap (helps blood to run well).
Black Eye – Apply red and blue eye shadow to depressions around eyes.
Bruises – Rub red and blue shadow over bony area to simulate recent bruises. Blue and yellow eye shadow to create older bruises.
Look Old – Cover face with baby powder. Draw dark lines on your skin for wrinkles. Smooth edges to blend. Cover again with baby powder. Add baby powder to your hair to create gray hair.
Deviled Eyeballs – Make deviled eggs. Add a green olive with pimento in the center for an “eyeball”.
Radioactive Juice – Mix equal parts Mountain Dew and blue Kool-Aid
Toxic Juice – Add some green food coloring to lemonade for a spooky color!
Brains – Scramble eggs with some green, yellow and blue food coloring
Bloody Eyeballs – Boil cherry tomatoes 30 seconds. Allow to cool; then peel skin.
Goblin Hand – Freeze green Kool-Aid in a rubber or latex glove, float in punch.
Edible Slime – Pour lime gelatin into a glass bowl. After it is partially set, add gummy worms. Chill until lightly set. Then serve slopped all over the plate.
Bloody Popcorn – Add red food color to melted butter and pour over popcorn.
Wormy Cubes – Freeze gummy worms in ice cubes and add them to drinks. Cut gummy worms in half if needed.
There are various sites on the Internet to help you create a custom Halloween for your family. Click HERE for more great tips.
Finally, plan ahead for NEXT year
The day after Halloween is the day to start shopping for all your scary items. Face Masks, costumes, and grisly sweets will all be at a much reduced price. All of which can be stored away until next year, even sweets can be frozen to keep their freshness. I was told that chocolate tastes even better after being frozen, as it changes its chemical composition (or something). All I know is that it is a great way to store up on discounted chocolate treats.
O.K……I think I am in the Halloween spirit now!
Happy Haunting!
By Shannan at Chubbie Chica
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