Halloween approaches and it has become one of those events that can cost you a fair bit these days. If the kids want to go trick or treating there are fancy dress costumes to buy, kids coming to the door means you have to have sweets in, those wanting to embrace the event might want to carve a pumpkin and decorate the house, even throw a party. Slowly, we are beginning to follow in American footsteps and each year Halloween becomes just that bit larger.
So, if you want to enjoy Halloween without it costing the earth we have a few cost savers that will not impact on the enjoyment of the day:
- Bake up your own treats and offer the kids coming to the door Halloween biscuits or buns. You can save £1s on chocolate and give them a far more homely version of trick and treat by giving them freshly baked goodies instead.
- Buy a pumpkin(s) for the kid(s) to hollow and get creative with scary face carving. When they are done put tea lights in them and have them as the centre piece of the Halloween decorations in the window or on the doorstep. You can then make paper chains with them, scary drawings and play some spooky music in the hallway so visitors get a well thought out but low in cost Halloween experience.
- Make a ghost costume for the kids so they can haunt the neighbours – they can decorate them to make them personal and add their own flare to the eyes and mouth. All you need is:
- A white sheet
- A light coloured cap
- A pair of scissors
- A pen or pencil
- Four safety pins
- A black marker pen
- A bag for goodies of course!
Step 1: Eith
er cut the rim of the cap off or decide to wear it backwards depending on much you like that cap.Step 2: Drape the sheet over the head of the person who will be wearing the costume. Take your marker pen and then mark the base of the sheet where it meets the floor. This just lets you cut off any excess and makes sure you are not cleaning the floor as you go – try and cover your feet/shoes so it looks like you are floating about.
Step 3: Then mark the sheet in the centre of the person’s head, not their face, but the centre of their head on top. Then get them to poke forward so you know where to mark the eyes for eyeholes. You don’t want them stumbling into things!
Step 4: Take the sheet off and pin the cap so that the mark showing the centre of the head is in the centre of the cap. This will make sure the sheet drapes evenly on all sides.
Step 5: Take the scissors and cut out the eyeholes. If you just have a single mark as a guide then drawer and circle around that mark in an eye shape and cut that out.
Step 6: Trim off the excess sheet where you marked the sheet at its edges. Put the costume on and double check that everything looks good by wearing the cap.
All that is left is to grab your goody bag and head out trick or treating or to that Halloween party. You can add detail to the face with a mouth and eyelashes, or you can stay super ghostly and just be as white as possible.
