Photo: eyeliam

True, it can cost a lot to give candy to all the neighbourhood kids on Halloween night. But if money’s tight, and you simply haven’t got the budget to buy off the pranksters (some of whom really will splatter your home with rotten eggs — or worse — if you don’t “shell out” ), there are a couple of things you can do to save money.

First, here’s what not to do:

1. You could be really careful with the candy hand-out — giving each child one single lollipop, say. Stretch the budget by being kind of, well, stingy.

But don’t you recall what it’s like to be a little kid on Halloween? — the excitement (even before the sugar high kicks in) of staying up and going out after dark, running around the neighbourhood with your friends, actually taking candy from strangers!! Don’t go raining on that parade. It’s not easy being a little kid, you know. Give ‘em the candy.

2. You could turn off all the lights and pretend you’re not home.

This is totally NOT recommended, however, especially in some of the tougher neighbourhoods — and believe me, this is the voice of experience you hear! In fact, if you live in a really really really tough part of town (as I did for quite some time), you want to make sure you’ve got really really really good treats. And lots of them. You’ll also be wise to turn a blind eye if some of the kids turn their jackets inside out and come back a second time, pretending to be someone else, so they can get a second helping. These kids don’t get much sweetness in their lives… Shelling out on candy is much cheaper for you, in the long run, than shelling out to buy new glass for your windows.

3. You could stock up on off-brand mystery candy.

In fact, as I was ranting in the first part of this series, there’s a lot of wacky advice out there that tells you to “Save money on treats to hand out at the door by picking up cheap gum and chips at the dollar store.” Again, this is not such a good plan.

Think about this:

How come that Bargain Candy is so cheap?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued consumer advisory, earlier this month, warning the public “not to consume, distribute, or sell the Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins described below. This product is being recalled due to positive test results for melamine conducted by the CFIA.”

The affected product, Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, is sold in 840g containers containing 240 pieces per container bearing UPC 0 36077 11240 7 and lot code 1928S1… sold nationally through Costco stores and may also have been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at various dollar and bulk stores across Canada.

Just one example. (And those gold-foil-covered chocolate coins were my favourite thing, too!) Fact is, if the candy is cheap, the manufacturers have been cutting costs somewhere along the line, and that generally means moving production to countries with less strict health and labour codes, or buying their ingredients there at least.

So, is it worth saving a bit of money, to give children the kind of candy that you wouldn’t feel good about giving to your own child? Of course not.

Stay away from the discount candy and look for brand-name products made in a country whose environmental and health standards are a known quantity, I’d suggest. You may end up paying a bit more — but there are reasonable ways to cut your costs.

• Chewing gum, Chiclets, lollipops and suckers, or those tiny bags of potato chips are often the least-expensive treats on offer — but take along a calculator to the store (if you’re as bad at basic math as I am) and do the figuring-out, to be sure: Divide the price of a bag of treats by the number of kids you can serve with it, to get the cost per kid — see what treat choices will give the best bang for your buck.
• Check the flyers for specials, and buy larger-sized packages if it gets you a better deal — you can always tuck any leftovers into lunch bags, in the weeks after Halloween.
• Buy candy in bulk, if that’s the best bargain — but do buy from a reputable store and do choose only those candies that come already individually wrapped, preferably in sealed wrappers. No, it’s not great for the environment, all that extra waste packaging, but no sensible parent wants their child to be given a fistful of unwrapped candy from an unknown source.

And don’t put it off a moment longer, if you haven’t bought your Halloween treats yet! Last minute shopping, when the shelves are getting empty in the stores, is the surest way to end up spending more than you want to spend or you have in your budget.

Oh, and don’t eat all the candies yourself before the kids show up at the door. But that part goes without saying, right?

Photo: Photos o’ Randomness

As for decorating your place for Halloween on the cheap –

Decorate your home and yard with everyday items and almost-trash, like leftover candle stubs and toilet-paper ghosts, the glossy magazines tell you. Right. Not.

What genius was the first to suggest that lighted candles and paper products could be a safe mix? Now throw in gangs of rambling trick-or-treating kids wearing capes and robes and all manner of flammable costumes? Uh-uh.

Not only that, it has been known to rain on October 31st… So what happens to your elegant glowing lights and drifting ghosts, if it rains? Soggy toilet paper draped over trees. In the dark. Not so chic and clever after all, is it? And you’ll just have to clean it all up the next day…

You can do better, even on a tight budget.

Tips for Frugal Halloween Decorations

Get yourself a pumpkin and make a traditional Jack-o-lantern. If you draw the face on your pumpkin with magic marker, instead of carving into it, you can cook it up later and make a pumpkin pie. How frugal is that?

If the kids want to know why you’re not investing in the latest inflatable three-witches yard art, or strings of flashing ghost lights, just tell them you’re doing your part for the environment. Ninety-nine percent of school-aged kids know more about saving energy than David Susuki does, and they dig it. Get them involved in thinking of other ways to decorate –

• Homemade orange-and-black paper chains looped across the porch railing?
• Watercolour paints to make scarey scenes on the windows?
• Construction paper cut-outs of spooky cats and haunted houses?
• An old white bedsheet pinned up in a shadowy corner of the yard, to spook all your little trick-or-treating visitors when it moves in the slightest breeze?
• …you get the idea.

And if you’re fixed on decorating with Halloween string lights around your home and garden, why not re-purpose the ones you use for Christmas and patio parties? This works especially well if you tend to go with plain white lights (very elegant) — and they’re low-energy, low-heat LED mini-lights, right? Add a few fake spiderwebs (and dangle a few pipe-cleaner spiders, if you’re feeling artsy-crafty)… you’re good to go.

Not quite enough festive Halloween decorating, yet, for your taste?

Decorate your front steps with an over-sized bouquet of dead branches (pick ‘em up when you rake the lawn) in a wide-mouthed container — I like an old stew kettle for this, but use what you’ve got — and tuck in a couple of mini gourds.

Or more of those pipe-cleaner spiders and artifical webs.
Or bits of orange and black ribbon, tied in bows.
Or a photo of your mother-in-law.

Whatever scares you.

Photo: Sylvanfeather

And here’s a bonus idea — you can save time and money, both, if you simply go with more general “seasonal” decorations, and simply add a touch of spooky Halloween goodness for the night itself.

Think of a wreath of colourful autumn leaves, or a harvest-themed display of gourds and pumpkins, or a decorative scarecrow.

Instead of having a box of special Halloween decorations that will be used for a week or so at most, you’ll decorate once — and the decorations will do you for Thanksgiving too!

Women’s magazines, radio phone-in shows, all over the Web… I’ve been catching a whole lot of variations on the same thrifty theme. And if your family has decided to try to save money on the whole Halloween trip, you may have been noticing this too.

Photo: Mozo Man

We won’t embarrass any major media outlets by naming names, and I haven’t quoted the words exactly, but the substance of these “top 3″ frugal Halloween tips is spooned out by more than one source this season — and I’ve got serious doubts.

Here’s the kind of thing they want you to do:

1. Costume the kids as homeless people — it doesn’t get cheaper than that, when you can send them out around the neighbourhood in last year’s jacket and their oldest patched jeans;
2. Decorate your home and yard with everyday items and almost-trash, like leftover candle stubs and toilet-paper ghosts;
3. Save money on treats to hand out at the door by picking up cheap gum and chips at the dollar store.

Huh! Well, those tips just don’t work for me — and I’ll tell you why:

Poverty ain’t no Halloween costume.

“Costume the kids as homeless people”?

Well, leaving aside the fact that Junior might be scarred for life by wearing his own clothes as a Halloween costume… doesn’t it just seem wrong somehow to dress up as a homeless person in order to get free candy? Anyway, a big part of the whole point of dressing up and going door-to-door for treats is to amuse the neighbours. And they’ve seen your kids in grubbies already: so where’s the old folks’ treat in that?

Do it cheap, sure, but do it right.

One of the best things about Halloween is that it’s a night to let fantasy run free… So instead of money, why not spend a bit of creativity? Sometimes those quick homemade Halloween costumes can be the best costumes, if the ideas are good ones.

If you’re not the sewing-crafter type (or simply don’t have time), make a trip to the local Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift store, or whatever the equivalent is where you live. We’ve got a fabulous chain of super-cheap secondhand shops called Frenchy’s that are always good for a great cheap costume for kids or for adults. Jodi tells me she’s even seen secondhand wedding dresses in there for a ridiculously low price — so there you go, a Bride of Frankenstein costume! Just add a bouquet of dead flowers and the right make-up.

The school that @wadlington‘s kids go to just held a Halloween used-costume sale. “After the sale,” she says, “the leftovers were donated to Goodwill. How great is that? It’s too late now to organize a costume sale for this Halloween, but I’ll bet you’d find a lot of parents keen on the plan for next year, if you brought it up at the next PTA meeting, while the pain and stress of finding (and paying for) Halloween costumes are still fresh in everyone’s minds!

Photo: juhansonin

You can always swap Halloween costumes with friends who have kids the same age, too. This year, your kid goes as an adorable mouse; next year, he moves up to the boy-next-door’s pirate costume?

We used to pass costumes along from older sister to younger, when we were growing up. The trick is to pack them away safely until next year. But you know what? If it’s one of those trendy character costumes straight from the Disney marketing machine, I wouldn’t bother trying to save it for next year — just throw it into the toy box and let the kids wear it to play make-believe to their hearts’ delight, because you might as well put it to use. What are the odds your daughter will have any interest in dressing up as Hannah Montana, by the time next year’s Halloween rolls around? Of course, my parents probably said that exact thing about that Princess Leia costume, way back when… So, who knows? You’ll have to make your own call on that one.

My point is, why dress up your kids as homeless people and make light of something so serious as other people’s misfortune? Especially when there are so many creative ways that you can save money on Halloween costumes.

‘Nuff said.

Now, what about that bad advice on decorating your home for Halloween? We’ll be tackling that tasteful and thrifty issue in the next part of this series, so stay tuned to learn more about toilet-paper ghosts.

Why send the kids out to collect Halloween treats in a tacky plastic pumpkin, when there are more attractive treat containers to be found — like these cheerful reusable buckets in felt or painted metal?

Reusable and durable items means that you won’t be shelling out for new treat containers, year after year. And when the kids get too old for trick-or-treating? Get thrifty and recycle!

Re-purpose the buckets as tabletop Halloween decorations, piled high with tiny gourds and autumn leaves, use them to hold the treats that you hand out to neighbourhood ghosties who come to your door, or even put it into play as an ice bucket at a grown-up Halloween party: just slip a plastic container inside to keep everything clean and dry.

These two styles of Halloween buckets are both from The Contemporary Home. Sadly, TCH only serves customers in the UK — but the rest of us can find crafty inspiration in the online shop, even if we can’t shop there!

Make Your Own Halloween Treat Buckets

What about decorating your own bucket with black and orange craft paints and a simple Halloween stencil of a bat or pumpkin or haunted house? Pick up a lightweight metal bucket for just a dollar or two in a discount department store — I see them most often near the vases and artificial flowers — or, for a bit more, your local hardware store or garden centre. Craft paints dry quickly, so you can paint the background first, then take a quick break for a cup of tea — and the bucket will be ready for its decorations.

Want to make your own felt treat buckets, inspired by those Halloween goodies at The Contemporary Home? A bit of trial-and-error with a piece of old newspaper will help you make a simple pattern and get the size of bucket you need. You’ll want to cut one long rectangle of felt to form the sides, a circle for the bottom, and a long skinny strip for the handle. (You might want to use a double layer, if the felt you’re working with is on the thin and flimsy side.) Put the pieces together with fabric glue, then do a quick decorative line of stitching around the seams for strength. Slip in the lid from a plastic container or a couple layers of sturdy cardboard to give shape to the bottom of the bucket.

Another option would be to recycle one of those ice-cream pails that have a handle, and simply cover it with colourful felt or a Halloween-themed fabric. If you use a fabric that will fray at the cut edges, either tuck in the edge and glue it down or leave an extra half-inch and pull out the cross-threads to fray it into a decorative fringe.

Finish off your Halloween treat bucket with seasonal decorations. Cut-out felt shapes of spiders, bats, or a jack-o-lantern bats (as shown), or use stencils and fabric paint. You might even embellish your artwork with bits of string and googley eyes… or customize the treat pails to match the kids’ Halloween costumes… the only limit is your imagination!

Who knew that watermelon carving was such a hot art form?

Around here we tend to think in terms of pumpkin carving — especially at this time of year, with harvest winding up and Halloween just looming on the horizon.

But I’m entranced by the whole carved-radish culture of Mexico’s Night of the Radishes, naturally… and other weird and wonderful fruit and vegetable art makes an appearance from time to time…

Well, heck, why not watermelon sculpture too?

Jay Ball has even published a book on the topic, You Too Can Create Stunning Watermelon Carvings! “My style of watermelon carving lends itself well to the beginner, where you are guided by a pattern and it is more structured and easy to follow,” Jay explains. “And, unlike pumpkins, the insides make an instant delicious treat while you work.”

Of course the watermelon industry itself is full of crafty suggestions for their produce, with a particular eye to kids — cookie cutters, anyone?

And if you’re looking for even more inspiration…

Here (below) are some of the most elegant examples of watermelon art you’ll ever hope to see this week — take particular note of the overblown chrysanthemum flower, all done in fresh watermelon!

I keep finding these pictures all over the interwebs in different places, but so far without a note about the artist — my best dectective work suggests that these are the work of Japan’s Takashi Itoh, who certainly deserves lot of credit for his art!

Takashi Itoh says his watermelon sculptures are inspired by the art of Thai vegetable and fruit carving, which originated at the Loi Krathong (floating lantern) Festival in Thailand about 700 years ago. You can see more at his Watermelon Special Fruit Carving site, but here’s a sample of the artist’s work:

I don’t know that most of us are likely to reach these heights of watermelon sculpture… but Jay’s book is a good starting point.

You Too Can Create Stunning Watermelon Carvings guides you through preparing the melon for carving, and transferring the pattern.

Jay even includes 32 carving patterns, with themes around most of the major holidays in case you feel the melon decorating urge as part of your celebration — as well as different ways to sculpt a watermelon, by hand or with the aid of power tools.

And then, when you’re done, how to light, display and photograph your watermelon carving so its beauty will live on long after the melon itself has joined your compost pile!

If you try this yourself, want to send an email to let me know? Or drop your photo link in the comments, so we can all ooh and ahh at your artistic talents!

I’ve got to confess to having a weakness for Spookytown miniatures — well, anything miniature, if it comes to that — ever since I read Piers Anthony’s now-classic fantasy On a Pale Horse (part of his Incarnations of Immortality series), and then spotted the “Death On A Pale Horse” figurine in that really good Toronto hobby shop, whasitsname… the store where it’s all about models and model-building and they do those demos…

Never mind, it’ll come to me later…

So, I’m thinking, can I really justify a scattering of Spookytown fantasy in my domestic decor, once we get past Halloween?

Well, no.

Not without looking like the total geek that old friends may secretly suspect lurks inside.

And certainly not if we’re talking about Spookytown’s miniature ghouls and zombies and mummies risen from the crypt…

But look, they’ve got these absolutely charming miniature trees — in autumn colours, too!

Like, no-care mini bonsai, really.

Imagine a few 4-inch trees in a long stoneware dish filled out with a bed of velvety moss… or a draped length of dark velvet, a tiny bright tree all nestled in the hills of its folds…

Do we feel a decorative Thanksgiving vignette shaping up on the fireplace mantel?

[Lots of Lemax Spooky Town miniatures via TheFind]

No, that’s not a real pumpkin. But that is where this idea came from, a witch-in-a-pumpkin who caught my eye at Victorian Trading Co. (It’s a lantern, it’s a figurine, whichever works for you.) And if the style of this piece looks a bit familiar — yes, it’s by Bethany Lowe Designs, a hand-painted pulp piece with that vintage style they do so well…

Now, I’m not totally crazy about having the word “Halloween” written on the front of the pumpkin, but the whole piece does spark off an idea.

Try this one on for size — a hollowed-out pumpkin for a shadow box!

If you’re at all like certain members of my family (who shall remain nameless to save a blush), sometimes the pumpkin carving gets a bit too excited and there’s an unintended cut — whoops! that ol’ Jack-o-Lantern suddenly loses the whole big space between his nose and his left eyebrow!

So, instead of turning the poor battered pumpkin in to a pie right away, why not keep on cutting and hollow it out for a shadow box to display some Halloween-theme ornaments?

Slip in a few rubber spiders and a bit of faux spider-web from the dollar store, or a tiny black cat figurine, with a few gnarled bare twigs pruned off a hdden part of that shrub you don’t really like much anyway, maybe a few bright autumn leaves…

Voilà!… you’ve got yourself a spooky table-top display for Halloween!

(See, this is why we have to go “window shopping” so often, guys — the crafty ideas are out there everywhere!)

The witch-in-a-pumpkin Halloween light is at the Victorian Trading Company — while supplies last — and if you miss out, there are lots more of those whimsical home decor treats to be enjoyed from Bethany Lowe at TheFind.

What do you think, is it too soon to start planning ahead for Halloween party?

Only, that southern fashionista Amy has me thinking ahead, with her mention of a toga contest over at My Scoop… complete with a photo of beer-drinking women in the most stylish togas you’ve ever seen (ah, inspiration!) and handy instructional diagram:–

Haven’t been to a good toga party in years… it’s almost worth a road trip down to Alabama, no?

Pumpkin carving is a rather strange kind of seasonal tradition, when you come to think of it — but so much fun for all ages!

Our family likes to make a bit of a party of it, with a big pile of pumpkins of various shapes and sizes, one or more for every member of the family from Grandpa down to the toddler (with a little help from Mom). We usually do our pumpkin carving out on the porch or front lawn, to cut down on the mess in the house, then rush indoors to share a big jug of hot chocolate — good times!

Lowes Project Center offers a pretty good guide to making Jack-o-lanterns. It includes a tool list, tips for carving freehand or carving with the use of a stencil. Not only that, they’ve got a few full-size pumpkin-caring stencils you can download to print out, if you’re stuck for ideas.

Oh, one more tip — you can get some really cool effects if you pick some areas and don’t cut all the way through the pumpkin in those places. Just take off the tough outer skin, and then whittle away enough of the inner pumpkin flesh so there’s still a thin layer instead of a wide-open hole. The light inside your pumpkin will shine softly through this thin wall of pumpkin, making a diffused glow. It’s great for putting a blush on the cheeks of your Jack-o-Lantern, or giving him some complicated tattooes, or even doing an intricate abstract design.

You can’t have much more fun — not within the bounds of the law, and not with all your clothes on — than mucking about with papier mache.

It’s a low-stress craft because — think about it — what can you possibly lose if you screw it up? Old torn-up newspaper? And it’s hard to mess up too badly in the first place. Cover up a mistake with more glue-soaked paper strips, or use a sharp knife to carefully carve away any areas where you put on too much paper — and it’s not supposed to be super-smooth, necessarily, anyway.

As Susanne points out, it’s the perfect artistic medium for whipping up a fantastic (and low cost) face mask for fancy dress occasions like, oh, let me see, Halloween!

Make Paper Mache Halloween Masks

by Susanne Myers

You’ll need just a few things to make just about any mask you can imagine. Those items include balloons, newspaper, wallpaper glue and some acrylic paint. A pair of sharp scissors comes in handy to cut out eyes and mouth. Wear old clothing, or put an apron on both you and your child. Making the mask can get a bit messy.

Cover your work area in plenty of newspaper to protect it from glue and paint. Next, cut several newspapers into strips. Blow up a balloon so it is slightly larger than your child’s head. Now dip a newspaper strip completely in the glue and stick it on the balloon. Continue doing this back and forth until you have the entire balloon covered in several layers of newspaper. Work out any wrinkles as you go along. The more layers of newspaper you have, the sturdier the mask will be.

Finally add any features specific to the mask you are making. For example, if you are making a frog mask, sculpt two ball shapes at the top of the mask that you can later paint as eyes. If you are making a cat, dog, or monkey mask, form the snout and of course don’t forget about ears. The only limit is your imagination.

Allow the mask to dry completely, preferably over night. Once it is completely hardened, start cutting into the mask to pop the balloon. Cut a large enough opening so your child can get his or her head inside the mask, then cut eye and mouth openings. For younger children, you may prefer to cut the back of the mask out completely, and, instead, wrap a piece of ribbon or yarn around the back of the head to secure the mask to allow better air-passage.

Paint the mask in a solid color and allow it to dry completely. Then add details like eyes, nose and lips in different colors. Once that coat of paint is completely dry, it is ready to wear. For a longer lasting and shiny mask, cover the mask in several layers of hodge podge before using it.

Would you like to quickly make creative Halloween costumes that you and your children will be proud of — for a fraction of the price of store-bought? Susanne Myers has co-authored a book to show you how — no sewing involved. Visit www.ILoveHalloweenCostumes.com to learn more.Article Source: www.ladypens.com

Let’s tag this, oh, Halloween Costumes | Crafts.

Trendy Decorating Ideas to Un-Haunt Your House

Halloween is one of the biggest decorating holidays of the year, second only to Christmas. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 60 percent of people plan to purchase decorations and 47 percent expect to decorate their home or yard this year. With everyone getting into the Halloween spirit, make your house stand apart from your neighbors’ by keeping in mind this year’s trends.

“Making homes festive with creative Halloween decorations can be easy and fun for everyone from beginners to advanced crafters,” says Susan Atchison, trend expert for Jo-Ann Stores.

“This season, cute is in and creepy is out. Gone are the days of menacing mummies or frightening felines. Cute spiders, goofy monsters and playful witches will be especially hot. Also, décor adorned with sunny and unexpected color pairings such as royal purple mixed with hot green, pink and jack-o’-lantern orange will add extra personality to the inside and outside of your home.”

If you’re in the mood to embrace the charming side of Halloween this year, check out these easy ideas from Jo-Ann Stores to add a playful and creative touch to your un-haunted house -– inside and out:

• Show your trendy side by dressing your table with vibrantly colored place settings that feature friendly spiders made from basic shapes with large animated eyes.
• Accent your mantle with spider votive holders on a yarn table runner to add quirky distinction to party décor.
• For Halloween entertaining, give your guests goofy handmade spider boxes filled with goodies and treats. With wiggle eyes and bright, glittery colors, these little favors are gifts your guests won’t soon forget! (See instructions in sidebar.)
• Greet guests and trick-or-treaters with a festive door wreath made with silly monster and jack-o’-lantern faces in a rainbow of colors.
• Colorful lights aren’t just for Christmas anymore. Use strings of lights to decorate outdoor trees and bushes for Halloween. For a fun, friendly feel, add lively and unexpected hues of green and magenta with traditional orange and blacks to bring fresh life to your outdoor lighting.
• Post unique stakes in the yard featuring cute character cutouts to welcome guests (instead of scaring them away!)
• Let kids make their own personalized treat bags this year by easily stitching two pieces of black felt together with a strip at the top for a handle. Glue on ears, eyes and whiskers to make a black cat or use green and orange felt to create a pumpkin.

For more advice and a variety of the latest indoor and outdoor decorating products and projects for Halloween, stop by your local Jo-Ann fabric and craft store. Courtesy of ARA Content.

What’s not to love?

Okay, maybe the price, for those of us who err on the side of really really frugal.

But these attention-grabbing Halloween decorations are made of papier mache, which inevitably leads the Artsy-Crafty ones among us to think, hmmmm, maybe I want to try something like that myself…

Screaming heads — not even anything much in the way of miscellaneous body parts to try to create. Just a bit of wire and the dismembered heads (and arms) — how hard can that be?

Let’s see… Roll and fold some cardboard for a form, mix up the wallpaper paste, and tear some newspapers into strips… Wire for the up-flung arms, so much a part of the “Eeeeek” expression that makes these figures so amusing, and the loopy legs… The feet might have to have some weight added, just to keep the head in balance upright, but maybe not if the bottom was kept quite flat while the papier mache was drying.

Let each layer of glued paper dry completely before adding the next. Here’s a tip —papier mache is still wet if it feels at all cool to the touch. Then finish off with acrylic craft paints. And I’d use play-dough or bread-dough clay or modelling clay for the teeth, just to make the project go a bit faster.

Or you can buy the
Screaming Heads (Set of 2) from Better Homes and Gardens.

Boo! Home Decor for Halloween.